somewhere in notes

Taghazout, a small town close to Agadir in Morocco, has a small number of inhabitants, yet a big number of visitors each year. The town on the Moroccan coast is mostly visited by tourists to surf and/or practice yoga. The number of retreats and surfer hostels around makes this quite obvious.

I’m not a surfer, nor someone who does yoga, but a friend suggested going here for her birthday, so we did with a few friends. It was my first time in Africa, and I think it was also the first time I had been somewhere clearly taken over by tourism. This left me with mixed feelings. Honestly, I didn’t speak to many locals, so I can’t tell you how they felt about it. And I would say their opinion about it matters more than mine.

Nevertheless, I want to share a bit about things to do and see in Taghazout, besides the typical surfing and yoga.

What To do and see while traveling to Taghazout?

Eat local food (obviously)

What is traveling without trying local products, right? One of the more obvious dishes to eat when you are in Morocco is a couscous or a tajine. If you are a vegetarian like me, also a very good option since this is usually also on the menu with just vegetables.

Starting the day? Get yourself some msemen. A thin dough that goes perfectly together with amlou. Amlou is a mix of honey and almonds. Sweet, but not too much. Great to spread on top of your msemen. Tasty and cheap, the best of both worlds. They usually also have other ingredients that you can get with msemen.

Ending the day? Go for a nice cup of mint tea. We shared some tea on the local square, not just with the locals but also with the stray dogs and some cockroaches behind us. It didn’t make the tea better, but it made the moment more memorable.

Drinks next to the water

Next to the water, there are plenty of bars and restaurants where you can go for food and drinks. A few nice places are: World or Waves, Dfrost Almugar, Amouage and The Wedge.

Go surf (obviously)

If you go to Taghazout without going to surf, you might as well go to a whole different part of Morocco. Don’t get me wrong, the town has more to offer, but it is clearly a surf town. For a more cultural experience there are probably other cities that can provide this better.

Are you staying at a surf hostel or did you book a surf camp, then perfect. Your main goal is probably to go catch some waves 😉 If you booked something that doesn’t provide classes, or surfboards, no worries. When you set one foot into the town, you’ll see surfboards, shops and lessons offered all around. I can’t recommend you where to go in Taghazout for this, because I actually didn’t surf in Taghazout (whoops), but you will find many options for sure.

A day of surfing in Imsouane

So, why I didn’t surf in Taghazout? We were just in the town for 3 nights, and one of our friends wanted to go to Imsouane, where she had a great experience surfing a few years before. We were in contact with a driver, who picked us up and drove us to Imsouane. Imsouane is still an hour away from Taghazout, so we went early in the morning, slept a bit more in the car, and then arrived and had breakfast with views over the beach, so after we had the energy to go surf.

There are 2 main spots to surf in Imsouane. We ended up renting surfboards and wetsuits, and went into the water. Since we were there in June, it wasn’t the “best” moment to surf. But maybe for me, a complete beginner, zero experience whatsoever, I would say it was the “best” moment to have a first go at it. Especially without a teacher, or well, 2 friends kind of showing us the way before they were off catching waves themselves.

All good though! I loved it. Had a great time, and would actually love to do a full week of surf camp one day. It being in Morocco, that is to be decided? But it sure was a great place to enjoy the water and waves!

Stroll around the town and visit stores/cafes

The center is small, but cute. You’ll see surf related stores everywhere, but also a bunch of ceramics, spices, cute stores with accessories. So a walk around Taghazout is definitely recommended. And I’m pretty sure it will be part of your travel plans when you end up going to this town in Morocco. It’s colourful and there are good vibes. Next to the beach, you’ll find most of the restaurants and bars.

Sunset at the skate park

You’ll notice that when asking for a spot to watch the sunset in Taghazout, most people will recommend you to go to the skate park. It’s a fun, social place. Watch the sunset, while also watching people skate. Listen to some music, grab some food, or buy vintage clothes. Yes, all of this is possible in the same spot. As you can see, we weren’t as lucky with the sunset itself, but still had a great time.

A little exploring next-door in Tamraght

Since Taghazout is pretty small, make a little half day trip to Tamraght. Honestly I was expecting a little more of it. It was pretty quiet there. Not many places were open. Maybe it was the season? It also seemed like a lot of construction was going on. Still it was fun to walk around, go into a few stores and make our way to the beach.

We didn’t go into the water but the coast was great, lots of people doing sports or just enjoying some time near the water. The highlight for me, petting a camel. I forgot their name, but I will never forget the moment 😉

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Have you been to Taghazout or another part of Morocco?