Although the journey from Essaouira to Taghazout only takes a couple of hours, we spent nearly three weeks split between the two towns.
This is a much better way for us to travel. We enjoyed going much slower, being in one spot for more than two nights, spending time with our new friends, and getting more familiar with places.
This post covers our slow crawl from Essaouira to Taghazout (including a quick jaunt inland, which was cut short due to a lack of supplies!).
We’ve also got a list of places we stayed in our campervan.
Table of Contents:
Essaouira To Taghazout
On the first leg of our trip, we met Rose, Albert & TT, Laya, Dan, A & T, and Bex, Henry & R. We continued to travel together or meet up if we separated.
Essaouira
We initially visited Essaouira for a couple of hours during Eid, hoping to find some celebrations. But nothing special seemed to be happening.
We joined Rose, Albert, and TT in a wild spot outside town. But it was boiling, with no breeze or shade from the (spiky!) argan trees. We set up a shelter for shade and fetched some water for the little ones to play in.
Everyone was much happier once the adults were in the shade and the toddlers were in the water!
We headed back to Essaouira for a day of mooching.
Although it’s known as a “hippy town”, we didn’t feel any relaxed hippy vibes. It was super busy, and many shops and stalls sold the same things.
But we still enjoyed it, and there were some beautiful spots.
We had tea in a comfy spot at a fancy riad/cafe.
Our travel crew all met back up and decided to splurge on a fancy campsite for a few days.
The campsite had a pool, so we had a few relaxing days while the kids played in the water.
We spotted a chameleon walking along a trellis.
Rose and Albert had to leave us, but we got a family picture before they left.
Check out Rose and Albert’s blog here!
After leaving the campsite, we headed to another wild spot with Bex and Henry. It was another hot spot among the argan trees, so we quickly set up a shelter between our vans.
We did some yoga, painted, played with toys and read books.
When the kids were finally asleep, we used the projector on the side of Vandertramp to watch Lord of the Rings.
Casscade Immouzer
After a few days, we travelled inland. Quickly after leaving the coast, the roads got much prettier.
We went to Immouzer waterfall; however, there’s no water anymore as there has been no rain for over three years.
There is still a tiny pool of water in a grotto. And if you’re brave enough to face the icy water, you can go for a swim.
Leading up to the grotto are lots of quite pushy sellers. If you paused for a second, you were pounced on!
We found a nice hike up to the waterless waterfall.
On the way back down, a local guy joined us and gave us a local geography and history lesson.
Paradise Valley
We’d heard of a place nearby called Paradise Valley, so we checked it out. We camped at the top and walked down in scorching weather.
If the place hadn’t been full of people and sellers, it might have been more like paradise. Saying that, we were very thankful for a refreshing drink after the walk!
We also had a delicious tagine lunch with some Moroccan tea.
Although the valley wasn’t much like paradise, the roads around it were beautiful, and there were plenty of places to park and have a quiet swim.
We were told the only food market was on Friday when sellers from Agadir came inland. As it was only Tuesday, and we only had some rice between us, we headed back to the coast to get supplies.
Aourir
Luckily, we found a large market which was held every Wednesday. So, although we were back at the coast, at least we had some food!
We met Laya and Dan at a wild spot overlooking a beach. The police are notorious for moving wild campers on from coastal spots, and this place was exposed from the road, so I’m not sure why we were allowed to stay.
It was a stunning spot (if you ignored the rubbish and broken glass!) but SO WINDY. The kids enjoyed being together again.
We had a beach day celebrating Dan’s birthday.
We had a canine companion for a few days, but we didn’t appreciate her barking all night as she “protected” the vans!
Taghazout
Taghazout was lovely and chilled, but it wasn’t like the rest of Morocco we’d seen so far. There were vegan options on the menus and even a vegan café! But we weren’t complaining and enjoyed a delicious vegan burger.
We all stayed on a guarded carpark, overlooking some little beaches with a magnificent coastal view.
Moo had a great few days playing on the beach.
It was Wednesday again before we knew it, so we went to the market for our weekly shop.
We had another family day on the beach for Bex’s birthday.
We stayed on the beach until the evening, enjoying food together and listening to Laya play guitar.
Bex and I went for a mum’s afternoon coffee, but thanks to Bex’s spontaneity, it ended up being a mum’s outing to get Bex a tattoo. Then I got one the following day. (Sorry, Mum.)
We took the kids to a skate park at the top of a hill.
We managed to peel ourselves away from the beach long enough to have a look around Taghazout.
Where We Stayed
The prices here are for one van, two adults (children up to 2 are free) without electricity.
If you require hook up, it’s usually 20-30MAD/£1.59-£2.38 more a night.
Essaouira
1. Wild Camping
- Wild and free!
- There are no facilities, although there is a water point very close on the main road.
- Very close to Camping Espirit Nature, among the argan trees.
- It’s an extremely rough track into the argan trees, with minimal ground clearance. If you’ve got a low van, camp nearer the (super quiet) road.
- It’s hot compared with the coast, as there’s no breeze. The trees don’t provide much shade, so ideally, you’d need an awning for protection.
2. Essaouira Free Parking
- Daytime parking only. Free.
- The only carpark in the town that still allows campervans.
- Half an hour’s walk along the beach into the old town.
- There are two entrances. One is packed with cars, whereas the other has more room for vans.
- Lots of glass in the sand next to the parking – watch out for your tyres!
3. Camping Espirit Nature
- 120MAD/£9.52 a night. Kids up to 2 are free, but then they’re an extra 40MAD/£3.17 each per night.
- This site felt more like a European campsite. It was super clean and very well maintained.
- Clean swimming pool with shaded lounge areas. Free Wifi at the pool.
- Toilets and hot showers.
- Small play area, 18-hole mini golf, trampoline.
- Food and bread are available to order.
4. Wild Camping – Ghazoua
- Wild and free.
- There are no facilities, although there’s a row of shops and cafes within walking distance.
- There are lots of places to camp among the argan trees. Take a dirt track off the main road and pick a spot!
- This area is a regular hang-out for locals, so there’s lots of smashed glass. We had to sweep a whole area, so it was free from glass and argan tree spikes.
- It was quiet and peaceful when we were there. We only saw shepherds and the occasional jogger.
Co-ordinates – 31.445411, -9.725317
Imouzzer Waterfall
- Free for the day as long as you eat in the restaurant. We stayed for 1 night and didn’t eat at the restaurant. We were told to “Pay what you like”, so we gave 50 MAD/£3.97 for stopping over and filling with water from the gardener’s hose.
- No facilities.
- Well maintained – not much rubbish around.
- Nearby food market on Fridays. There’s nowhere else to get fresh food. The local shops sell bread, eggs, yoghurt and snacks.
Paradise Valley
- Wild and free.
- No facilities.
- Close to the main road, although there’s hardly any traffic.
- On P4N, it says there’s only space for 2 vans, but you’d easily fit 4 or 5.
- When we were there, the place was swarming with flies.
- Nice walk down to paradise valley. But HOT coming back up!
Aourir
- Wild and free.
- Large carpark overlooking the beach, with a scramble down the rock to get to the sand.
- Possibly owned privately by Richie’s Restaurant (and surf lessons and stuff rental), which is why the police don’t bother you, even though it’s exposed from the road.
- There are no facilities, but there are loos and an outdoor (cold) shower at Richie’s.
- Lots of restaurants, cafes and shops, a 15/20 minute walk away.
- Lots of litter and smashed glass. Stray dogs barking all night.
Taghazout
- Guarded carpark, 20MAD/£1.59 a night.
- Guarded 24 hours by different guys on shifts. The morning guy (Mohammed) brings all the campers fresh bread every morning.
- No facilities.
- It’s a short scramble down rocks to a small beach or a 20-minute walk into Taghazout for the main beach, shops, cafes, and restaurants.
Our next step
For now, it’s farewell to the ocean as we head inland (hopefully more successfully than last time!).
We plan to head towards Ouarzazate before heading North into the mountains. We’ve heard it’s pretty hot inland, so we hope to find some cool spots for Moo.
No Comments