Mars has plenty of water, you just have to have the equipment in place to get at it and separate out the H2 from the O.
The real problem is getting there. Life on the surface is technologically much easier to deal with than the moon. You don’t need the bulky suit on mars. You don’t have a 2 week day and two week night like the moon. Radiation levels at the surface are comparable to what astronauts in low earth orbit experience. There are caves on mars that could serve as handy shelters if the entrances are covered. Its cold on mars but the day night temperature fluctuations aren’t nearly as wide as they are on the moon.