Essaouira is an eighteenth-century walled port on the Atlantic, laid out by a French architect for a Moroccan sultan, and it feels quite unlike anywhere else in the country. The ramparts are Portuguese in character, the medina is a grid rather than a labyrinth, the fishing harbour still works for a living, and the wind almost never lets up.
That wind has made it one of the best kitesurfing and windsurfing spots in Africa, and it holds the town near 22C while Marrakech sits above 40. For New Zealanders the combination of cold water, constant onshore breeze and a working fleet in the harbour feels oddly familiar - closer to a Wellington or Napier port than to anything inland.
The road out runs through the argan forest, where goats genuinely climb the trees, on good tarmac the whole way. Every booking is private, so you can stop for the goats, stop at a co-operative, or drive straight through. The rate is fixed in advance and covers fuel, tolls and the driver.
Why hire a driver here
- Two and a half hours of argan country separate it from Marrakech
- Walled and car-free, the medina brings vehicles to a stop at its gates
- Through summer it sits roughly twenty degrees under Marrakech
- Boards and kite gear need a vehicle that genuinely takes them
- Heading south to Agadir, the coast road justifies itself entirely
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 New Zealand site
- Photo stops at the argan trees and co-operatives
- Surfboards, kite gear and extra luggage space at no charge
