The short answer
Marrakech tap water is treated and locals drink it every day, but on a short trip most visitors drink bottled or filtered water. Even safe water can upset a stomach that is not used to it. Mint tea, made with boiling water, is fine, and in the city most people brush their teeth with tap water without trouble.
In more detail
The city's mains water is treated and chlorinated to national standards. The issue for a visitor is adjustment, not contamination: any unfamiliar water can unsettle a stomach for a day or two. On a trip of a few days to a couple of weeks, bottled or filtered water is the simple way to avoid losing an afternoon in your riad. Bottled water is sold in every corner shop and supermarket.
Outside the city it changes. In small Atlas villages and mountain guesthouses, water may come straight from a spring or through old pipes. In Agafay and Sahara camps it is usually drawn from a well or trucked in, fine for washing but not for drinking. Clear spring water can still carry giardia, so do not drink it untreated. For a trek, pack a filter or purification tablets.
Ice in drinks at reputable restaurants and rooftops is generally fine; skip it only at the most basic places. For babies, use bottled water for drinking and for making up formula. Plastic waste is a real problem in Morocco, so a reusable bottle refilled with filtered water is the greener habit, and many of the better riads will refill yours.
Bottled water and snacks are on board on all our day trips, and the evening food tour includes bottled water.
Good to know
- Drink bottled or filtered water for the first week.
- Brushing teeth with tap water is usually fine in the city; switch to bottled in rural guesthouses and camps.
- Pack oral rehydration salts, sold in any pharmacy.