Essaouira
The great breather of the Marrakech day trip: under three hours by road, half the distance of the desert, Essaouira opens onto the Atlantic. The former Mogador is an 18th-century fortified city, laid out in a grid by a French engineer in the Vauban spirit, with a white-and-blue UNESCO medina, two Skala bristled with cannons, a fishing port with blue boats and a huge wind-swept beach. Two honest reset points: the wind, precisely, blows nearly all the time - a kitesurf paradise, but the Atlantic stays cool - and nearly every tour imposes an 'argan cooperative' stop at inflated prices, where you are never forced to buy. Set out early, keep free time to wander the medina and lunch on fish at the port.
Essaouira, long called Mogador, is a port town on the Atlantic, under three hours by road west of Marrakech. Rebuilt in the 18th century by Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah, who gave its grid plan to a French engineer in the Vauban spirit, it was a great trade port between Morocco, the Sahara and Europe. Today, its white-and-blue UNESCO medina, its ocean-battered ramparts, its blue-boat port and its huge windy beach make it the most refreshing escape from Marrakech - literally and figuratively, so much does the Atlantic air cut against the heat of the red city.
On your own or on a tour?
What to expect
About half a day. Times are indicative.
Departure from Marrakech
Hotel pick-up and road west via the N8, through the plain and the argan groves.
Roadside stop
Most tours mark an 'argan cooperative' stop (buying optional) and a coffee break.
Essaouira: medina & ramparts
Arrival in town: the UNESCO medina, the Skala with cannons facing the ocean and the fishing port.
Fish lunch
Grilled fish facing the port or in the medina (price by weight, to confirm before ordering).
Free time
Wander in the souks, on the beach and the ramparts, at your pace, before the return.
Back to Marrakech
Return by the N8, back in town early evening.
What you see there
The white-and-blue medina
UNESCO-listed in 2001, the medina lines up its white houses with blue shutters, its souks and its thuya-wood cabinetmaker workshops. Laid out in the 18th century on a grid plan, it walks easily on foot.
The ramparts and the Skala
The town is ringed with ramparts and bastions - the Skala - bristled with old bronze cannons facing the Atlantic. This stone and spray setting served Game of Thrones (Astapor). You enter through monumental gates like Bab Sbaa.
The beach and the wind
A huge trade-wind-swept beach: Morocco's kitesurf and windsurf paradise. Atlantic water stays cool and the wind is a constant companion. Offshore, Mogador island - a falcon reserve - watches from afar, no landing.
An artists' town
Essaouira cultivates a bohemian soul: the Gnaoua festival fills its alleys in late June, Orson Welles shot his Othello here in 1952, and the town was a hippie hideout in the 1960s - hence the pretty but false legend of a Jimi Hendrix inspired by the Diabat dunes.
What is included
Good to know
Book your day trip
We do not sell the tickets: booking goes through GetYourGuide. The price is the same as direct, a small commission comes back to this guide.
