An eighteenth-century walled port laid out by a French architect for Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah, Essaouira feels quite unlike anywhere else in Morocco. Portuguese in character, the ramparts enclose a medina built as a grid rather than a labyrinth; the fishing harbour still earns its keep, and the wind almost never stops.
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. For anyone spending a week inland, a day or two on this coast is the standard relief.
For Indian visitors it also happens to be 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 - the one old town where a family 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
- Two and a half hours out of Marrakech across argan country
- Walled and pedestrian, the medina stops vehicles at its gates
- In summer the town runs some twenty degrees under Marrakech
- The grid layout makes it by far the easiest medina to walk
- Running south to Agadir, the coast road is worth driving alone
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 India site
- Photo stops at the argan trees and co-operatives
- Vegetarian meal stops arranged in advance
