Camels stand on the sun-soaked sands of Essaouira beach. Their handlers compete for my attention with crashing waves as a horse gracefully gallops through the Essaouira surf. We came for windsurfing lessons on this stretch of Morocco’s Atlantic coast, most famous for being windy.
A coastal community in North Africa, Essaouira is a mix of exotic aromas, cobblestone streets, and some of the friendliest people we have met anywhere.
Camels and Horses on the Beach
Horseback riding and camel riding are popular with tourists and are available on the beach. For us, camel riding in Oman fulfilled our need for this once in a lifetime experience.
Windsurfing and Surfing in Essaouira
Essaouira beach is home to many international surfing and windsurfing competitions. Essaouira kitesurfing is also becoming popular. If you are heading to the beach in Essaouira, be warned that it is famous for its wind. It’s a wind that rarely quits.
Windsurfing, kitesurfing, and surfboarding are all available as lessons in the famous Essaouira surf, or as board hire from several spots along Essaouira beach. Our first day was too windy for beginners to windsurf, so our girls opted for Essaouira surfing lessons. They enjoyed it enough to stick with it during the week. While there are several shops along the street offering a windsurfing, kitesurfing or board surfing lessons.
How to Get to Essaouira
The easiest ways to get to Essaouira are self-drive, with a tour, or to take the bus from Marrakech.
• Rent a car in Morocco
The drive from Marrakech is less than 3 hours on a well-paved road. While there are no cars allowed in the old medina, there are at least two large parking lots outside the gates. However, when heading to the Essaouira beach, we had no problem finding street parking.
While we did a handshake deal to rent our car, I don’t recommend it. We were lucky and had no problems, but there was so much potential for things to go wrong. In retrospect, we would have rented our car through Rentalcars.com. We have used them worldwide without any problems, and find that we always get either a lower rate or the same rate as going directly to the suppliers, but overall have fewer problems with Rentalcars.com.
⇒ Click here to check pricing and availability of rental vehicles are in Morocco ⇐
• Tours to Essaouira
• Take the bus to Essaouira
While we drove a rental vehicle, the bus from Marrakech seemed to be a popular option, especially amongst backpackers.
Essaouira Sunsets
Essaouira beach is not a place for sunbathing as the wind blows fine sand everywhere. There are plenty of beachside cafes, and we enjoyed Moroccan mint tea from one of them. If I focus only on the sun, sand, and waves, Essaouira beach could almost be anywhere. Aside from the wind, what makes it unique are horses, camels, birds, and wildly colourful sunsets every night.
I have been to cleaner and more beautiful beaches on tropical islands like Aruba, Samoa, or Rarotonga so why is Essaouira beach one of my favourites? Most likely it is because our visit to Morocco stayed with me. I think it changed me more than any other country we visited. Here we got to know people, to learn about culture and history from them, and to see the world from a different perspective.
Where to Stay in Essaouira Morocco
We love the atmosphere in the older parts of the Moroccan villages. Therefore we opted to stay in the Essaouira medina. We stayed in the Lakhdar Family Suite at Riad Watier in the old medina and recommend it as the perfect room if you have kids.
⇒ Click here to check availability at Riad Watier
Although the beach in Essaouira is lovely, there is more to this town than just the beach. There is more than enough to keep us entertained and busy for five days, especially in Essaouira’s old Medina (the non-European section of town).
Tips Before You Visit Essaouira Beach
- We saw several tourist women in western swimwear. Our girls needed to be in wetsuits to stay warm enough in the water. While less seemed okay on the beach, women are recommended to cover at least shoulders and cleavage in the older parts of town. Otherwise, expect stares.
- There was plenty of free street parking near the beach when we were there.
- Take caution when drinking water in Morocco.
- Carry toilet paper with you.
- There is more to Essaouira than just the beach. We stayed for five days and could have stayed much longer. Here are some of the medina highlights.
- We travelled by train from Fes to Marrakesh. Here we rented a car and had a fascinating Moroccan Road Trip. Essaouira beach was our first stop. From here we headed inland, where we saw goats in argon trees, as this is the first step in the process of making argon oil.
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Morocco Attractions
January 25, 2019 at 8:30 pmGreat spot for kitesurfing, from learner to traditional! We love it!
Rhonda Albom
August 16, 2017 at 12:06 pmEssaouira is one of the fascinating places in the world, well worth a visit.
Anda
August 12, 2017 at 11:44 amYour pictures from Morocco are stunning, Rhonda! I’d love to visit this country but I wonder how safe it is there these days. When where you there?
Rhonda Albom
August 12, 2017 at 1:12 pmThanks for the reminder that I need to add the date. We were there in 2012, and I wouldn’t hesitate to go back now if I had the opportunity.
Lydia C. Lee
August 11, 2017 at 8:53 amWhat stunning photos!
Rhonda Albom
August 12, 2017 at 12:08 amThanks Lydia.
Claire
August 11, 2017 at 7:07 amBeautiful. I love all your pictures. I would love to visit 🙂
Rhonda Albom
August 12, 2017 at 12:05 amI would love to get back there someday.
Indah Nuria Savitri
August 11, 2017 at 2:51 amThose photos are wonderful indeed, Rhonda..I have been to Morocco but not to this part..
Rhonda Albom
August 12, 2017 at 12:05 amEvery part of Morocco was different from the others.
Molly
August 11, 2017 at 1:16 amMorocco looks amazing and your pictures are, as always, stunning. I really love the 2nd on down of the rider
Mollyx
Rhonda Albom
August 12, 2017 at 12:04 amThat rider was pretty amazing in real life.
Kelleyn Rothaermel
August 10, 2017 at 11:05 amWould love to go there someday!
Rhonda Albom
August 12, 2017 at 12:03 amI hope you get a chance to get there.
Patrick Weseman
August 10, 2017 at 7:53 amVery beautiful photos. Thanks for sharing them. You travel to the best places.
Rhonda Albom
August 12, 2017 at 12:01 amWe do the best we can, we love going to new and interesting spots, off the beaten track.
Katherine
August 10, 2017 at 4:59 amThat mid-gallop shot and the one with the seagulls over the boats are just amazing! #OutdoorWednesday
Rhonda Albom
August 11, 2017 at 11:59 pmThanks Katherine. It was pretty cool to see him riding.
Marie-OR
August 10, 2017 at 2:46 amThat beach gallop brings back a fond childhood memory of reading Sham: King of the Wind! What a beautiful, exotic place. How I’d love to go some time.
Rhonda Albom
August 11, 2017 at 11:57 pmI never read that book, but if the rider reminds you of it, it must be pretty special.
image-in-ing
August 10, 2017 at 12:05 amGreat photos here. It’s quite eye-popping for me to see camels on the beach!
Rhonda Albom
August 11, 2017 at 11:55 pmIt was pretty cool to see the camels on the beach.
Judee@gliutenfree A-Z Blog
August 9, 2017 at 11:49 pmfabulous photos- I’ve always wanted to go to Morocco. It seems so exotic and interesting. Thanks for sharing these photos
Rhonda Albom
August 11, 2017 at 11:52 pmIt is both, exotic and interesting. Morocco is one of our favourite places.
Tanja (the Red phone box travels)
August 9, 2017 at 11:39 pmgreat shots!
Rhonda Albom
August 11, 2017 at 11:50 pmThanks Tanja.
Deb Nance
August 9, 2017 at 10:43 pmI’d love to hear more about how Morocco changed you so much.
Rhonda Albom
August 11, 2017 at 11:49 pmIt really opened our eyes to cultural differences and similarities.
stevebethere
August 9, 2017 at 8:08 pmWhat a fab place love the beach and the horses and camels lovely photos especially the waves and the boats docked 🙂
Have a humptastic day Rhonda 😉
Rhonda Albom
August 11, 2017 at 11:46 pmIt was pretty cool to see camels and horses on the beach.
Alissa Apel
August 9, 2017 at 2:47 pmThat photo with the horse is amazing. They look so free! So many boats! What a site!
Rhonda Albom
August 11, 2017 at 11:40 pmWatching him gallop across the beach was pretty amazing too.
Elen @ Elen G
June 6, 2015 at 3:44 amBeautiful images.
Amila
June 5, 2015 at 10:42 pmwow!! Fantastic captures and of course the beach.
I’d love to visit Morocco one day!
Marisol@TravelingSolemates
June 3, 2015 at 2:01 pmHi Rhonda, Morocco had changed me and my husband, too. By the end of our Morocco trip, we got engaged! We traveled to a lot of places in the country and loved each one of them, however, we regret not making it to Essaouira. Your photos show how different it is from all places we visit. There something very easy going about it. We’ve seen camels in the desert but seeing that photo of one in the beach is just awesome!! A camel on the beach with a kite on the background really makes a unique shot.
Rhonda Albom
June 4, 2015 at 8:03 amWow, that is a big change. Morocco will always be really special to you. Essaouira was more relaxed than many of the places in Morocco we visited, but each city or town seemed to have it’s own personality. There are so many interesting things to see in that country, it’s hard to see them all. Maybe you will go back for an anniversary one year, and visit Essaouira then.
Jolie du Pre
June 2, 2015 at 3:19 amWow! What a wonderful place!
Julie K Pick
June 1, 2015 at 7:34 pmI’ve also heard great things about Morocco! Did you hop on your camel and follow that guy? Lovely photos as always, Rhonda!
Jill
June 1, 2015 at 12:48 amI love your photos – especially the camel with the kite surfer in the background. It’s always good to reflect back on a favorite place we’ve been – and this sounds like one of yours.
Shere
June 1, 2015 at 12:08 amSo funny to see a the camel on the beach!! It reminded me the cows of India, I guess each country has its “typical beach animal” 🙂
Rhonda Albom
June 3, 2015 at 9:03 amThe difference is these camels are commercial, there with their owners to sell camel rides to tourists.
Leovi
May 31, 2015 at 10:08 pmI love those pictures full of light, a wonderful place!
David
May 31, 2015 at 9:11 pmEssaouira was nice, way to much wind though. It’s always windy and man it’s blows! There’s lots of activities to do like horse back riding, ATV adventures, Kite surfing and so on. For us when we were just there the water was way to cold so Kite surfing was canceled.
Rhonda Albom
May 31, 2015 at 11:38 pmIt wasn’t too bad when we were there, a few super windy days, but more nice ones. I guess that’s why it is so famous amongst windsurfers. Our girls were fist time surfers and the wind wasn’t too high. Sorry your kite surfing was canceled.
Yolanda Renee
May 31, 2015 at 3:45 pmThe beach, really nothing quite so relaxing. Could use one now , but that would be Ocean City, Maryland not Morocco. Unless wishes suddenly come true. 🙂
Rhonda Albom
May 31, 2015 at 11:40 pmMorocco is more of an activity beach. I don’t remember seeing any sunbathers, or people just lying around. Or people in bikinis either. I wonder what it would have been like in the heat of the summer, we were there at the beginning of the season.
Kim
May 31, 2015 at 1:55 pmI’ve heard many good things about Morocco, and you’ve just added to my impression. Maybe someday.
Rhonda Albom
May 31, 2015 at 11:42 pmWe have been to a lot of countries, but Morocco is a personal favourite destination.
C.Lee McKenzie
May 31, 2015 at 12:18 pmNope. I haven’t made it there, but I think I should based on your post. Thanks for all the great pictures.
Suze The Luxury Columnist
May 31, 2015 at 11:08 amI love your shot of the birds around the medina. Would you horse ride on the beach? I’d love to but I’m a real novice and I’ve heard that it’s more tricky than regular horse riding, don’t know why that is though
Rhonda Albom
May 31, 2015 at 11:45 pmPersonally, I wouldn’t ride a horse unless it was necessary, but I sure like looking at them run. My girls would, if they could. I hadn’t heard the beach was difficult.
Ruth - Tanama Tales
May 31, 2015 at 7:57 amLooks like an amazing place. I mean, it has to be cool if there are camels around the beach! When I think about my favorite summer vacation spot, I think about my childhood summers in Puerto Rico.
Rhonda Albom
May 31, 2015 at 8:10 amIt is a very cool place, but remember the camels are commercial not wild (but still pretty interesting)
Marilyn Parel
May 31, 2015 at 7:32 amWhat beautiful photos! Have never been to Morocco. However, your pics are calling to me.
Phoebe @ Lou Messugo
May 31, 2015 at 7:07 amI adore the photo of the half naked man on his horse, it’s just perfect. I’ve been to Morocco but only to Fes not the coast. I’d certainly like to explore some more.
Rhonda Albom
May 31, 2015 at 9:50 amI am glad someone else noticed the guy on the horse. It was my favourite of the series. As for Fes, it is possibly my favourite town in Morocco. We went back for a much longer visit we liked it so much.
Michele {Malaysian Meanders}
May 31, 2015 at 5:47 amI’ve never thought of the beach when I think of visiting Morocco. The mix of camels, the water, and the medina are so enticing. I’ve always wanted to visit Morocco, but the images that usually flash through my brain are of the delicious food, the streets, and the bazaars. You’ve just added some new images to my mental slideshow.
Rhonda Albom
May 31, 2015 at 9:51 amYes, I have all those images too. One of my favourite restaurants around the world is located in Essaouira.
Sherry Ellis
May 31, 2015 at 5:20 amThat looks like a terrific vacation destination!
Stuart R. West
May 31, 2015 at 5:05 amSigh. This blog is extremely damaging to my imaginary riches. Just added Morocco to places I must see.
Paula McInerney
May 31, 2015 at 4:55 amWould love to go to Morocco and to see Essaouira, particularly the camels on the beach. That is unique for me.
Rhonda Albom
May 31, 2015 at 9:15 amThat was unique for me as well. You are not too far now if you are still in Southern Spain.
Alexia Chamberlynn
May 31, 2015 at 3:22 amAwesome pics! Morocco is definitely high on my list, though I’ve never thought of going to the beach there. I always envisioned the exotic marketplaces and such. Now I’m extra excited!
Rhonda Albom
May 31, 2015 at 9:13 amI think Essaouira is a bit off the tourist path as the trains don’t go there, so it’s a bit more effort to get there. I also love the markets and the interior. Our time in the Sahara was one of the highlights.
Susan
May 31, 2015 at 2:25 amThis must have been during your almost year trip around the world. I’m glad you enjoyed being here so much. Perhaps you can return someday.
Rhonda Albom
May 31, 2015 at 9:11 amYes, we spent a month in Morocco in 2012. We only planned to stay 7-10 days, but really loved it.
Cathy Kennedy
May 31, 2015 at 1:19 amRhonda, what gorgeous photos! I have not been anywhere outside the USA. Travel is expensive, but even if I had the money then I’d be too much of a scaredy Cathy to do it. Just call me chicken! lol It’s really fun to visit exotic destinations through the eyes of others such as yourself. I imagine it’s awesome to see things like a camel on the beach or sand dunes of dessert countries. These are elements totally foreign to my part of the world. Thanks for sharing!
Rhonda Albom
May 31, 2015 at 9:08 amI am glad that I can share the world with you. We generally find the biggest expense of travel is getting there – as we live in New Zealand now, we are far from everywhere. I think that is why we stay away so long once we go. We don’t do organised tours, we travel on our own, and we found Morocco to be quite inexpensive in comparison to daily life in the US. You need your wits about you, but don’t need to be afraid.
steve B
May 31, 2015 at 1:07 amNice post and those beach photos look fantastic what a perfect way to spend time on, that last photo is lovely isn’t it 🙂
TF Walsh
May 30, 2015 at 3:51 pmOh, your photos are gorgeous. I’ve never been to Morocco, but would love to one day. The beach photos are just perfect… love them.
Rhonda Albom
May 31, 2015 at 9:00 amThanks Tania. Morocco is fascinating. And so different geographically from beach to the Sahara.