Marrakech in December: weather, temperatures and tips
Winter and its two faces: 20°C (68°F) in the sun, 7°C at night, the snow-capped Atlas in the background. Outside the holidays, low season and low prices. Around Christmas and New Year, a lively parenthesis where rates double. A month for the light and for walking.
December brings winter to Marrakech. The average high drops to 20°C (68°F), the low to 7°C, and the 21st gives the shortest day of the year - barely more than ten hours of light. In the sun, the day stays mild and made for walking. At night the cold settles in, sometimes with a dawn frost. It’s low season and one of the cheapest months - with one short, sharp exception: the year-end holidays, when prices double for about ten days.
Marrakech weather in December
At 20°C average high and 7°C low, December resembles January: mild in the sun, cold in the shade and at night. The dry air doesn’t hold the warmth, and the temperature drops fast after sunset, around 6.30pm. Mornings are often misty over the Haouz plain, and a dawn frost isn’t rare.
Rain falls on about six days for 24 mm, in short spells between long sunshine, seven hours a day. It’s also the month when the Atlas is at its most photogenic from Marrakech: on clear days, the snow-capped peaks stand out sharply behind the palms and the ramparts.
Your day, hour by hour
| Time | Feel | What you do with it |
|---|---|---|
| 8-10am | 8-11°C, cold | Medina at wake-up, sometimes in mist, well wrapped |
| 11am-4pm | 17-20°C in the sun | Gardens and ramparts, the white Atlas on the horizon |
| 5-7pm | dropping under 12°C | Hammam, then dinner indoors |
| night | 7°C, sometimes less | Riad heating, year-end parties late in the month |
What to pack
December travels in layers, like the middle of winter. A shirt for midday, a proper jumper and jacket for morning and evening, which fall fast and cold. Riad heating is the priority check: pisé and tadelakt interiors hold the cool, and a place that doesn’t mention it can be freezing by 10pm. Swimming needs a heated pool. Without heating, the water sits around 11-13°C. Closed shoes for the medina, sometimes damp, round out the case.
Crowds and prices in December
Outside the holidays, December is a quiet low season: uncluttered medina, riads among the cheapest of the year, around £52-£76 a night double in a boutique riad. Everything shifts for about ten days, from Christmas Eve to 2 January: the city takes in a New Year’s Eve crowd, the best addresses run full and rates can double. Christmas school holidays reinforce the movement. For the holidays, book two to three months ahead. For quiet and low prices, aim for the first fortnight. To compare, see our riads and hotels.
What to do in Marrakech in December
December plays the holiday card: riads and palaces put on lights and New Year’s Eve menus, and the tail end of the Marrakech International Film Festival spills into the first days of the month, with its last free screenings on Jemaa el-Fna. By day, you walk more than you swim - medina, gardens, palaces, museums - and on the 21st, the shortest day of the year, the sun skims the ramparts as early as 4pm, ahead of the hammam at the end of a cold day.
It’s the start of the snow season. The Oukaïmeden resort, about 1h 30m away, opens its runs when the snowpack allows, usually from December or January: you can see the snow in the morning and be back in Marrakech for dinner. The Ourika valley stays doable as a day trip. The Agafay desert works well in daytime, but nights under canvas are cold: check the camp’s heating.
On the bill in December
Our verdict on December
December wears two faces. Outside the holidays, it’s a month for the quiet, the low prices, walking and the snowy Atlas - provided you accept cold evenings and pick a well-heated place. Around Christmas and New Year, it’s a lively, pricey parenthesis to book long in advance.
Skip December for the pool and evening rooftops. Keep it for the light and the mountain.
To stretch winter, see January, and for the annual picture, our best time to visit.
