Morocco, where you don’t have priority
We’re not going to mention the expired passport situation…
I ended up arriving in Morocco a day and a half later than expected. Thinking about it now, it could’ve been worse, so it’s not too bad — but I felt worse for my brother, who had to deal with everything on his own.
When you go on a surf trip, you’re carrying a lot of bulky gear, and handling that at the airport, then going to rent a car outside Marrakech, and then doing the whole trip to the coast alone… it’s no small task.
I’m sure he’s forgiven me by now anyway haha.
With the change of plans we had, this is what we ended up doing:
Taghazout
We started by spending three nights here. We booked everything night by night through an app called Hostelworld — super easy, highly recommended, and it works everywhere.
I had a bit of a letdown here. Let me explain: my idea of Morocco was long right-hand waves, and even though I knew it would be crowded, you’re never really prepared for that level of crowd.
The first three days were nice, but not at all what I expected.
As for the waves we managed to score, in case you ever find yourself there:
Anza: kind of a beach break with both lefts and rights, but the left is the one that really stands out.
Anchor Point: the most famous wave. A rocky right-hander. Easy entry, easy to position yourself… but the downside is the crowd. Since it’s a point break, the waves break in the exact same spot, so everyone is piled into the same place. I remember leaving those sessions thinking I didn’t know how to surf haha.
Boilers: only my brother surfed here, but this is where we started to see the real potential of the Moroccan coast.
One thing to keep in mind: surf etiquette in Morocco works a bit differently. Locals have permanent priority, and they won’t hesitate to take any wave.
Other Plans
Visit the souk in Agadir: definitely worth it. On the coast everything is more expensive, but here you can find better prices (if you’re willing to negotiate).
Eat in Tamri: a much less touristy village where you can feel a bit more local. Also worth mentioning that we were there during Ramadan, so during the day only a couple of places were open, mainly for lost tourists like us.
Tafedna
This is where I finally thought: this is what I came for.
On the fourth day in Taghazout, we got in the car and drove north, not really knowing what we’d find — and we absolutely scored.
Tafedna is a tiny fishing village where we ended up almost by chance. My brother checked Google Maps and figured that with the wind direction, there might be a wave along that stretch of coast… and he nailed it.
We surfed a long right-hander, maybe around one meter, but with power all the way through. There were only three of us in the water, and we scored wave after wave.
Sidi Kaouki
A bit further north, we found what ended up being the best area of the whole trip.
A small village called Sidi Kaouki, with a nearby headland called Cape Sim that gave us some of the best sessions we’ve ever had.
If you’re ever in the village, I recommend this place for dinner — and I say that from experience, because we went three nights in a row.
Like before, we booked accommodation through the app, and it was a total win: cheap and amazing places.
The only downside here is that a dog bit me, but… what’s a trip for me without some kind of incident?
Still better than getting stung by a stingray in Nicaragua, that’s for sure haha.
There was one wave we really wanted to surf, called The Wedge. A defined peak on a beach break with both lefts and rights. Compared to a point break it might not sound as exciting, but after surfing a perfect right point over and over, you start craving something different.
We only saw it working one morning — and of course, that was the same morning we decided to surf the point at Cape Sim (priorities haha).
Safi
This one was a failed attempt.
We were in Sidi Kaouki and saw the swell picking up, so we decided to drive two and a half hours north to try new waves. Total failure — not a single decent wave.
We had booked two nights, but only stayed one, and left early in the morning back to Sidi Kaouki. We used the afternoon to walk around the bazaar and basically get ripped off at dinner.
Morocco is more than worth visiting, but for me, it really shines once you leave the main spots and start getting a bit lost.
After talking to different people we met along the way, I was left wanting to explore the Atlas Mountains.
Maybe next time.