I travelled to Morocco in 2014 for the first time. It was also the start of my adventure with photography, because I decided to buy a DSLR camera. Completely unfamiliar with the subject, I had just put “DSLR up to 500 Euro” in Google. After 15 minutes of searching, I ordered Canon 600d with kit lens 18-55mm 3.5 / 5.6f. Next day I was sitting on a WizzAir plane to Marrakesh. The flight was 5 hours long. We planned to visit Marrakesh, Fez, Casablanca and Rabat, from which we had to go back to Warsaw after 6 days. We managed to do all that, which is quite an achievement.
Unfortunately I won’t write about that trip, because it took place exactly four years ago. I remember nights in wonderful riads, very tasty breakfasts and meals that weren’t that satisfying. Really nice people, except those you can meet in the medinas. Marrakesh and Fez, which I would love to return to, and, on the other hand, Casablanca and Rabat, which apart from the Hassan II mosque, have nothing to offer. All in all, if not surfing, I would not have probably decided to visit Taghazout. After the first trip I assumed that I would come back but only for a longer trip. I would like to visit the desert and the Atlas Mountains. Agadir and the area itself is not interesting at all and if you do not want to surf, you have no reason to go there. Seriously.
If, however, for some reason you are stuck in Taghazout, apart from Agadir located about twenty kilometers away, you will have the opportunity to visit a place called Paradise Valley, which is definitely worth seeing. You will find there a lot of small “lakes” and waterfalls, surrounded by amazing rock formations. It is called “The Valley of the Hippies” and you can camp there without any restrictions. We met a guy who was living on the rock shelf with his dog. You can also find there some graffiti and during the season it is possible to drink or eat something in small bars. I would love to go climbing there one day.
We spent only 6 days in Taghazout. Exactly the same amount of time as my previous visit to Morocco. Therefore we focused on surfing. In addition to the great conditions, in Morocco you are going to find very pleasant prices. Renting a board for a swimming is only 50 dirhams, that is … about 4,50 Euro. The set including a wetsuit, which in February is the only right option, is 60 dirhams. In Canary Islands prices are about 6 times higher.
The same with food. There are several restaurants in Taghazout. Due to the location, we usually ate in “Le Spot”, which was additionally recommended by our friends, who arrived a week earlier. The “complete breakfast”, which consisted of bread, honey, butter, two types of jam, a banana, salad, eggs, coffee, juice and fries, which were served to everything (except traditional tajines), costs 4 Euro. After this meal it was not a problem for us to surf for 6 hours. Lunch is a choice between pasta, pizza, fish or seafood. Everything was decent, but if I have to be honest, I am not a huge fan of Moroccan cuisine. In addition, the one in Taghazout reminded me Baltic resorts. So I think you fully understand.
When it comes to accommodation, you can easily find something on Booking.com or Airbnb. We rented a two-room apartment with a kitchen and a large living room. The cost was 10 Euro per person per day. In hotels prices were similar. Regarding the dirhams, which I have already mentioned, in theory we can not bring them in or take them out of Morocco. It is worth taking the euro with you, the rate is better than in case of dollars. After all, Morocco was controlled by France for a long time, and regained its independence in 1956. So take your euro and exchange it at the airport in Agadir. The exchange rate is fine. For one euro, we got about 11 dirhams. And when you run out of cash, you have three options in Taghazout. The first is a mobile exchange office, which comes to the city center. If you can call it the city – Taghazout is just one sandy street, 1.5 kilometer long, which during the rain, turns into a muddy stream. However, if the mobile exchange office does not appear, and it is very likely, you can use an ATM located in Aurir, 10 kilometers away. The last option is to ask your host or locals for help. Then, however, the exchange rate may not be that good.
As I wrote, the main point of our trip and the reason why you should visit Taghazout is surfing. My brother took his kitesurfing equipment with him as well, but there were no conditions at all. If you want to fly with a kite it is definitely better to go to Dakhla, located in Western Sahara. For surfing, however, the conditions in Morocco are perfect. There was just one day, when we were unable to go surfing. On the last day of our stay, a storm was approaching the coast. The beaches were deserted and we had to look for different attractions. We decided to go to Agadir. But definitely we felt in love with surfing. We recommend Morocco to anyone who is not afraid of two-meter waves.
