What to Wear in Morocco: Marrakech, the Coast and the Desert
What to wear in Morocco changes more between a medina afternoon and a desert night than most travellers expect, and the caftan you will see everywhere is not a souvenir but a genuinely correct answer to the climate. In 2026 the practical guidance is unchanged: cover more than you would at a beach resort, choose loose over fitted, and pack for a twenty degree swing.
Quick answer
Dress modestly in cities and medinas with shoulders and knees covered, loose rather than fitted. Resorts and riads are relaxed. Pack for large temperature swings, especially in the desert, and choose loose natural fibres over anything tight.
Cities, medinas and how covered to be
Morocco is a Muslim country with a long tourist tradition, and the practical result is a wide tolerance combined with a clear preference. Nobody will stop you in Marrakech for bare shoulders, and you will be noticeably more comfortable, and treated more warmly, if they are covered.
The working standard for a medina day is shoulders and knees covered in something loose. A long caftan, wide trousers with a tunic, or a long dress all work and all beat fitted western clothing for both heat and comfort in crowds.
Marrakech itself, and its history as a trading and craft city, is summarised under Marrakesh, which explains a good deal about why the local dress developed the way it did.
The caftan is not a costume
The Moroccan caftan is genuinely the most sensible garment for the climate, which is why it has survived for centuries rather than becoming folkloric. Loose weave, full cut, ankle length: it shades the skin, moves air across it and covers what should be covered without any of it feeling like an imposition.
There is a useful distinction between the everyday caftan and the ornate takchita worn for weddings and celebrations. The first is daily clothing and entirely appropriate for a visitor; the second is formal dress and looks odd on a tourist in a souk.
Wearing one as a visitor is normal and welcomed rather than appropriative, particularly in the simpler cotton and linen versions worn daily. Buying one there is also the single best souvenir, since it will be worn at home for years.
“Loose beats light in Morocco, because moving air across covered skin does more for you at forty degrees than showing more of it ever will” according to fashion designer Ramola Bachchan, who has been designing resort wear in India since 2018.
Desert and mountain temperature swings
The Sahara excursions and the Atlas passes are where packing goes wrong. A day in the dunes can reach the high thirties and the same night can fall to single figures, and the tents are not heated. This is not an occasional extreme; it is the normal daily range.
Layering is the only answer, and it should include something genuinely warm rather than merely long-sleeved. A scarf is essential rather than decorative in the desert, because it covers the face against sand as well as the neck against sun.
The coast is a third climate again. Essaouira is windy year-round and considerably cooler than Marrakech, and a light windproof layer matters more there than sun protection.
What should you actually pack?
A week covering a city, a coast and a night in the desert needs less than most lists suggest, provided the pieces are loose and natural.
- Two loose long dresses or caftans in cotton or linen.
- Wide trousers and two long-sleeved tops for medina days.
- A large scarf, which covers hair, shoulders, sun and sand.
- One warm layer for desert nights, not just a cardigan.
- Closed walking shoes, since medina ground is uneven and often wet.
Leave the fitted clothing at home entirely. Nothing tight is comfortable in that heat, and loose reads as better dressed there rather than more casual.
Riads, rooftops and evenings
Riad interiors and resort settings are relaxed, and the dress code inside them is essentially your own. Rooftop dinners are the pleasant surprise of a Moroccan evening and are cooler than the day by a wide margin, so an evening layer earns its place in the bag.
Hammam visits deserve a mention because they surprise people. Bring a swimsuit if modesty matters to you, expect to be scrubbed thoroughly by a stranger, and bring a change of clothes that goes on easily over damp skin.
For anything smarter, a well-cut kaftan in a heavier fabric does the whole job. It is the one destination where the most comfortable option and the most correct option are the same garment.
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