VacationSelector
The Koutoubia Mosque from its gardens, Marrakech
MarrakechThe Koutoubia Mosque from its gardens
Camelback Mountain above the city, Scottsdale
ScottsdaleCamelback Mountain above the city

Photos: Marrakech by Jorge Franganillo, CC BY 2.0, cropped; Scottsdale by Visitor7, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped.

Marrakech or Scottsdale?

Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.

Choose Marrakech for

  • prices
  • culture and sights
  • food and drink

What lies behind each score is written up on Marrakech’s own page.

Choose Scottsdale for

  • families
  • day trips
  • nightlife

What lies behind each score is written up on Scottsdale’s own page.

Scoreboard

Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.

Beaches & swimming. Marrakech 7, Scottsdale 8: Scottsdale leads by 1 points.
Food & drink. Marrakech 64, Scottsdale 46: Marrakech leads by 18 points.
Culture & sights. Marrakech 76, Scottsdale 38: Marrakech leads by 38 points.
Nightlife. Marrakech 33, Scottsdale 52: Scottsdale leads by 19 points.
Nature & outdoors. Marrakech 70, Scottsdale 68: Marrakech leads by 2 points.
Day trips. Marrakech 28, Scottsdale 50: Scottsdale leads by 22 points.
Good for families. Marrakech 25, Scottsdale 60: Scottsdale leads by 35 points.
Getting around. Marrakech 38, Scottsdale 20: Marrakech leads by 18 points.
Shopping & style. Marrakech 72, Scottsdale 60: Marrakech leads by 12 points.
Affordability. Marrakech 72, Scottsdale 32: Marrakech leads by 40 points.
Live music & performing arts. Marrakech 25, Scottsdale 40: Scottsdale leads by 15 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Marrakech 75, Scottsdale 72: Marrakech leads by 3 points.
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What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Marrakech and Scottsdale.

Your match

Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.

Marrakech
Best match
49match

Wins on prices and culture and sights with your weighting.

Scottsdale
46match

Wins on families and day trips with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.

Marrakech in July

38 °Cdaytime high
21 °Cnight-time low
1 mmrain in the month
11 hsunshine a day
14 hdaylight a day

Scottsdale in July

41 °Cdaytime high
29 °Cnight-time low
23 mmrain in the month
No recordsunshine a day
14 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°40°50°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

010203040JFMAMJJASOND
MarrakechScottsdale

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Marrakech: 1991-2020 normals, Marrakech (5.1 km from centre). Scottsdale: 1991-2020 normals, Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport (13.3 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureMarrakechScottsdale
Official languageArabic, Standard Moroccan Tamazight-
CurrencyMoroccan Dirham (MAD)US Dollar (USD)
SocketsCE50 HzAB120 V, 60 Hz
Driving sideRightRight
Time zoneUTC+1UTC-7
Emergency numberPolice 19/112, ambulance 15, fire 15911
Elevation465 m380 m
Main airportMarrakesh Menara Airport (RAK)6 km from centre113 non-stop destinationsPhoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)10 km from centre148 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year11 days12 days

By the numbers

MeasureMarrakechScottsdale
City population1,002,697241,361
People per km²4,360-
Museums within 10 km1410
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km11

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Marrakech or Scottsdale somewhere new.

Browse every destination

Sources

Structured data from Wikidata (CC0). Weather data by Meteostat. Meteorological data provided by NOAA, DWD and others. Rainfall where no rain gauge is within 25 km is from the TerraClimate 1991-2020 climatology (Abatzoglou et al. 2018, Scientific Data), read at the city. Airport data from OurAirports (public domain). Public holidays from Nager.Date (MIT). Non-stop route lists from the "Airlines and destinations" tables on English Wikipedia airport articles, by Wikipedia contributors, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Currency from the ISO 4217 register maintained by SIX, cross-checked against country data from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Price level from World Bank open data (PPP conversion factor for private consumption and official exchange rate), CC BY 4.0. Time zones from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0); clock offsets computed from the IANA time zone database. Exchange rates via Frankfurter, based on European Central Bank reference rates. Daylight hours computed from each destination's latitude using the NOAA solar position algorithm.

Category scores are our editorial verdict under rubric v3, each placed against the same fixed benchmark cities; the climate figures are measured. How the scores are set. Snapshot generated 2026-11-01. Daily budgets are estimates from country price levels.