11 Best things to do in Essaouira
In November 2022, we made a 16-day Road trip in Morocco going all around and driving over 2 500 km (in a Fiat 500! What an adventure).
Our trip started and ended in Fes, and we made a loop in order to visit this magnificent country. Our itinerary went through the main cities, the Sahara Desert, the seaside and the mountains of Morocco.
We personally rented a car at the airport and did the following: Fes, Chefchaouen, Rabat, Casablanca, Essaouira, Marrakesh, Imlil, Telouet, Ait Ben Haddou, Ouarzazate, Tinghir, Merzouga, Ifrane. However, you don’t need to follow it by the dot, you can use it to make your own plan.
Essaouira was our Fifth stop and was totally worth it. It was such a beautiful city with amazing vibes. We loved it! It was nice to be on the sea side for a while and then more inside the Essaouira province.
Essaouira is a port city and resort on Morocco’s Atlantic coast. Its medina (old town) is protected by 18th-century seafront ramparts called the Skala de la Kasbah, which were designed by European engineers. Old brass cannons line the walls, and there are ocean views. Strong “Alizée” trade winds make the city’s crescent beach popular for surfing, windsurfing and kitesurfing
In this article, we will tell our story going around all the best things to do in Essaouira. So, if you too are planning a trip to Morocco and to Essaouira, then let ‘s dive in these best things to do in Essaouira.
Here is our complete video from this trip :
Table of Contents
Mapping the day
Get our full map
Why pin one by one when you can get them all at once? With this map, you get all our pins, destinations, things to see, where to eat and sleep, and so much more in one time.
Getting there
Getting to Essaouira is one easy task. As always, the best and easiest is to get there by car (if you do have a rental car).
If you do not, there is still many possibilities.:
- From Casablanca: You can take a 5-6h bus
- From Marrakesh: You can take a 3h bus
You can easily park in Essaouira near the city center. There is a street parking near the restaurant “La Coupole Essaouira Beach”, which is free and 15min walking distance from the city center.
If you are in Marrakesh, you can also get to Essaouira with the Essaouira Day Trip
Moving Around
Once you are in the old city center, everything can be reach by walking. At least for the city. Essaouira is quite a small city.
When to Visit
You can visit Essaouira all year round but be aware that temperature varies from the 24°C in summer to fresh 11°C in winter which is the reason why Essaouira is called heaven. While the rest of the country had really hot summer weather Essaouira is still really fresh.
The touristic season runs from May until October usually, yet since covid-19, November is also more and more visited. That’s when we were there, and the weather was quite pleasant. In beginning of November, it was still warm to be in short and end of November was colder, especially at night.
The best time then to visit Essaouira is then from May to June and then September to November. July and August being super-hot as well as the peak season for local.
Where to Stay
- (€): Dar Halima ( Maison d’hôtes/Restaurant/galerie)
- (€€): riad bab essaouira
- (€€€): Riad Perle D’Eau – Essaouira
We stayed 2 nights in Essaouira, and it was really great. We spent 1 whole day exploring the city and then another one relaxing.
What to Eat
Morocco has lots of traditional dishes and quite the tasteful cuisine. Our go-to dishes are:
- Tajine: Named after the earthenware pot in which it is cooked. This dish is basically mixed vegetables cooked for 1h or more inside the tajine pot. It can be only vegetable or with meat.
- Couscous: Made with a base of steamed wheat semolina, topped with vegetables, chickpeas, dry fruits and sauce. Plus, in option meat.
- Harira: soup of tomato, lentils, and chickpeas
- Moroccan Salad: There are lots of recipes. But it mostly includes rice, tomatoes, carrots, green peas…
Those can be found anywhere. So, be ready to go for them for the whole trip 😊
Alcohol cannot be found easily in Morocco, and it can only be drunken in a licensed restaurant or bar (which isn’t many). But you will be able to enjoy the most traditional drink of all: Teas. Mostly Mint tea mixed with green tea. Moroccans drink it at any time and everywhere. It is even for some a real ritual.
We mostly took breakfast and dinner in our accommodations. This was the easiest especially that in November, night would come early. But a good place we would recommend is:
- Restaurant KHMISSA: Small and cute local restaurant
- Mandala Society Essaouira : Original food and drinks
- La Coupole Essaouira Beach : Perfect for a romantic evening
Best things to do in Essaouira
Introduction
Today we woke up in Casablanca and were going to Essaouira. In the morning we tried finding a bakery open for breakfast but unfortunately at 7h30 everything was closed. So, we had a quick breakfast with fruits and cookies before leaving Casablanca around 8h45 9h.
Going out of Casablanca was quite alright and within 15min of Moroccan driving we were on the highway. We decided not to visit Casablanca as it is a big city and even if it has a few places that look amazing, we prefer to have this time for somewhere else, more authentic.
After 1h30 of driving we stopped at a gas station for a toilet break. It was a Total station and was the same as what we have in France. It was clean, had food, selling croissant and even Starbucks coffee. There was an ATM and free toilet.
We then hoped back on the car, but this time Tina was behind the wheel. At the end of the A1 we passed a toll that costed 80 dh. From there we still had a good 2h till Essaouira. We opted to take the R301 that goes along the ocean instead of the R1 that’s more inland.
The road was mostly good with only a small portion in poor condition, mostly on the side of the road.
Sometimes we got stunning views of the seaside and sometimes of inland. But also, of some ports and more industrialized area. Well, it can’t always be nice. When we arrived in Essaouira, we parked in front of the beach, 15min walking distance from the old Town.
We first went for lunch at Khmissa, a super small but nice restaurant in a small street. Tina had a Moroccan soup and salad and me a vegetable tajine. And of course, a mint tea for me and a saje tea for Tina. It cost 115 dh.
Place Moulay Hassan
We then walked toward the port and passed the Place Moulay Hassan, the main square of Essaouira which only exist due the destruction of the gate known as Bab Laâchour or Al Achour and the demolition of a large part of the imperial palace, also called “Dar El Makhzen”, which existed. in the area between the kasbah mosque and the garden adjoining the marine gate
Bab El Marsa
Then to reach the port, we went through the Port of the Navy “Bab El Marsa”. Formerly called Bab Al Marssa, this door was built in sandstone.
Puerto Essaouira
We finally arrived in the port. The Port of Essaouira is an important traditional and historic 18th century fishing port. It is one of the 14 main fishing ports in Morocco.
There we got an amazing shot of the emblematic Essaouira. Unfortunately, the reality of the shot ain’t that pretty. It is quite smelly there and super dirty.
Sqala du Port d'Essaouira & Borj El Barmil
There behind the fish flea market, there is the Sqala du Port, an artillery platform dating from the 18th century and the Borj El Barmil, the fort on it.
Marché aux Poissons
To keep exploring the small medina, we walked back toward the gate of Bab Doukkala. We stopped in a small square called the fish market. There weren’t actually fish there, but you could see it was used for that.
Bab Doukkala
And then found our way to Bab Doukkala. One of the main gate of the old city.
We then went back in the Medina, stop at an amazing local sweet store and bought some local sweets for 90 MAD. Some more strolling getting lost to end in Mandala society for a tea with a view on the main street. 2 teas cost 50 MAD
Plage d'Essaouira
From there we slowly head out of the Medina, walked along the beach back to the car and watched sunset over the ocean. We had dinner in a restaurant called La Coupole. It has an amazing terrace with ocean views and is quite fancy compared to where we have been before. We ordered the taboule salad and the grilled vegetables. And we tried a local beer there. It was the first place we went that had alcohol. It costed 210 dh.
Dar Baba Diali
We then drove to our accommodation. We opted for something super secluded and unique. A guest house located in the middle of nowhere. After 30min driving and half of it on some dirt road. We arrived.
There the owner Said welcomed us with Igor the dog. He showed us to our room and then offered us a tea in the living room.
We talked for a while and learnt from him that cats are actually sacred in Islam and are inside the Coran as clean animals. And that dogs are just considered dirty animals. And if someone touched them, they have a clean again or change clothes before prayer.
We also discussed with the guy in charge of the house Abdeldjebbar. Who was harder to understand but a true fan of football.
If you want a unique guesthouse experience, this is the spot.
Goat Tree
On your way to or from Marrakesh, you can see the Goat trees. There are actually 4 on the left and 1 on the right. But those are just tourist attractions. The goats are not there naturally and if you stop, you can notice that they are not eating. It’s actually banned by law for the goats to be in the trees, as those are argan tree and are quite hard to manage. A fine of 150 euro per goat or 500e per camel is given to the farmer who leave his animals going on the trees.
More things to do in Essaouira
If you want more things to do in Essaouira , you can consider:
- Gallery Kasba
- Bayt Dakira
- Sidi Mohammed ben Abdallah Museum
An amazing 2-day Essaouira Itinerary
Day 1:
- Arrive in Essaouira
- Visit of Essaouira
Day 2
- Option 1: Chill at a unique guesthouse
- Option 2: More of Essaouira
ضرب الحديد ماحدو سخون Strike the iron while it’s still hot. (Take advantage of the opportunity before it passes you by)
Get our full map
Why pin one by one when you can get them all at once? With this map, you get all our pins, destinations, things to see, where to eat and sleep, and so much more in one time.
