School Trip to Morocco

Daretodenim, they have modern toilets in Morocco

I have been to Morocco, visiting Casablanca, Fes and Marrakesh, as part of a group, and never felt 'unsafe'. However, I am not a young teenage girl.
Also £1k is rather a lot of money.
I would probably want to see the itinerary, and educational value of the trip.
However, have more recently come to the conclusion that teachers should stick to teaching, and leave these kind of school trips to families.
So my reason for declining the trip, would be because of cost; that this could prevent you as a parent undertaking a nice family holiday to a destination of your own choosing.

I was being sarcastic

24 years ago- yes

Now? Hell no

My old private girls’ school in the US is also planning at trip to Morocco. It’s just inappropriate because it’s filthy, expensive, misogynistic, and dangerous. I didn’t see a desert until thirty, and was not impressed. If some of these students are traveling for the first time, it would be far better if they camped in a familiar climate. I’d rather go to Hell. At least I’d run into people I know, including relatives.
Yes, London and Liverpool are dangerous places. However, everyone speaks English, HM is on the money, and the culture more familiar

*soil yourself

I think Morocco is beautiful and I support the idea of widening kids' horizons to other cultures.

But this trip is staggeringly unfair.

Girls risk being harassed.
Girls are likely to find the squat toilets quite tricky.
Girls on their periods are likely to find squat toilets even more tricky.
Gay children, or children who are discovering that about themselves would need to closet themselves.
And black children may find they're treated quite differently than their lighter skinned friends.

Then there's the issue of food poisoning.

I could understand if this was a university trip but cannot see why children/teens need to be exposed to this.

Can you imagine puking and shitting your guts out on a school trip? When you're moving between places and camping?! Sitting on a bumpy bus ride clenching your butt cheeks so you don't soul yourself honestly isn't fun.

I'm struggling to figure out why the teachers involved even want to be. Is there a Moroccan teacher? That would make a difference at least. But it can't be because they're looking for sun, because the risks and responsibilities (huge even in a trip to London) are surely so high they outweigh any rays of sunlight.

I've lived in North Africa and cannot figure out why it's necessary for kids to do this trip. Plenty of other places they could go to and not run these risks.

Gibraltar with a day trip to Morocco would be better imo.....I wouldn't be able to afford £1k either!! ......year 8 is very young and I've heard a lot of negatives about Morocco so would constantly be worrying!! Xx

Morocco is a bloody brilliant country. I have just returned from one of my regular trips and I would have no hesitation sending my child on the itinerary you posted and on an organised trip. I have travelled as a single woman there from the age of twenty, never had a problem. I have visited Eygpt and Tunisia and found them far worse and I would not choose to return to either country.

I think we'd find something else to do as a family with that money, instead. It's not a place I'd be inclined to visit, though I imagine a guided tour would most likely be safe enough.

I work on worst case scenarios, so before I let any of my children go away with school, or with friends I consider if they would be safe if they were alone with no money and no phone. I would suggest that in the UK or most English speaking countries they would be fine because they could ask for help and assess who to ask fairly confidently, police, security, hotel front desk etc. If they were in a European country and had a very basic vocabulary, I would be fairly confident they'd get help and work out where to go to be safe. I would be less confident in Morocco, even though they speak French and have been to other African countries with relatives. I would worry the cultural differences would make them less confident and possibly more likely to put themselves unknowingly in danger. I would be less worried if they looked like younger children because I think most people have a natural instinct to protect little ones.

Having been to Morocco about ten years ago, I didn't feel safe at all, even in the hotel. I've travelled a lot usually alone from the age of 16 and I've been in some potentially risky situations and still felt safer.

If my daughter really wanted to go and felt safe with her teachers, I would most likely let her because worst case scenarios rarely happen. I would, however be looking on Google maps with her for places which looked safe, if she needed help, making sure she knew emergency numbers etc.

As an aside, vaccinations for Morocco used to be recommended, you might want to check if this is still the case.

I was initially torn on this one, as one of the best trips of my life was 5 weeks overlanding around Morocco, with Marrakesh, the Atlas mountains and camping in the desert being among the top highlights. And the food, the people, the architecture...

However, much as I hope my kids will one day be able to explore as much óf the world as I did, many places, including sadly much of North Africa, are considered far higher risk now than 15-20 years ago (and I say this as someone who more than once had to delay crossing a border into a country while the FCO temporarily advised against all travel due to attempted coups, and also toured an almost deserted Egypt with heavy military presence not long after one of the terrorist attacks). Taking calculated risks as an adult in order to see fascinating places is completely different to trusting a third party to do that for your child.

Even if the school was confident about ensuring everyone's safety (and if part of their strategy is that a couple of the adults speak good French, I would question how helpful that will be anyway outside of Marrakesh) I personally think Y8 is too young to get much out of such a short sharp culture shock, trying to fit three such different experiences into 5-day trip makes it a box-ticking exercise, and it's also very expensive for a school trip!

I've been to Morocco loads, and recently. As a couple with ex husband, as a family with a pre teen and teen daughter, and separately with each daughter as teens plus several times alone.

Ironically the only time I had unwanted attention was when I was with now ex husband. We have stayed in hotels, riads and local apartments well out of tourist areas and in the depths of the twisty streets. Never once felt unsafe, even in the local areas and deep into the souks

Jma el Fnaa Square in Marrakech is an experience for sure. An explosion of sights sounds and smells. Yes there's a risk of pick pockets but no more than any major city, Inc UK. Can't see an issue with an organised trip as they'd be supervised and there's also lots of security, the army and police walk round in pairs and 3s and are very visible. Harassment of Western women is now very frowned on (although ive been told to avoid Casablanca Fez and alot of the Northern cities by the Moroccans I've befriended over the years as they are awful, in their words) Unless you are unlucky enough to find yourself deep in the Medina in a quiet area and yes then it may be chanced, but in the public areas its very safe and a loud shout of No or Stop if you are unlucky enough to get a chancer (eg someone hassling to give you a guided tour or trying to pressure you into a shop) stops it dead.

The Atlas mountains are beautiful and we have trekked those, done Paradise Valley and many other trips and activities. Desert camping is the next plan, and the Berbers are amazing people, very friendly.

1k is expensive for 5 days but depends on accommodation tbh, I usually go budget (mainly so I can spend more bulk buying spices lol) but there are a huge variety of options for accommodation right up to high end. The desert trip alone was about 150 each when I last looked so I suppose its not that bad when looked at with the level of supervision etc

Happy to chat via PM if you want any more specific info etc

I have been but it was about 17 years ago. I would need a lot of convincing before I agreed to let my children go there with school.

I hated Morroco, felt very unsafe not just sexually but also physically and financially (I was with my husband at all times, I'm of Middle Eastern heritage and dress conservatively, it was much much worse for the younger females without male partners)

I also got food poisoning because a common trick at the time was to serve tap water as bottled water and I hadn't noticed. I felt I had to be on alert at all times, it was exhausting

I've been to ouarzazate a few times for work reasons. As others said, it has an established film industry. Quite a pleasant place and you get far less hassled as a woman than you do in Marrakech.

Morocco isn't quite the same as the Muslim states further east in terms of oppression. It reminds me of Turkey in its culture and values. However, I'd think twice about allowing an older teenager to go there. If something goes wrong on the trip, they can easily end up in prison.

So, I think I'm saying they'd have a nice time, but I still wouldn't take the risk.

Absolutely not a chance I'd send my child there

Omg I thought I was going to die in Lagos. It's actual hell in my books.

Haven't been to Morocco, but would never let my daughter go on a school trip there.

My Y8 DD is going to Wales too

@beachcitygirl - I've spent quite a bit of time in Mexico City and while generally it is quite unsafe I've never seen the degree of bad behaviour there towards women in public places I've seen in North Africa and the Middle East

I'm cabin crew OP and Morocco is one of
The only places in
The world that I feel unsafe (and I go to Nigeria &'Saudi & Mexico City )

I would desperately try to dissuade your dd.
Especially if she's blonde. 😞

@AnTeallach - groping is not acceptable and I certainly wouldn't want my 13 yr old exposed to it. My girlfriend on the Cairo trip was a robust Aussie girl and could have probably dealt with most of them herself but I disliked the fact she was made to feel uncomfortable just walking down the street.

@ManAboutTown - I didn't find Cairo as bad as Marrakesh/Rabat. I was there at a similar time to you. Yes, there was some groping, but I'm a brunette... blondes seem to have a more difficult time.
Was astonished on the recent'ish trip to Morocco to have some minor hassle myself. It happened when I was away from my kids. Thought my age was my protection!

Am I racist to raise concerns? DH is Algerian and I have travelled to North Africa regularly for over 20 years. The vast majority of North African people a lovely and welcoming but there is a subset of men in countries like Morocco and Egypt that have a negative perception of foreign women. Unfortunately, some of them act on that perception in a way that can make an enjoyable trip into a not enjoyable trip.

I went to Morocco mid twenties with a female friend and there were definitely times when being followed round the marrakesh markets by a bloke who wanted to be our "guide" that I felt intimidated. He spat at our feet when he finally accepted the word no.

I don't think I'd send my daughter a teenager tbh.

That said I've seen worse behaviour from men in Italy/ Spain as a female backpacker, Perhaps the list of where I'd send my daughters is fairly narrow.