An eighteenth-century walled port planned by a French architect for Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah, Essaouira feels like nowhere else in the country. Portuguese character marks the ramparts, the medina runs on a grid instead of a maze, the fishing harbour is still a working one, and the wind scarcely ever drops.
That wind is the whole point in summer. It holds the town near 22C while Marrakech sits above 40, and the Atlantic here is cold enough to be startling to anyone arriving from tropical Asia. For a family spending a week inland, a day or two on this coast is the standard relief.
It is also the easiest medina in the country to walk. Unlike Fes or Marrakech it was planned rather than grown - laid out on a grid, flat and small - which makes it the one old town where a group with young children or elders can wander without anyone getting anxious. Every booking is private and the rate is agreed in advance.
Why hire a driver here
- Argan country lies between here and Marrakech, two and a half hours away
- Walls and gates: no vehicle continues past them into the old town
- In midsummer the temperature gap with Marrakech is about twenty degrees
- Because it was planned on a grid, this is the medina nobody gets lost in
- South towards Agadir the coastal road is worth taking for itself
Included in every booking
- Fuel, tolls and the driver's fee for the agreed route
- Marrakech hotel, riad or airport pickup
- English-speaking drivers as standard on the Asia site
- Photo stops at the argan trees and co-operatives
- Prayer and halal meal stops arranged in the medina
