"Short" transit time to get an extra day in Marrakech worth the risk??
 

Hello! I'm planning a spring break trip to Morocco with my family - 2 adults and 3 kids (ages 9, 12 and 14) for the 1st week of April. We have a tight timeline due to school and cannot extend our trip. We are hoping to book a private tour and looked at a few options and liked the following itinerary:

• Sat, April 1, 2023 6:40a Depart Paris/ORY-8:20a Arrive Tangier ----Transfer to Chefchaouen (Overnight: Chefchaouen)
• Sun, April 2, 2023 Chefchaouen-Volubilis-Fes (Overnight: Fes)
• Mon, April 3, 2023 Fes (Overnight: Fes)
• Tue, April 4, 2023 Fes-Ilfrane-Ziz Valley-Erfoud-Merzouga (Overnight: Merzouga)
• Wed, April 5, 2023 Desert (Overnight: Desert Camp)
• Thu, April 6, 2023 Merzouga-Todra Gorges-Dades Gorges (Overnight: Dades Gorges)
• Fri, April 7, 2023 Dades Gorges-Rose Valley-Ait Ben haddou-Marrakech (Overnight: Marrakech)
• Sat, April 8, 2023 Marrakech (Overnight: Marrakech)

Our flight out of Paris/ORY Departs on Sunday, April 10 at 3p which gives us 2 options for Sun, April 9:

• 6:30a Depart Marrakech/RAK-11:00a Arrive Paris/ORY where we would spend a 1/2 day in Paris then depart to LA bright and early the following day or -
• 645a Depart Marrakech RAK-11:15a Arrive Paris/ORY -- 3.5 hour transit ---2:50p Depart ORY-5:30p Arrive LAX

My husband is worried about what he sees as a tight transit time. Since this is a "hacker fare" the airfare would be purchase across 2 different airlines so if we missed our connection we are in trouble. He prefers not to do this but I think it is worth it in order to buy one more full day in Marrakech. I think 3.5 hours should be enough even with customs/bag pick up, etc. Am I being too optimistic? Is one day in Marrakech enough? I've heard that kids often get tired of "looking at old stuff" ... Is there anything you can do with just a 1/2 day in Paris?

Which option would you choose and does my itinerary look reasonable? The kids are pretty good travelers since I've been dragging them around since they were young.

Thank you in advance for your input! It's been a while since I've been on the forum - not sure why, life happens I guess! These boards are so helpful!

If the two flights are on different airlines you should only pick option two if you are prepared to a) buy new tickets for all five of you at walk up prices and b) not arrive home until at least a day, and likely longer, than you planned.

If the two flights were on the same airline I would still not advise flying into Paris the day of a transatlantic flight, especially if you have a time constraint on arriving home. If anything went wrong you would not have to buy new tickets, but you would have to wait for five seats to become available on another flight, and there might well not be another, with or without seats, until the next day.

That is a very fast-paced itinerary.

Risk: Five walk up fares and delayed arrival home.
Reward: A day in Morocco.
Risk vs Reward: Off scale. Don't.

Thanks for the input - I guess my husband wins this round, half day in Paris it is! I need internet strangers to slap some sense in me on occasion...

It is a fast paced itinerary but I have serious Fear Of Missing Out! Limited work vacation days and short spring break limits us unfortunately. Luckily my kids are relatively hardy travelers with lots of energy so I'll keep pushing them until I'm unable to.

Itinerary
 

My husband & I did a similar itinerary but except we started in Portugal & flew to Casablanca. We were extremely happy with Karaoui Salem of Moroccan Family Tour guidance. Loved Marrakech! Travel is always worth it- grab the gusto!

We are thinking about booking our tour with Karaoui Salem of Moroccan Family Tour - happy to hear that you were happy with his services!