Morocco Public Holidays & Festivals

What are Morocco's national public holidays?

Morocco observes a mix of fixed national holidays (Gregorian calendar) and moveable Islamic holidays (Hijri lunar calendar). On public holidays, government offices, banks and some businesses close, though tourist sites, riads, restaurants and most excursion operators keep running. The following fixed dates are observed every year.

• 1 January — New Year's Day
• 11 January — Manifesto of Independence Day (commemorating the 1944 independence document)
• 1 May — Labour Day
• 30 July — Throne Day (anniversary of King Mohammed VI's accession in 1999 — one of the country's most celebrated holidays)
• 14 August — Oued Ed-Dahab Allegiance Day
• 20 August — Revolution of the King and the People Day
• 21 August — Youth Day (King's birthday)
• 6 November — Green March Day (commemorating the 1975 march into Western Sahara)
• 18 November — Independence Day (from French Protectorate, 1956)

Which Islamic holidays affect excursion logistics?

The Islamic calendar is lunar and roughly 11 days shorter than the Gregorian year, so these holidays drift earlier each year. The following have the most noticeable effect on getting around — and on running day trips.

• Ramadan: the month of fasting; roadside cafés on excursion routes adjust hours, the afternoon pace slows, and evenings turn festive. Day trips still run, but plan food and stops around the fasting hours. See the dedicated Ramadan travel guide for detail.
• Eid al-Fitr (end of Ramadan): a 1–3 day public holiday when Morocco essentially pauses and many Moroccans travel home; expect packed roads beforehand and lightly staffed excursions on the day itself.
• Eid al-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice): the larger of the two Eids; 1–3 days of holiday roughly 70 days after Eid al-Fitr. Roads are very busy in the days before and some operators reduce service on the day.
• Islamic New Year (Ras as-Sana): 1 Muharram; a quieter holiday than the two Eids, with little impact on day trips.
• Mawlid an-Nabi (Prophet's Birthday): warmly celebrated, with street processions, music and sweets in many medinas — a colourful day to be in town between excursions.
• Yennayer (Amazigh New Year): 13 January; an increasingly public Berber heritage celebration, especially vivid in the Atlas and the south where many day trips go.

Which festivals make great day-trip targets?

Beyond the public holidays, Morocco's festival calendar offers genuine cultural highlights — and several are perfectly placed to build a day trip or short excursion around.

• Gnaoua World Music Festival, Essaouira (late June): four days of free outdoor concerts pairing Gnaoua master musicians with international artists on the ramparts and squares. With Essaouira only about 3 hours from Marrakech, it is a classic festival day-trip or short coastal break — book accommodation a year ahead if you stay over.
• Rose Festival, Kelaât M'Gouna (May): three days of parades and rose-water sales in the Dadès Valley town that processes the bulk of Morocco's rose harvest. An atmospheric small-town festival that pairs naturally with an overnight excursion toward the gorges and kasbahs.
• Marrakech International Film Festival (late November/early December): ten days of international and Arab cinema across the medina and the Palais des Congrès; red-carpet events bring global stars to Jemaa el-Fnaa — easy to enjoy from a Marrakech base between day trips.
• Fes Festival of World Sacred Music (June): ten days of Sufi, gospel, classical Indian and spiritual music in the courtyards of old Fes palaces — a reason to base in Fes for northern excursions.
• Tan-Tan Moussem (variable, April–May): a UNESCO-listed nomadic gathering in the deep south; camel races, music and a concentration of Saharan and Mauritanian culture, for travellers ranging further afield.
• Moussem of Moulay Idriss II, Fes (variable, August–September): an annual saint's festival at the medina shrine, with processions and traditional music filling the quarter for several days.

How do holidays affect running day trips?

Throne Day (30 July) is the most significant fixed holiday, with festivities, parades and fireworks in Marrakech, Rabat and other cities. Offices close for 1–2 days but excursion infrastructure runs largely as normal, and the celebratory mood makes it a lively time to be out. Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha are when Morocco most visibly pauses: roads are crowded in the days before as Moroccans travel home, many shops close, and the streets fall unexpectedly quiet on the day itself — which can affect pickup times and the availability of roadside stops on a longer excursion.

For travellers these moments can be quietly memorable — the stillness of an Eid morning, the festival colour of Throne Day. The practical advice for day trips is to confirm your excursion and pickup ahead of the two Eids, allow extra time on the roads in the run-up, and check that roadside facilities on your route will be open on the day itself.

When is Ramadan in Morocco in the coming years?

Ramadan shifts roughly eleven days earlier each Gregorian year. Dates depend on the moon sighting and are confirmed by Morocco's Ministry of Habous only a day or two before the start. The approximate windows for the coming years are as follows — useful to know, as the daytime fast changes how roadside stops on excursion routes operate.

• 2027: approximately 28 January – 26 February
• 2028: approximately 17 January – 15 February
• 2029: approximately 6–25 January

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