Coastal Morocco

Many people who travel in Morocco tend to think in terms of visiting the major cities or the mountains. However, the country has a long coast line (particularly along the Atlantic coast) and this has a number of destinations in its own right. Options range from visiting the various towns, wild beaches, superb surfing and opportunities for wind surfing.

The coastal towns and cities stretch from Tangiers in the north (30 minutes by fast ferry from Spain) down to the Mauritanian border in the Sahara.

Tangiers has an odd reputation, in the main informed by its pre-independence past. The reality is it is quite a pleasant town, with an impressive beach accessible from the town center. If you come to Morocco from Spain you will probably arrive here and it is worth spending some time rather than immediately hurrying on.

Next down the coast is the old Spanish town of Azila. It is a small pleasant place that is just over 1 hour from Tangiers. The old town is full of old whitewashed houses (with the occasional spectacular wall mural) overlooking lengthy beaches.

From there the next major coastal towns are Casablanca and Rabat. Probably not worth visiting, unless you fly into Casablanca or have a particular reason to visit.

About 2 hours from Marrakesh is the stunning town of Essaouira. Again this is full of beautiful white washed houses, surrounded by impressive city walls (great for watching sunsets). The town has all sorts of connections '" with Jimi Hendrix and Orson Welles amongst others. Here the Atlantic is rough and the beaches impressive. In fact the beach really now continues all the way to the southern end of Morocco.

Less interesting, but again a place you might find yourself flying to, is Agadir. It has impressive beaches but is more a package holiday destination and is also a very modern city (the old one was destroyed in an earthquake in 1960).

Further south the coast becomes more and more remote. The small Spanish town of Sidi Ifni is a good base to explore the massive beaches that stretch for miles.

The whole coast faces straight onto the Atlantic so the sea can be cold most of the year. Nonetheless there are excellent opportunities for surfing (notably around Sidi Ifni and north of Agadir) and wind surfing (Essaouira). But the beaches are often so quiet, and so wild, that walking and horse riding (or camels in some places) are as enjoyable as any activity actually in the sea.