A Guide to Essaouira Morocco | City Guide

Have you ever heard of Essaouira {pronounced Essa-wae-ra}? No, well, we’ve just returned and prepared a guide to Essaouira Morocco including all the must know and do. The city of often overlooked for the Moroccan capital or Casablanca but it can hold its own.

Essaouira is the port city of Morocco and is located on the western region of the country on the Atlantic coast. Unlike the capital Marrakech, Essaouira prides itself in being a more laid back version of the capital but with its own distinctive characteristics. The city of Essaouira is known as the windy city of Morocco because of the constant winds that engulf the city especially the beach which is best for surfing than sunbathing.

Our trip to Essaouira was born out of wanting to escape the British winter than wanting to specifically visit this coastal city. We, however, are pleased that we chose Essaouira over Marrakech as the flight prices where very affordable and the accommodation options were abundant. The city of Essaouira is serviced only by one airline, which is Ryanair, a UK budget airline and only has one flight a day.

A Guide to Essaouira Morocco | Things To Know

• Morocco more especially cities outside Marrakech are card-less places and prefer payments in cash only. We found some restaurants didn’t accept cards and for those that did, American Express is not accepted
• There is no train in Essaouira so mode of transportation is mostly via taxi or local buses. Whilst there is a good bus service between Essaouira and Marrakech its not the same for other areas outside the city.
• Public wifi is not available, there is a public telecom that doesn’t work and not all places offer wifi.
• Public toilets are available at the beach but I wouldn’t recommend them and also you have to pay to use, which is not a problem except they are not well maintained.
• Essaouira beach is not great for sunbathing due to the frequent winds but its great for bird watching.

How to travel to and Around Essaouira

Essaouira is small and is serviced only by Ryanair with one flight a day. From London the flight is 3 hours long and Morocco is an hour ahead of London. The city offers two transportation options; private or airport tax and bus and of these three I would recommend you book a taxi in advance though the prices range from 140 dirhams (£11) thru to 230 dirhams (£18). We booked in advance with booking.com and paid 165 dirhams (£13) each way, our driver was waiting for us at the airport and at the hotel.

The journey from Essaouira to the airport is approximately 30 minutes depending on where in the city you’re travelling from but can be longer with the bus. If you’re travelling from Marrakech for a day trip, most tour companies offer a good deal but the bus CTM is pretty decent and highly recommend by those who’ve used there service. Because Essaouira is pretty small you won’t need to use the bus to get around unless maybe a day trip to Sidi Kaouki.

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Where to stay in Essaouira

Essaouira has accommodation options for every traveller, from affordable, mid range to expensive but all are gorgeous in there own way and these are the options that we highly recommend. Depending on what type of accommodation you’re after, you can choose from hostels, hotels or riads. For this particular visit to Essaouira we chose to stay in a hotel by the beach ‘Hotel Cote Ocean Mogador‘ and we were happy with our choice. The staff were super friendly, the rooms were very big, clean and beds super comfortable.

Budget-friendly: Green Milk Hostel – located in the heart of Essaouira, very laid back and offers a cool and authentic Moroccan experience.

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Mid-range: Hotel Cote Ocean Mogador – located along the beach front and 10 minutes walk to the Medina.

High-end: La Medina {beach front} or Salut Maroc! {heart of Medina} – both gorgeous, Salut offers the colours and designs that people often seek in Morocco and La Medina it your favourite Spa and Golf hotel.

Booking.com

A Guide to Essaouira, Morocco | Things to do

Essaouira in Arabic means ‘ little picture’ and thanks to its white and blue Medina, the gorgeous blue fishing boats and the colourful architectural designs, the port city of Essaouira has earned its picturesque name. Unlike the melting point of Marrakech, this bright and breezy city is more laid back and welcomes various travellers from surfers to solo adventurers. We spent 3 days and 3 nights in the city and this guide to Essaouira Morocco focuses on the places we visited and highly recommend.

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Visit the Port of Essaouira

The port of Essaouira was founded in 1770 and was once the most important trading port in Morocco transporting goods to the Americans and Europe. It was once known as the port of Timbuktu because almost of goods from Africa ended up here including slaves. Today the port is home to the traditional blue fishing boats and though not a trading port anymore, its a place you can buy fresh fish and watch the fishermen bring in their haul.

Essaouira’s Ramparts

Essaouira’s ramparts were built in 1970 by the French to protect the city from invaders, the ramparts are a two part attractions. The Skala du Port where the city meets the ocean and acts as a gateway to the fishing port. And the Skala du Ville perfect up high on the citadel lined with bronze canons facing the ocean. I highly recommend a visit to the citadel {ramparts} as it offers a great view over the ocean and of the city. Entry to the citadel is 10dirhams {£0.80} for locals and 50dirhams {£3.50} for foreigners a bit cheeky but understandable.

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Visit the Medina {Old Town}

Essaouira’s Medina is smaller in size compared to that of Marrakech and because of this you can enter from anywhere and still find your way. It is very had to get lost in the old town because every alleyway is lined with cute crafts shop, handmade items and perfect place to purchase souveniers. If you’re looking for somewhere central to stay in the city then the Medina is the perfect place, the Salut Maroc! is a great place. The Medina (formerly called the Mogador) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the centre Place Moulay Hassan is the perfect place to relax and people watch.

Galerie La Kasbah

The galerie la Kasbah is located in the Medina and is housed in an 18th century riad and offers the very best of local art that Essaouira has to offer. Entry to the galerie is free but you’re asked not to take pictures of the art work in any of the many rooms scattered on 4 floors. The galerie is located at 4 Rue de Tetouan, Essaouira 44000, Morocco and is open 7-days a week.

Mega Loft

The mega loft is one of the most cool cafes/restaurants located in the heart of the Medina, it offers incredible views of the Medina and every night they play live music as you eat. Price wise, there are very affordable for Essaouira and their service is fast and food is very delicious from authentic Moroccan foods to western dishes.

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Sidi Kaouki

Sidi Kaouki is a small town located south of Essaouira and a perfect destination for wind and kite surfers and beach goers though the winds are unforgiving. We took a day trip to this small town and had the best time and on our way back we saw Goats in a tree which is not a myth or planned, its a thing.

The Essaouira Beach

Even though the Essaouira beach is not like your usual Spanish city side, it has its own charm except for constant winds. Our hotel was located a minutes walk to the beach and we made most of our time there we watched the sunset and relaxed. The beach may not be somewhere you want to lounge due to the strong winds, its still perfect.

Visit a Riad

A Riad is a traditional Moroccan house with an interior garden or court yard and more Riads are at least 2 stories and have a fountain in the court yard. There are so many Riads in Morocco and in Essaouira we opted for one located in the Medina next to La Table Madada, the blue and green hues makes it stand out from the crowd.

A Guide to Essaouira | Where to Eat

Mega Loft is a cool and authentic cafe/restaurant, gallery and shop located in the heart of the Medina. People had raved about their visit to this cute hub and we were not disappointed with live music every night. We were serenaded with good tunes as we drunk the best mojitos on this side of Africa enjoyed the delicious #foodblogger foods.

Salut Maroc! a boutique hotel with a roof top restaurant offering 180 degrees view of the Atlantic Ocean. This art boutique not only boasts the building Moroccan mosaic but has the best fresh fish ever and we had an amazing time.

La Table Madada is a beautiful boutique hotel and restaurant housed in the old carob bean warehouse near the city walls in Medina. We fell in love with the interior design which is a combination of European and Moroccan style and had to check out their famous seafood and tagine. Whilst recommendations are highly recommended, we turned up on the evening {opens at 7pm} and thankfully they had space for 2.

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African Roots is a small beautiful cafe that boast live music and delicious drinks and whilst there menu is limited the food they serve is absolutely delicious and staff are very friendly and attentive.

Restaurant Cafe Des Arts is a quaint and cute little place to eat located in the centre of the Medina and has a nice rooftop for gorgeous city views. This was the first place we found that we liked on our first night in the city and we highly recommend it. There tagine is second to none and whilst we loved the La Table version, this was our most favourite of all.

Essaouira is small but very beautiful, it is somewhere you want to visit for a more relaxing holiday. Even though the beach is windy, you can still enjoy a day at the beach, walk the promenade, watch the fishermen haul their catch and listen to live music. A guide to Essaouira Morocco contains all the things we enjoyed and recommend about the city.