Ouzoud with Children: Is Six Hours on the Bus Worth It?
Updated October 1, 2026 · 6 min read
Ouzoud with children means a day of eleven to twelve hours, about half of it in the vehicle. The shortest version is the Ouzoud Waterfalls Guided Tour and Boat Ride: 10 to 11 hours, from €15.30, 4.6 stars from 10,264 reviews. If you want lunch and the boat included, take the Ouzoud Falls Guided Hike, Boat Ride and Lunch, from €16.04 and, with 40,769 reviews, the second most-reviewed Marrakesh tour on GetYourGuide. The cheapest is the version with an optional boat ride, from €13.09.
See dates and prices for the guided tour with boat ride
That does not make Ouzoud a poor family trip. It makes it one you choose deliberately. Anyone after water, greenery and a day outside the city has an alternative in the Ourika Valley, at six to seven hours. What Ouzoud offers that Ourika does not is a large waterfall with a small boat running at its foot, and Barbary macaques in the trees above.
The drive is half the day
The operator of the tour with hike, boat ride and lunch states on its booking page around three hours’ drive each way, with a stop along the way. You are back in Marrakesh by around 7pm. At the falls themselves, about four hours are scheduled, including a guided walk, hike, boat ride and lunch.
Check availability and prices for the hike, boat ride and lunch
The second major offer, the Ouzoud Falls with a guided hike and an optional boat ride, has 14,544 reviews and starts at €4.74. It splits the outward journey into an hour and a half to a stop, then a further hour to the falls. Three and a half hours are set aside there. The operator’s page gives the return as “late afternoon or early evening”.
Check availability for the version with an optional boat ride
What the descriptions do not say shows up in the reviews. One review describes the transport as cramped, and both review summaries mention air conditioning that does not cool reliably. For adults that is an annoyance. For a child sitting in a full minibus for three hours in summer, it can spoil the day before you have even arrived. Ask about the vehicle when you book, and ask about a child seat if you need one. Neither can be taken for granted on a group trip.
Down first, then back up again
At the falls, the path first leads down to the pool, and at the end you climb back up the same slope. The operator of that version even promotes the fact that the uphill return offers new views for photos. For families, that means the most tiring part comes at the end, just when the children are already tired.
One traveller writes in their review that the guide steered their child past the rocky, uneven parts of the path. That is a reassuring sign, but not a guarantee. Expect an adult to look after each young child themselves, and bring shoes with a firm sole, not flip-flops. I would leave a pushchair in the vehicle; on steps and rocks it is a burden, and a carrier helps more.
Boat, swimming and monkeys
The short boat ride at the foot of the waterfall is the highlight for many children. Whether it is included in the price depends on the offer and the chosen option; the version with an optional boat ride carries it in the title. Also ask whether life jackets in children’s sizes are available. The descriptions say nothing about this.
In the itinerary for that version, swimming is listed as a possibility. That is an opportunity, not a judgement on whether the water is suitable for a child on any given day. You decide that on the spot, and if in doubt, it stays at dipping your feet in.
Many reviews mention the Barbary macaques as the day’s highlight. They are wild animals, even if used to people. Keep your distance, do not carry open food in your hand, and do not let children feed or touch them.
Grandparents: a limit you might not expect
Family trips often include grandparents. The version with an optional boat ride states that it is not suitable for people over 70. That is this operator’s own stipulation, not a general rule for Ouzoud, and it says nothing about a particular person’s fitness. Anyone travelling with a grandmother or grandfather over 70 should clarify this before booking rather than finding out at the meeting point.
And one more detail from the same description: pick-up within the city centre is included. If your accommodation is more than eight kilometres outside it, it costs extra.
The figures compared
| Tour | Duration | From | Rating | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hike, boat ride and lunch | 11–12 hours | €16.04 | 4.6 stars from 40,769 reviews | families who want food and the boat locked in |
| Guided hike, boat ride optional | 11–12 hours | €4.74 | 4.8 stars from 14,544 reviews | a small budget, with nobody over 70 along |
| Guided walk and boat ride | 10–11 hours | €15.30 | 4.6 stars from 10,264 reviews | anyone keeping the travel time short |
Altogether there are 18 Ouzoud trips to choose from, from €4.74, with a median of €12.20. These prices are entry-level, per person. Whether lunch, the boat and a guide at the falls are included varies, and that is exactly where the day’s real cost lies.
Our recommendation
For most families the shortest version is the right one: the Ouzoud Waterfalls Guided Tour and Boat Ride, 10 to 11 hours instead of 11 to 12, from €15.30. One hour less on the bus is worth more with children than any extra inclusion. For children who cope well with long car journeys and look forward to water and animals, Ouzoud is a day they will remember. From primary-school age, the balance between travel time and experience usually works out better than with toddlers, because they can walk the path themselves and stay occupied on the bus.
If you would rather not organise lunch on the spot, book the Ouzoud Falls Guided Hike, Boat Ride and Lunch from €16.04 — the most-reviewed of the three and the only one where the meal is firmly included. On the smallest budget, the version with an optional boat ride from €4.74 remains; it is also the only one of the three that excludes people over 70.
With a child who already gets carsick on short journeys, I would skip it. Six hours on country roads is then not an outing but an ordeal; what helps with that is something to discuss with your pharmacist or paediatrician. In high summer, I would also weigh up whether half a day in Agafay or a morning in a garden leaves more of the holiday intact. For an overview of which further destinations from Marrakesh fit into a single day, see our guide to Morocco’s sights.
