Essaouira Surf Spots | Bay, Sidi Kaouki, Imsouane

Essaouira surf spots: the bay, Sidi Kaouki and Imsouane

For a first surf lesson, the spot is the bay in front of the school, in the morning, on sand. Sidi Kaouki is the open beach 25 km south, for people who already stand up and want more push. Imsouane is the long right, a full day further down the coast, not a beginner lineup. A bay lesson is €30 for two hours in a group. A Sidi Kaouki trip starts at €40 per person. Imsouane starts at €70 per person when six of you go, and €100 when you are only two.

Why the bay is the school spot

Mogador Island sits offshore and knocks down part of the Atlantic swell before it reaches the crescent of beach. You walk in off sand. There is no rock under the whitewater where the first lessons run. The trade wind usually fills in later, so the cleanest surface is before late morning. That is a scheduling fact, not a preference. A lesson booked at 4 pm in July is a lesson in chop. We move it.

Four students is the maximum with one coach. The board is a soft-top until you are ready to hate how slow it is. Wetsuit included. If you only want the board and you already surf, hire is separate: €10 an hour for a soft-top. Do not hire in order to teach yourself the bay on day one. The lesson is the cheaper way to learn the exit, the sweep and the foam.

The medina is a ten- to fifteen-minute walk from this beach. You are not in a surf camp that needs a shuttle to buy bread. That is the practical difference with a spot that only exists as a wave.

Who should go to Sidi Kaouki?

Sidi Kaouki is a long open beach, more exposed, more wind in the afternoon, more wave when the swell is up. The half-day with us includes the van, the coach, the board and the wetsuit. Per person: €70 if you are two, €60 from three, €50 from four, €40 from five. Camp guests already on a week sometimes add it at the flat shuttle rate of €30. That €30 is not the public day trip. It is the add-on when you are already staying and the van is going.

You should be able to stand on whitewater without a push, and you should be comfortable paddling. If the swell is small, we stay in the bay even if you asked for Sidi Kaouki. The name of the beach is not the product. The wave that matches the group is the product. A local bus does run toward the village. It is not how a coached session travels. Boards, timing and a head count do not fit a public bus.

What Imsouane is, and what it is not

Imsouane is known for a long right-hand point. On the right swell it is the wave people fly to Morocco for. It is also a long drive, a full day, and a lineup with its own priority. Our price includes transport, lunch, the lesson and the gear. Two people: €100 each. Three: €85. Four: €80. Five: €75. Six: €70. Beginners stay in the bay. An intermediate who has only surfed pushed whitewater will not catch the point. They will sit inside and come back tired. We say no before the van leaves, not on the beach after an hour's drive.

The day is an early start, around 7:30 to 8:00 from the Essaouira beach meeting point, and a return before dark. There is no useful public bus to the break itself. If you want the trip inside a week of lessons, book it as a day inside the camp, not as a surprise on the morning you are still learning to pop up. The Sidi Kaouki and Imsouane page has the current scale. The month you come changes which of the three spots is even working: winter has more swell, summer mornings in the bay are the beginner window. That split is the season guide.

Tide and wind decide the morning, the name of the beach does not

A good bay morning is a mid or dropping tide with the wind still light. We do not publish a fake metre height for "the" wave. Some winter mornings have enough swell that beginners stay further inside on the foam while the outside section is for the coach's own surfers, not for the lesson. Some summer mornings are knee-high and still worth the €30 because the pop-up is the lesson, not the size. If you need a photo of a head-high face, book the season and the spot, not a guaranteed wall. October through March brings more swell. June through August brings smaller, cleaner learner waves in the bay and a stronger afternoon wind.

Sidi Kaouki on a small summer day can be flatter and windier than the bay. Driving 25 km to be disappointed is a common mistake. We cancel that van the evening before when the charts say so. You surf the bay instead, and the trip money stays on the next swell, not as a fee for the drive.

Pick the spot after the level, not before the flight

Write how many times you have stood up and the dates. We answer with the bay, with Sidi Kaouki, or with a no on Imsouane.

Ask which spot fits the week