the surfside of Morocco

the harbour tower

After all these lively cities, the desert and the mountains I needed some relaxation on the beach. We decided to leave the countryside for the ocean. There are some popular beach destinations in Morocco. The most popular one is Agadir because it is reachable by plane non-stop from Europe. Essaouira is the other well known city on the beach.

There are good conections from Marakech to Essaouira. By bus it takes about 4 hours depending on the traffic. This nice former fishermans town grew a lot in the last years. There is a historical town center with a different architecture than other cities in this country. The Romans, the portuguese and Jimi Hendrix conquered this port and left behind their culture. (Jimi spent a couple of days there and he was followed by lots of hippie tourists.) Everything is about fishes and boats in Essaouira. So life is in the harbour and the restaurants downtown. Cheap fish and shellfish is served all over the city.

It has a beautiful endless sandy beach  in the south of the city.  The people of Essouira know the tourists, They charge for everything a high price. So you have to be a good in making deals. You can also find some cheap places and nice people. During summer and automn this town is crowded by surfers. We went their in November were there are less tourists and less noise. It is a good place to relax.

island of Mogador - nature reserve