The 7 Best Beaches in the South of Morocco

There are dozens of beautiful beaches scattered along the wild and rugged Atlantic coastline of southern Morocco. If you’re planning to visit this southern corner of the country, making a few stops along these stretches of golden sand is a must. It’s why we’ve rounded up a handful of our favourite beaches.

The Moroccan surf vibe is not unlike that of California with some committed Moroccan and French surfers and kitesurfers driven by their passion for the sea. Like other surf destinations, you’ll find cool surfer vibes here where locals and expats with sun-bleached hair chase daily swells. Surf culture has brought many yoga teachers here too, a great pairing for the more holistic traveller.

For others, fresh seafood is the real draw – along with many day spas and relaxing retreats hidden along the coastline and in off-the-beaten-track villages. If you spy a beach shack with a smoking grill, your lunch could be a freshly grilled sea bream, marinated in chermoula (a spice rub made from lemon juice, black pepper, cumin, coriander and paprika), cooked on charcoal and served with a fresh Moroccan salad. Or a tasty octopus tagine, cooked over charcoal using locally sourced fresh ingredients. Mop up the spicy tagine sauce with freshly baked bread.

Whether you spend your day at the beach spent surfing, swimming, walking or trekking, a good meal is always a fantastic end. Here’s a wrap of the 7 best beaches found in the south of Morocco, from Essaouira down to the border.

Whatever your style, Epic can tailor an itinerary to include your favourite things to do beach-side.

Essaouira Beach

Just a three-hour drive from Marrakesh, Essaouira is an unmissable fishing town set in an old medina. White, windy, and with a kind of luminescent light, Essaouira has a rich history and connection to sea, something that’s most obvious when you climb the medieval ramparts or watch the bright blue wooden fishing boats, that leave early every morning for the day’s catch.

Essaouira has a wonderful atmosphere, with its cobblestone streets, whitewashed walls and massive stone ramparts dotted with royal blue painted windows, a call to its former life as a Portuguese colony.

Today Essaouira has evolved into a hip, artsy bohemian town and is a mecca for both music and art lovers alike. Each year around June the increasingly popular Gnaoua Music Festival pops up with daily buskers in the main square, usually playing reggae and blues or the deeply hypnotic and traditional Gnawa music.

It’s worth venturing down to the harbour, where you can haggle for fresh fish and then take it to be cooked at a number of local restaurants. Keep going south and you’ll find Essaouira’s long, sandy beach that stretches like a horseshoe around the bay. Find many nice beachside cafes and restaurants, most notably Ocean Vagabond, which has a surf and kitesurf hire shop next door.

More often than not, Essaouira’s beach is quite windy, so it’s more fun for adventure than sun-tanning. We can organise horse riding, quad biking, buggy, camel rides, and kitesurfing right off the beach. It’s also a brilliant spot for an early morning stroll, when the sand is at its best – empty and warming up for another day.

Less than a half-hour out of Essaouira is the Jardins de Douars, a luxurious estate with a stunning pool where you can spend the day and enjoy lunch. If you’ve had enough salty sea air, it’s the perfect escape.

Read next: 24 Hours in Essaouira

Sidi Kaouki

Situated just 25 km south of Essaouira, follow a sandy track down to the sleepy surf beach town of Sidi Kaouki. This lesser-known surf haven comprises a cluster of small cafés, a few small locally run guesthouses, and an endless stretch of sandy coastline. Walk barefoot by the sea for a while and you will find your own secluded sand dune.

You can hire a surfboard, bodyboard, wetsuit, and have a surf lesson. During the off-season, horses and camels are available for beach treks, and sun loungers are available for hire. In the same winter months, you might be lucky and spot wild pink flamingos in the local riverbed around 15 minutes’ walk north of the beach.

With a backdrop of low-lying hills, a scattering of white-washed houses, dry stonewalls and Argan trees, this long sandy Moroccan beach has it all. Sidi Kaouki is the perfect place for an overnight stay to experience the crimson-red sunsets and the soft blueish-red haze over the ocean at sunrise. One can never get enough of those Northern Atlantic sunsets!

Read next: Morocco’s Best Kept Secret – Top 8 Northern Beaches

Aftas Beach, Mirleft

Mirleft, just a 2.5-hour drive from Agadir is a sleepy, laid-back Berber fishing town perched between cliffs and the mountains and overlooking the beautiful southwestern Moroccan coastline. It is known for its rugged, wild beaches, and evolving hipster surf scene. It enjoys a constant year-round sunny climate. Even in winter, it is possible to swim in Mirleft – though the water can be a little chilly!

There are some beautiful beaches on the outskirts of Mirleft, some easier than others to find, but our local guides can help you.

Aftas Beach is a perfect easy-to-reach yet secluded getaway from the town of Mirleft. The sunsets on this beach are to die for! With views of the beach, Café des Pecheurs serves fish and tagines to order. Here you can experience a delicious octopus tagine as the sun sets over the water, or tuck into a grilled fish served by candlelight. The cove on a clear night is lit by moonlight with the sound of the waves from the Atlantic Ocean and the starry sky above, how more romantic can it get?

Plage Sauvage, Mirleft

Plage Sauvage (wild beach) is situated around 5 km from Mirleft on the road to Sidi Ifni. This patch of sand certainly lives up to its wild name! It’s not the easiest one to find – so you may need to enlist the help of a local to locate it. Once you have found it, you will want to keep coming back!

From the clifftop, descend rough stone steps until you arrive at the sand, where you’ll find two large sweeping coves surrounded by steep cliffs. The cliffs have small fishermen’s huts carved into the rock face, which are used by local fishermen to keep their tackle in or just to relax. This beach itself is both beautiful and dramatic, and it’s good for swimming and surfing.

It’s a wild beach, so you won’t find any restaurants or amenities here. You can always drive back to one of the small cafés along the roadside towards Mirleft for a tasty fish tagine if hunger prevails.

Read next: 17 Places You Have to Visit in Morocco

Sidi Ouafi

If it’s wild and unspoiled scenery that you prefer, this is the beach destination for you. Hidden away down a small dirt track, turn sharp right off the route to Sidi Ifni and you’ll find this wild Moroccan beach. Sidi Ouafi is pristine, remote and unspoiled – a balm for the soul.

Your only company might be the seagulls swooping and landing on the water as you dip your toes into the cool Atlantic Ocean. Small rock formations dotted along the beach offer shade from the sun or shelter from the wind. Wild and untamed, it is a local favourite for either fishing or an evening stroll. You can, in fact, reach this beach from Plage Sauvage on a trail over the cliffs that connects the two.

Sidi Ifni

Sidi Ifni is a former Spanish colonial outpost, first given back to Morocco in 1969. Here it feels a bit like time has stood still since then. Sidi Ifni is a real paradise for Art Deco architecture lovers, with wonderful buildings painted blue and white.

Wander through this sleepy outpost where they still take siestas in the afternoon, walk among the blue-and-white painted walls, admire its beautiful romantic Art Deco buildings, and enjoy the fantastic views from the clifftop. Relax on a quiet esplanade while sipping a mint tea or a freshly pressed orange juice. Savor the wide, sweeping views over the ever-changing Northern Atlantic coastline.

Read next: The Epic Hot List: The Must-Do Experiences in Morocco in 2024

Legzira Beach

Situated between Mirleft and Sidi Ifni is Legzira Beach. With its craggy cliffs, amazing sunsets, and famous ancient rock archway It is possibly one of the most picturesque beaches in Morocco. And what a beautiful drive from Mirleft to get there! You’ll soak up the ever-changing blue Atlantic Ocean as you drive south, with fishing villages and their whitewashed houses just below.

A steep stone stairway leads down to this 8km (5 mile) long sandy beach. Find a variety of small beach restaurants, each offering the day’s catch grilled on charcoal. Your fish will always be served with a traditional Moroccan salad, olives, and fresh bread. And, when the tide is in you can dip your feet in the ocean whilst feasting on a gourmet lunch. Legzira Beach is a pure mecca for fish lovers.

Further down the beach are the remains of an ancient sandstone arch, formed by years of coastal erosion. As evening falls and the sun begins to set, the beach is bathed in a luminescent crimson light from the reflection on the red sandstone cliffs.

How to visit these beaches in the south of Morocco

There’s certainly more to Morocco than Marrakech! If you want to explore some of these beautiful beaches on the less-visited south of Morocco region, we can design a tailor-made itinerary. We suggest pairing this part of the coastline with the southern region of the Draa Valley, staying at one of our luxury camps at Erg Chigaga, and then over to the coast of Mirleft and Sidi Ifni.

Morocco beaches are safe but there are no lifeguards on the more remote beaches. You’ll find these Moroccan towns and fishing villages are friendly and welcoming, and the southern coast offers up some of the most delicious seafood dishes, fresh from the ocean. The laidback coastal vibe is really the just icing on the cake. You’ll return home from your beach hop feeling refreshed and carefree.

For a tailor-made beach adventure in the south of Morocco, reach out to our team at info@epic.travel

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