A WINDOW TO THE WORLD

Desert camps, motorcycle rides, animals galore— is it any wonder that Morocco appeals to kids as much as adults? On a whirlwind adventure, KATIE KITAMURA watches as her children’s horizons broaden.

- KATIE KITAMURA

I'D always wanted to go to Morocco, but in my head it was stubbornly coupled with cumbersome labels like honeymoon or bucket list that is to say, it didn't seem like the kind of place where I might take my kids on their spring break for a bit of sun and relaxation. But earlier this year, I realised that tickets from our home city of New York to Casablanca were cheaper than tickets to San Francisco, the flight was just under six hours, and the time difference a mere five.

At the ages of nine and five, our children, previously so unsuited to long-haul flights, now run through airport terminals animated by the excitement of travel and the prospect of unlimited in-flight screen time. As parents, my husband and I are in the briefest of sweet spots between diapers and adolescence, with children who are increasingly independent but still young enough to happily spend time with us.

And so, we decided upon a family trip to Morocco. Working with Michael Diamond of Cobblestone Private Travel, we put together an itinerary. It was a miracle of planning, fitting neatly inside the nine-day window of our school's spring break and encompassing city, desert, mountain, and sea. There were activities pitched to the interests and attention spans of our children. There were afternoons for swimming and relaxing. No car journey was longer than three hours, and all were broken up by a diverting stop of one kind or another.

In the weeks leading up to our departure, I began to live almost entirely inside my anticipation. I made packing lists and researched the cities and attractions we would be visiting. In the age of Instagram and Tripadvisor and the countless travel blogs that proliferate on the Internet, all recounting with precise detail every contour of a hotel stay or flight, you can begin to feel as if you're travelling before you've even left for the airport.