[ ITINERARY · THE DISPATCH ]

Two Days in Essaouira: Wind, Gulls, and Morocco's Mellowest Beach Town

A real 2 days in Essaouira itinerary: the walled port, fresh-grilled fish on the quay, the windy beach, and the calm antidote to Marrakech. Prices, scams to skip, honest timing.

If Marrakech left you frazzled — and it does that to the best of us — then your 2 days in Essaouira itinerary is the cure. This is Morocco with the volume turned right down. Wind off the Atlantic, white-and-blue ramparts, gulls wheeling over fishing boats, and a medina where the hassle is a fraction of the big cities. People here actually let you browse. I nearly wept with relief.

It’s three hours west of Marrakech by bus and a completely different mood. The old town was a film set for a while (Game of Thrones fans will recognise the harbour walls as Astapor), it’s a windsurf and kitesurf magnet because the breeze never quits, and it’s got the most relaxed seafood lunch in the country. Two days is genuinely enough to do it justice without rushing. Let’s go.

Start on the Skala de la Ville, the sea-facing ramparts with the row of old brass cannons pointing out at the Atlantic. The waves smash the walls, the wind whips, gulls everywhere — it’s dramatic and it’s free, and the light here in the late afternoon is something else, so maybe loop back at sundown too. Below, the little workshops of the thuya-wood carvers turn out beautiful boxes and bowls (real thuya is fragrant and pricey; the cheap stuff is reconstituted, so sniff and ask).

Wander the medina proper. It’s laid out on a grid (a French engineer’s doing), so unlike Fes you genuinely won’t get lost — which after Morocco’s other mazes feels like a small miracle. Browse the argan oil cooperatives (the region is argan country; the women’s co-ops are the ethical buy, and you can watch them crack the nuts), the silver, the painted ceramics. Haggle, but gently — start around half, settle in the middle, keep it friendly.

Lunch is the main event and it’s down at the port. Past the blue fishing boats there’s a row of grill stalls where you pick your fish off the ice — sardines, sea bream, prawns, calamari, whatever came in that morning — and they grill it right there with bread and a squeeze of lemon.

Afternoon, slow down. Find a rooftop for a mint tea, or duck into one of the little galleries — Essaouira has a real arty, gnaoua-music streak and there’s usually something on. The town hosts a big Gnaoua music festival in summer; if your dates line up, the whole place throbs with it and it’s brilliant, if busier.

The beach is enormous — a long sweep of sand running south from the medina. Here’s the honest bit: it is windy. Properly. That’s the town’s blessing and its curse. Sunbathing flat-on-a-towel often isn’t the move because you’ll get sandblasted, but a long beach walk with the wind at your back is glorious, and the wind is exactly why the watersports here are world-famous.

So lean into it. Several outfits down the beach rent kit and run lessons — kitesurfing and windsurfing are the headline, but there’s also surfing on calmer days, and a two-hour beginner windsurf lesson runs roughly 300 to 500 dirhams. Even if you just watch, the bay full of sails is a sight. You can also ride a horse or a camel along the sand at the quieter southern end (agree the price first, again — sensing a theme?).

Walk far enough south and you reach the ruins of Borj el Bermil, a half-sunk old fort in the sand and surf, the one that supposedly inspired Hendrix lyrics (the “castles made of sand” legend — almost certainly not true, but it’s a nice story and locals love telling it).

For your last meal, climb back up to a rooftop in the medina as the sun drops into the Atlantic. Order a tagine if you’ve had enough fish, or one more plate of grilled prawns. A note: Essaouira is more relaxed about a beer or glass of wine than much of Morocco — a few licensed spots and riad terraces serve alcohol, so a sundowner is actually on the table here if you want one.

A few honest notes. The bus from Marrakech (Supratours or CTM) is the easy way in, cheap and comfortable, book a day ahead in summer. Bring a light layer and something windproof — even in summer the Atlantic breeze has a bite, and evenings cool right off. Cash, as ever. And the town is small and flat, so skip taxis and just walk; you can cross the whole medina in fifteen minutes.

Two days and Essaouira reset me completely. It’s not a place that overwhelms or performs at you — it just hands you wind, salt, fresh fish and good light, and lets you breathe. After the beautiful chaos of inland Morocco, that’s worth more than any monument. Go, eat off the boats, and let the wind sort your head out.

Eat lunch straight off the port grills (price it first), walk the windy beach till your face stings, and catch the sun dropping into the Atlantic from a rooftop — that’s the whole gentle magic of the place.

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