Heading to Morocco and interested in visiting Essaouira? I spent two days there and wanted to share a more detailed itinerary of what I did in this lovely coastal town.

From Marrakech, my brother, sister-in-law and I drove to Essaouira. It takes roughly 2.5 hours when you map it out on Google Maps but of course, timing is never exact when you travel. Along the way, we stopped to eat in a town called Sidi Mohktar. We ordered “Moroccan pizza” and bought more snacks for the car ride. It wasn’t Neapolitan pizza but we were starving and was quite good, to be honest. 

 

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En route to Essaouira on a two-lane “highway”

En route to our destination, we got a speeding ticket. Actually, we got several “speeding tickets” in Morocco but this particular one was the only official speeding ticket. All of the other tickets we paid a “fine” but didn’t actually get any kind of ticket.

When you see a sign posted with the speed limit on the roads and you are driving, adhere to them!!!! Don’t go over the posted limits!!! Trust me.

Side of the road pizza in Morocco

I do love Coca-Cola in other countries – made with real sugar my friends!

Along the way to Essaouira, we tried looking for the famous goats in the trees. We didn’t get to see them and we assumed because it was later in the day. We were very sad about this. I guess I’ll have to go back for the goats!

Our riad was reserved on Booking.com. Before arriving, I messaged with the proprietress. She gave us tips about where to park and how to find our accommodation. We parked our rental car near Bab Marrakech in a lot and walked to our riad which was close to the water. We settled in for a bit and then went to a cooking class which I reserved with Khadhija’s Kuzina. 

Read reviews on Tripadvisor for our riad in Essaouira

Book our Essaouira riad on Booking.com

Before leaving for Morocco, I asked a few friends about what they did and one friend recommended this particular cooking class. I arranged for my brother, his wife and I to take an evening class so that we could learn to cook Moroccan food and knock out trying to find a place to have dinner at the same time. Win-win! The class was fantastic, Khadhija and her husband were so lovely and I can’t recommend it enough. If you are going to Essaouira, it’s a must do! 

Read more here: A Morrocan Cooking Class With Khadija’s Kuzina

Our room in the riad

The next morning we had the most lovely breakfast made by our riad hostess. She served us pastries, homemade yogurt, and fruit. We spoke with our hosts at breakfast and they gave us tips on what to do and one of them was going to a hammam so they made an appointment for us in the evening.

Mmmm simple but tasty breakfast at our Moroccan riad 

After breakfast, we drove out to try and look for goats again. It did not work out in our favour. I think the goats are out early in the morning and we went too late. After driving around for a while we went back to the medina and explored some more.

At lunch, we wandered towards the docks and noticed some seafood shacks. Here you pick out what you want to eat and they cook it for you. For my brother and sister in law, it was a wonderful experience. For me, it was also until got sick. Sad horns. I wrote about getting sick here…so be warned! After lunch, we went shopping and managed to buy rugs and a blanket. The rug vendors packed our goods really tight and they were easy to carry and since we had a car and were ferrying back to Spain, we weren’t worried about weight or size.

Check Rates For Your Essaouira Riad On Booking.com

Booking.com

Rug vibes in Essaouira

After shopping, we had a hammam appointment. What is a hammam? It’s sort of like going to a spa (less ritzy) and having someone scrub you down. In Islamic culture is a very social thing where families or friends (segregated by sexes) will take baths. It’s not weird, it’s awesome. I think I’ll share a more detailed version of my hammam experience because it was hilarious but for now, I will say that I would do this all the time if it was a thing here at home in North America. I love any kind of spa or beautifying treatment and to have a woman scrub me until I am soft was amazing. After my hammam experience, I bought also bought a few kessa (exfoliating) gloves to take home with me.

Read more here: My Hammam Experience In Morocco + Tips For First Timers

After the hammam, I went back to our riad because I was sick but my brother and sister in law went out for dinner. They headed back to the main square where there are several restaurants lined up serving local and foreign food.

Since Essaouira is on the coast there are many different beach activities you can do. There were flyers around town for kite surfing, riding camels on the beach, and more. If you want to try surfing I think you have to go further south to Agadir but sadly we didn’t have enough time. I really wanted to try surfing here but I had to make some difficult choices!

 

See more: An Essaouira Photo Diary

Essaouira Tips

• If you are driving around Morocco, please pay attention and stick to the posted speed limits. The Moroccan police love their radar guns!
• There is a parking lot near Bab Marrakech (Marrakech gate) if you are driving a rental car. We paid a few dollars for 2 days. The car was safe, just be sure not to leave anything of value inside.
• We wheeled our bags to our riad which was at the opposite end of where we parked so when we were leaving and had bought carpets and a blanket, we hired a man who had a cart who wheeled all of our things
• There is a massive Carre Four where I bought supplies for our time in the desert. I was sick so I stocked up on crackers, bread, 7 Up, water, toilet paper, and detergent.
• There is a lot of moisture in the air in Essaouira so if you wash your laundry by hand and dry it, it won’t really dry even after 2 days.
• Do have some small change to tip people.

Have tips for Essaouira? Please share in the comments!