Morocco in December: weather, Christmas and New Year
Sunny days, cold nights and snow on the Atlas: December weather by region, how Christmas and New Year work in Morocco, and why desert camps for 31 December go first.
By Ismail8 min read
Yes, December is a good month to visit Morocco if you like sunshine and don't mind cold nights. Marrakech averages 20 °C in the afternoon and 7 °C at night, the Sahara is just as sunny but close to freezing after dark, and snow often covers the High Atlas. The first three weeks are calm; from about 20 December to 2 January, Christmas and New Year make it the busiest time of the year, so book those dates early.
Is December a good time to visit Morocco?
For most trips, yes. The light is clear and the south is dry: Marrakech in the sun with the snowy Atlas on the horizon, crisp mornings and starry nights in the desert. December is less good for swimming, warm evenings on a terrace and long days, and the north, from Tangier to Fes, is at its wettest.
If you can choose, November is milder and just as quiet, and January is colder but calm again after the first week. Our guide to the best time to visit Morocco compares the whole year.
December weather by region
These are the official 1991–2020 averages of Morocco's meteorological service, published by the World Meteorological Organization; Essaouira and Ifrane come from NOAA's normals for the same period.
| Place | Average high | Average low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marrakech | 20 °C (68 °F) | 7 °C (45 °F) | 24 mm, 6 days |
| Fes | 17 °C (63 °F) | 5 °C (41 °F) | 62 mm, 9 days |
| Tangier | 18 °C (64 °F) | 10 °C (50 °F) | 114 mm, 11 days |
| Essaouira | 19 °C (67 °F) | 13 °C (55 °F) | 56 mm, 5 days |
| Agadir | 22 °C (72 °F) | 10 °C (50 °F) | 47 mm, 6 days |
| Ouarzazate | 18 °C (64 °F) | 3 °C (38 °F) | 10 mm, 4 days |
| Errachidia (for Merzouga) | 17 °C (62 °F) | 4 °C (38 °F) | 8 mm, 3 days |
| Ifrane (Middle Atlas, 1,665 m) | 11 °C (51 °F) | 0 °C (33 °F) | 143 mm, 8 days |
Marrakech is warm in the sun, cool in the shade and cold once the sun goes down. Riads are built around open courtyards and are not always heated, so ask about heating before you book; our guide to where to stay in Marrakech lists the other questions worth asking.
Fes and the north get rain on 9 to 11 days of the month: pack a waterproof and shoes that grip on wet alleys.
The coast is the mildest region. Agadir has the warmest afternoons and Essaouira the mildest nights, at about 13 °C: weather for walks by the ocean rather than for swimming.
The desert hardly sees any rain. Errachidia, the nearest official station to Merzouga, averages 17 °C by day and 4 °C at night. The dunes of Erg Chebbi lie about 300 metres lower and are usually a little warmer, but nights there can still get close to freezing. Our season-by-season guide to the Sahara has more on winter in the dunes.
Short days, dark skies
In Marrakech the sun rises between about 07:15 and 07:30 and sets between about 17:30 and 17:40 (GMT, which Morocco now keeps all year): about 10 hours of daylight, the shortest of the year. In Merzouga, further east, the sun sets about a quarter of an hour earlier.
The long nights have one advantage in the desert: the stars. In 2026 the new moon falls on 9 December and the Geminid meteor shower peaks on 14 December with no moon in the way, so the nights of 13 and 14 December are excellent for shooting stars. The full moon of 24 December lights up the dunes on Christmas Eve but hides the fainter stars, and on New Year's Eve the moon doesn't rise over Merzouga until about 01:30, so midnight is dark.
Christmas in Morocco
Morocco is a Muslim country, and 25 December is not a public holiday: it is an ordinary working day. Souks, shops, restaurants and monuments keep their usual hours, and outside the hotels Christmas is low-key.
The festive side happens mostly behind hotel and riad doors. Several of the big hotels in Marrakech hold a Christmas Eve dinner and a Christmas Day brunch, and some riads cook a special dinner for their guests: ask when you book. Bakeries fill their windows with cakes at the end of the year, Yule logs included, but they sell above all for New Year's Eve.
If you would like to go to Mass, Marrakech's Catholic church, the Église des Saints-Martyrs in the Gueliz district, built in 1928, still has an active parish of mostly foreign residents and students. Check the Christmas service times with the parish directly.
New Year's Eve: Marrakech or the desert
31 December is a working day too, while 1 January is a public holiday, when banks and offices close (a Friday in 2027). Many Moroccan families mark the night at home, with a cake and the New Year's TV shows; others travel, so Marrakech and Merzouga fill with Moroccan visitors as well as foreign ones.
In Marrakech
The city is at its fullest: in recent years its hotels and riads have been reported full for the night of 31 December. Many hotels, and some riads, sell that night as a package with a compulsory gala dinner, sometimes with a minimum stay of several nights. Read the conditions before you pay, and book a restaurant table early if you are not eating at your hotel.
In the desert
Seeing the new year in from the dunes of Erg Chebbi is a popular choice: dinner in the camp, music around the fire, then the first sunrise of the year from the top of a dune. It is also the night the camps fill first, so reserve months ahead; some take bookings for 31 December in the summer. On our 3-day Merzouga desert tour the night in the camp is the second one, so leaving Marrakech on 30 December puts you in the dunes on New Year's Eve. Days 1 and 3 are long drives (8 to 10 hours with stops), and with sunset around 17:30 the last stretch is often driven after dark.
Plan for the cold: after sunset the temperature falls fast. Camps provide thick blankets; a luxury desert camp in Merzouga adds a tent with its own bathroom and hot shower, and some camps have heaters. A down jacket and a hat make the evening by the fire far more pleasant.
Close to Marrakech
If two long driving days don't fit, an evening in the Agafay desert gives you stony hills, a sunset with the Atlas on the horizon and dinner in a camp 45 minutes from the city, with the option to sleep there. Dress as warmly as for the dunes, and book the 31st just as early.
Snow in the Atlas and winter roads
The High Atlas is usually under snow from about December to March. The snow makes the drive over the Tizi n'Tichka (2,260 m), the pass on the road to Ouarzazate and the desert, beautiful, but now and then it closes the road. In December 2025 snow stopped traffic on the pass on 1 December, for a few hours until the ploughs had cleared it, and again on 16 December; just before New Year, a cold front brought heavy snow to the High Atlas and disrupted the pass once more.
So leave some slack in December: don't book a flight home on the evening you get back from the desert. On our tours we adapt the route and the pace to the season.
Imlil, at about 1,740 metres at the foot of Toubkal, can be white in December, and our day trip to Imlil is an easy to moderate walk between Berber villages: bring warm clothes and shoes with good grip. Toubkal itself becomes a winter ascent, with crampons and an ice axe. The ski resort of Oukaïmeden relies on natural snow and is being rebuilt until about the end of 2027: check what is running before you pack skis.
Spanish passport holders: since the 2023 earthquake, Spain has advised against travel to Al Haouz province, which includes Imlil, Toubkal and part of Agafay, so check that advice and your travel insurance.
Crowds and prices
December comes in two halves:
- From 1 to about 19 December, the country is calm, between the autumn holidays and Christmas. Rooms and desert camps are easier to find.
- From about 20 December to 2 January, Marrakech and the desert have their busiest time of the year. European schools break up (in France, from 19 December 2026 to 4 January 2027), and Moroccans travel too.
What goes first: desert camps for 31 December, luxury camps above all, then well-placed riads with heating, then New Year's Eve dinners. Prices follow demand, with higher rates and minimum stays over the holidays. If your dates include Christmas or New Year, book the camp and the riad first, ideally several months ahead. From the first week of January, things calm down again.
What to pack
Think in layers: a T-shirt can be enough at midday in the sun, and an hour after sunset you will want a down jacket.
- A warm jacket, a hat and light gloves for the desert and the mountains.
- A fleece for evenings in the riad, and something warm to sleep in.
- A waterproof jacket for Fes and the north.
- Sunglasses and sunscreen: the winter sun is strong in the desert and at altitude.
Our desert packing list covers the small bag to take to the camp.
Our December ideas
- Early December: the desert in the calm first half of the month, ideally under the Geminids.
- New Year in the dunes: the 3-day Merzouga tour leaving on 30 December, with a luxury camp for more comfort on a cold night.
- Close to Marrakech: an evening in Agafay.
- Snow without the long drive: a day in Imlil.
Tell us your dates on WhatsApp, especially if they include 31 December: we will check which camps still have room and suggest a route that suits the season.