Visiting Morocco During Ramadan: How to Travel Respectfully and Well

Yes, you can visit Morocco during Ramadan, and many travellers find it one of the most rewarding times to go. Nobody expects a non-Muslim visitor to fast, hotels and riads keep feeding their guests, plenty of restaurants in Marrakech and Fes stay open by day, and the main sights keep running. What changes is the rhythm of the day: calm mornings, a slow and tired afternoon, streets that empty at sunset while families break the fast, then evenings that run late. Alcohol is harder to find, opening hours shift, and eating, drinking or smoking in the street by day is best avoided out of respect. Ramadan 2027 is expected to begin around 8 February 2027, but the exact date is only fixed by the moon sighting the evening before.

What Ramadan is, and when it falls in 2027

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar and the holy month of fasting for Muslims. From dawn to sunset, those who fast take no food, no drink (not even water) and no cigarettes. The fast is broken at sunset with a meal Moroccans call ftour (iftar in much of the Muslim world), and many people eat again before dawn. Because the lunar year is shorter than the solar one, Ramadan comes around 10 to 12 days earlier each year.

Morocco does not fix the date in advance. On the 29th day of the month before Ramadan, the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs gathers reports from observers across the country looking for the new crescent after sunset, and announces the result the same evening. In 2026, Ramadan began in Morocco on Thursday 19 February after such a sighting.

Tip: Treat these dates as estimates until Morocco's official announcement. Keep a day of flexibility around the start of the month and around Eid, especially for trains and transfers.

What changes for visitors

Opening hours and sights

• Shops, banks, monuments and many restaurants open later and close earlier. Travellers report that little opens before about 10 am.
• The big sights stay open, but their hours can change during the month. Check on the spot or with your host rather than trusting hours found online.
• Around sunset the streets go quiet: people are at home for ftour. Activity picks up again an hour or two later and carries on late into the night.
• Some restaurants close in the late afternoon to prepare ftour, then reopen for the evening.

Eating out

Non-Muslim visitors are not expected to fast. Hotel and riad dining rooms and many restaurants used to foreign guests keep serving breakfast and lunch; the UK Foreign Office notes that some screen off the dining area so that diners are out of sight of guests who are fasting. Small local cafés and snack stalls often stay shut until sunset, and food can be harder to find in rural areas away from the tourist routes.

Many restaurants and hotels offer a ftour menu at sunset. It is the easiest way to taste the dishes of the month: dates with milk or water, harira (a tomato, lentil and chickpea soup), and chebakia, sesame pastries soaked in honey.

Alcohol

Expect it to be scarce. France Diplomatie states plainly that alcohol cannot be bought during Ramadan, and travellers report that shops and supermarkets stop selling it from about ten days before the month begins. Some hotels, riads and licensed restaurants keep serving non-Muslim guests, others stop for the month: if it matters to you, ask before you book. All year round, drinking anywhere other than a licensed bar, hotel or restaurant is illegal and can lead to arrest.

Slow days, lively evenings

Fasting is tiring, and official advice warns that people may be tired in the late afternoon and early evening, and that driving can be erratic around sunset as everyone hurries home. Plan visits for the morning, keep the late afternoon gentle, and avoid road transfers timed to arrive right at sunset.

After ftour the mood changes completely: families go out walking, cafés fill up, mosques overflow for the night prayers and the streets around the largest ones are sometimes closed to traffic. Travellers often say these evenings are the highlight of a Ramadan trip. Dinner, for those who eat a second meal, often comes late, around 11 pm or midnight.

No clock change in 2027

Until 2026, Morocco put its clocks back an hour for Ramadan. Since 20 September 2026 the country has been on GMT all year round, under a decree the government describes as permanent, so no Ramadan time change is expected in 2027. Double-check your flight and train times all the same.

Etiquette: being a respectful guest

Eating, drinking and smoking in public

During daylight hours, avoid eating, drinking, smoking or chewing gum in the street. The UK and Canadian governments both advise this, and the UK adds swearing to the list. Carry water and drink discreetly in your riad, in a restaurant or in a car. Late in the day, tempers can be shorter: a little patience goes a long way.

Dress

France Diplomatie asks visitors to dress particularly modestly during this period, and the UK Foreign Office notes that clothing that ignores local codes is more likely to offend in Ramadan. In practice, cover shoulders and knees in the medinas, men included, and choose loose clothes. The rules are more relaxed by a hotel pool.

Mosques and prayer

In Morocco, non-Muslims may not enter mosques, apart from a few major sites open to visitors. You can, however, watch from a respectful distance as the faithful gather outside the large mosques at prayer time. Do not photograph people praying.

If you are invited to ftour

An invitation to share ftour with a family is an honour and the best way to understand the month. A few pointers:

• Arrive a little before sunset. Nobody eats before the call to prayer, and your hosts will be waiting for it too.
• Bring a small gift such as pastries, dates or fruit.
• Dress modestly, accept what you are offered and expect a generous table.
• The first part of the meal is often light. Some families sit down to a fuller dinner later in the evening.

What the law says about eating in public

Article 222 of the Moroccan Penal Code makes it an offence for a person commonly known to be Muslim to break the fast openly in a public place during Ramadan without a reason recognised by Islam. The penalty is one to six months in prison and a fine; press reports do not all give the same amount for the fine.

What this means in practice:

• The text targets Muslims. It does not mention non-Muslim foreigners, and tourists eating in a restaurant are not what it is aimed at. Official advice is still to avoid eating, drinking or smoking in public by day, because it can cause offence.
• If you are Muslim, or may be taken for a Moroccan Muslim, for example a Moroccan living abroad, the article can apply to you.
• It is enforced: in 2022, police arrested customers of a Casablanca café who were eating during the day in Ramadan, after residents complained. They were later released without further proceedings.
• The article is debated in Morocco and campaigns have called for its repeal. When we checked in October 2026, we found no report that it had been changed.

This is a summary, not legal advice. When in doubt, be discreet.

Eid al-Fitr and getting around

Ramadan ends with Eid al-Fitr, a public holiday when families get together. Many Moroccans travel home for it, and some take several extra days off.

• Trains are packed in the days before and after Eid. In 2026 the national railway, ONCF, ran a special timetable from 17 to 29 March with extra Al Atlas trains on the main lines, including Marrakech–Casablanca–Fes, and fewer trains on the day of Eid itself.
• Buy train tickets early on the ONCF website or app, and avoid travelling on Eid day if you can.
• Some shops, restaurants and services close for Eid, and closures vary from place to place. Ask your host what will be open.

The upside: why Ramadan can be a great time to go

• The atmosphere. Sunset, when the call to prayer rings out over silent streets, and the long evenings that follow are unlike any other time of year.
• Quieter days. Mornings and early afternoons are calm in the souks and at the sights, which suits travellers who dislike crowds.
• Food. Ftour menus, harira and Ramadan pastries are only around for this month.
• Prices. Do not count on bargains: we found no reliable recent data showing that accommodation prices fall during Ramadan. Compare rates as you would any other time.

Marrakech and Fes: tips city by city

Marrakech

• A good choice for a first Ramadan trip: the city is used to foreign visitors, and restaurants keep serving at lunchtime.
• The Majorelle Garden, the Bahia Palace, the El Badi Palace and the Saadian Tombs stay open during Ramadan, though hours can change. Go in the morning.
• Around the evening prayers, crowds gather near the Koutoubia mosque and nearby roads may close. Watch from a distance, without photographing worshippers.
• After ftour, the medina comes alive. Plan a late dinner and a walk rather than an early night.
• Want a glass of wine with dinner? Ask your hotel or riad before you book.
• A riad with its own kitchen makes lunch simple: see riads and hotels in Marrakech.

Fes

• The Fes medina is a lived-in old city where many small eateries serve local customers and may stay closed until sunset. A riad that cooks lunch on request makes the days easier.
• Souks and workshops keep shorter hours, mainly in the morning and late afternoon. Explore early with a licensed guide and keep the afternoon for rest.
• In the evening, the medina's lanes fill with families out walking and shopping after ftour.
• Leaving for Marrakech or Casablanca by train close to Eid? Book your seats as soon as you know your dates.
• Find your base among riads and hotels in Fes.

Checklist and what to book

• Dates: expect Ramadan from around 8 February 2027 and Eid around 9 or 10 March, confirmed by moon sighting the evening before.
• Stay: choose a riad or hotel that serves meals during the day, in Marrakech or Fes.
• Alcohol: ask before booking if it matters to you.
• Bags: modest, loose clothes and a water bottle you can drink from discreetly.
• Days: sights in the morning, rest in the late afternoon, no road arrivals at sunset.
• Evenings: book at least one ftour, and say yes if a family invites you.
• Near Eid: buy train tickets early and avoid travelling on Eid day.

More planning help is in all our guides.