Aah, the land of rights. A regular-footer’s heaven with consistent, world-class surf, delicious food and stunning views. Welcome to Morocco.
After last year’s trip to North Africa, it was an easy decision to bring Durham University Surf Club back for another year. We learned a valuable lesson early in our surf-travel careers: always give yourself a decent swell window in case of a week of 2ft mush. So Elliot and I were there for an extra 10 days, sandwiching the week we’d organised for everyone else (perks of the job, eh?).Travelling with a surfboard is always a mission. But after navigating the London Underground and knocking over an entire stall of pot plants in Kings Cross Station, we finally got airborne. Oh, and this was all after driving an extra 6 hours the night before to retrieve a forgotten – somewhat important – little red book of identification that I’d left at home…
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHUoBsOgUo9/
Travel tip: pipe insulation foam works wonders for rail protection, then pad out the deck with clothes or wetsuits and save yourself some tears at baggage reclaim
Travel
If you’re heading straight to Taghazout it’s easiest to fly into Agadir Airport (a 40-minute drive away). Nevertheless, it would be a waste to visit this beautiful country without passing through the sensuous-overload that is Marrakesh.https://www.instagram.com/p/BgpM74iABbQ
Find bargains amongst the hustle-and-bustle of Marrakesh’s souk – but if you stare for a second too long there’s no escaping the persistent salesmen
Apparently the coach from Marrakesh to Taghazout is surprisingly comfortable (and many surf camps offer airport transfers), but a hire car is ideal to make the most of the surf breaks Morocco has to offer (we paid 230 Moroccan Dirham = £18 per day for ours).
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgBtHN7g9ob
Why not try the local form of transport instead?
Driving in Morocco is a humbling experience. Besides driving on the right, the locals seem to have no concept of spatial awareness (looking at you, lorry and coach drivers who overtake on blind corners). If there’s a gap, they’ll go – and you have to, too, if you don’t want to be still waiting at the same junction two hours later.
For someone who’s never driven a manual car before, this was all a bit too much for Elliot (apparently gear sticks don’t exist in the Cayman Islands?), so I was given the task of driving 250 miles south to Sidi Ifni.
Side note: We managed to accumulate 2 (questionable) traffic offences throughout the twelve days of our last trip. This year we thought we’d learnt our lesson. We hadn’t. 17 days and 4 police-stops later, we’d become masters of dealing with this tourist targeting; taxis would overtake at twice the speed limit with so many passengers that half of them were hanging out the windows, but apparently checking I had my driving license on me at all times was a priority. We soon learnt that the police were terrible at facial recognition (confirmed when a certain short-brown-haired member of our crew got away with pretending to be the guy on the license with long blonde hair and blue eyes), and claiming you don’t have enough money reduces the “fine” [more likely: the officer’s pocket money] substantially, to the point where if you have nothing they’ll let you drive away and “come back” when you’ve withdrawn cash...
Nonetheless, we finally arrived – just in time to marvel at the scenery before gale-force on-shores hit. The area is supposedly legendary for waves, so well worth a look if the forecasts cooperate, but unfortunately for us a quick check of Magicseaweed drove us back north.https://www.instagram.com/p/Bgq3x7-gcNp
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bgtr5v7gn4T
Accommodation and Food
There’s plenty of accommodation options in Taghazout. Reasonably-priced hostels are abundant, and surf camps thrive along the small town’s seafront. Notably, Surf Maroc (who’s luxury hotel, The Amouage, has hosted the likes of Luke Davis and Noa Deane) showed us last year why they lead the market, while our week with Surf Berbere this time was without fault. I was also invited for a tour of up-and-coming Mungo Guesthouse – a breath-taking, boutique lodge, offering a luxurious experience to those who can afford it.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BSBl0lsD9kY
The Surf Maroc villa isn’t a bad place to retire at the end of a hard day’s surfing
In terms of food, everywhere offers a similar menu of tagines and other delights for incredibly reasonable prices; expect to spend around 50 MAD (less than £4) for a warm, hearty meal. Why not treat yourself to a new wallet or purse to keep your cash safe while travelling?
Alcohol is much harder to come by. Very few places are licensed due to strict Muslim laws, but off-licences and bars are common in the nearby town of Agadir. Alternatively, wander down to the aptly named Hash Point, where I'm told you can find a different way to unwind.
Surfing (the important section!)
Although Autumn and winter are the best seasons for waves, spring still offers relatively consistent surf with warm-ish sea temperatures (averaging 17°C). A decent 3/2 or 4/3 wetsuit is essential for longer sessions, but you’ll soon warm up with air temperatures typical of a country overlapping the Sahara Desert.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BhoesoXnMu1
We visited at Easter both times: pumping surf every day and sweltering weather were the norm
Beginners are well accommodated for; friendly instructors in all the surf camps and shops are more than happy to offer equipment, lessons and advice.
For the more experienced surfer, I’d recommend doing your research or hiring a surf guide to learn the spots and get a foot in the door with the locals on busy days. If not, Anchor Point (low to mid tide, unless very big when it works at all tides and lines up all the way to Taghazout), Killer Point (similar tides to Anchors), Anza (high tide) and the many beaches and points in between are all you need for a great time. Boilers always holds a little more size if you can brave the urchins on the sketchy entrance/exit, and about an hour north, Imsouane harbour offers one of the longest waves in the country (or the Cathedral spot can offer size when it’s too small everywhere else).
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bg6Fib6Anpf
The boiler (all that remains of an old shipwreck) that gave this spot its name
We spent a lot of our time at the notorious Anchor Point, which was only a two-minute drive along the potholed town road. (From personal experience I would not recommend attempting this journey with a tray of breakfast balanced on your lap – does the ‘five-second-rule’ apply to cereal and coffee?)
If you can time the jump off the rocks and navigate the zoo of impatient locals and tourists, you could end up catching the wave of your life.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bh6kx-nnzyeGetting in and out without ending up on @Kookslams is half the battle here – much safer to come in at one of the coves, unless your timing is immaculate (just remember to factor in the current when setting your trajectory or you’ll end up with a long paddle back to Taghazout)
When I say impatient locals, don’t take it lightly. If it’s on, they’ll be out in full-force dropping in on every wave that tickles their fancy. Let them be, and you won’t face many problems besides a slightly lower wave count. Argue back and you’ll end up in one of the several fights we watched break out as the perpetrators were washed away down the point and onto the rocks.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BSoFOW4FJRA
Forget everything they taught you in surf school – etiquette doesn’t apply here
If this doesn’t sound for you, drive one minute further to Killer Point (named after the pod of killer whales that are said to pass through the line-up on occasion) and score equally good waves with just a handful of others – highly recommended when you can’t even see the water through the Anchors crowds.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BihOgjcng3v
Killer Point: Not a bad compromise
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bg368-WAXna
As if the snakes in the water aren’t enough, you also have to watch out for vicious stray dogs on land
Other Things to Do In Morocco (near Taghazout)
There’s plenty of other places to explore if you’re surfed out…
Paradise valley is a beautiful hiking spot and offers a chilled day by the rock pools:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BimXq2HHv2u
Or hit up the skatepark to hone your surfing skills:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BguJb4Ug88x
Check out these boards if you want to practise before you go:
Finally, why not head to the Sahara (or the dunes - 10 minutes down the road - which look just as impressive on Instagram):
https://www.instagram.com/p/BhBu8fIAH4O
Warning: don’t get your car stuck in the sand when dangerously low on petrol
Final Note
In case the above hasn’t already convinced you to make Morocco your next surf-trip destination, I’ll leave you with a photo of the sun rising above Anchor Point:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BYds-98jBbA
Setting your alarm clock is the best way to beat the crowds
