W E L C O M E TO TH E
G O O D L I F E
I N
E S S A O U I R A
P L A N N I N G
In all honesty, you don’t need more than a day in Essaouira to properly see all the various bits it has to offer, and mostly it gets stuck haphazardly on the end of an itin that begins in Marakkech and ends up somewhere else.
And, our guides can certainly bring everything to life succinctly and beautifully in a day.
But we’d secretly recommend you take the time to spend a few days here. We’re not going to give you a full itinerary beyond the first day for this reason – once you’ve had a nice dive into some of the history and cultural aspects, you are essentially here to do very little, and enjoy yourself strolling about and snacking.
As with many places in the south of Morocco, it’s plenty lovely here in the depths of winter (Jan-Feb) as well, and often warm enough to have a cool swim.
M U S E U M & S I T E B O O K I N G
Other than minding your hotel booking in advance during the high season, if you’d like to hire equipment for kitesurfing or similar, or visit a particularly nice Hammam, this would also be something to consider well in advance.
Essaouira will get busier and things will book out during the summer months.
S U G G E S T E D I T I N E R A R Y P O I N T S
DAY I
The Citadel & Scala de la Ville, Harbour & Medina
After breakfast, ideally of the French-Moroccan variety on the roof of your Riad or hotel, and extra ideally including some fresh homemade jams, you can wander off to the Citadel (charges a negligible entry fee, and well worth it for the roof access), or Scala du Port.
When you're ready, make your way to the port, buy some fish, take it to a local shop that will cook it for you, and while you're waiting, go for a walk through the Medina and enjoy the beautiful doors and shops and stalls.
There's plenty of woodworking craft, argan oil (a major local industry), and little local art galleries to pop into.
Perhaps you'll need some olives to snack on, but try not to end up with a whole kilogram's worth, which is what the vendors will wish to bestow upon you.
In the evening, go for a classic Moroccan meal – all the classic tagines are well-represented here, or consider exploring a higher-end spot that blends Moroccan and French cooking together.
DAY II
You could also stay longer, and here's why we think you should:
Consider taking a cooking class here, instead of in one of the larger Moroccan centres.
Why? Firstly, because there's a lot of rather nice cooking in Essaouira, and secondly because part of the experience typically involves a market visit, and the sellers in Essaouira are much less aggressive than in Marakkech or Fez, for example, where you can feel the heat radiate off their pressure from a distance.
Additionally, staying longer means more time to stroll the city walls and stare restoratively at the sea, which we always recommend as something generally just good for the soul.
M E E T Y O U R G U I D E
All of our guides can offer you a spectacular experience. As each person has a slightly different look at the world, due to their own unique interests and specialties, we'd encourage you to read a few profiles.
