Essaouira is the coastal counterweight to Marrakech: cooler, slower, blue and white instead of red, and built inside 18th-century Portuguese-style ramparts that open straight onto the Atlantic. It is a UNESCO World Heritage medina, a working fishing port and a windsurfing capital all at once.
The great majority of our Essaouira bookings are the transfer from Marrakech, 175 km and about two and a half hours through argan country. It is one of the best drives in Morocco, and it is worth doing with stops - at a women's argan-oil cooperative, at the goats in the trees, and at a viewpoint over the Chiadma plains. Done as a day trip it gives you five or six hours in the town; done as a transfer it is simply the easiest way to arrive.
Once here, the medina is compact and walkable, so a car is mainly for what lies outside it: the wide empty beach at Sidi Kaouki 25 km south, the ruined palace at Diabat, the dunes and the argan groves inland, and the long coast road down to Agadir.
Why hire a driver here
- The medina is car-free inside the ramparts - drop-off is at Bab Doukkala
- Marrakech is 175 km away with no direct rail link
- Sidi Kaouki, Diabat and Cap Sim have no public transport
- Argan cooperatives on the R207 are only reachable by car
- The Atlantic wind makes scooters and bikes an unpleasant option
Included in every booking
- Fuel, tolls and driver fees for the agreed route
- Stops at argan cooperatives and viewpoints on the Marrakech road
- Pick-up at Mogador Airport, your riad gate or a beach hotel
- English, French, Spanish or Arabic-speaking drivers on request
- Surfboard and kitesurf equipment space on request
