Why you should visit this delightful Moroccan Port town plus the all important HOW TO GET TO ESSAOUIRA.
Why Visit Essaouira
Intriguing architecture, food, markets, restaurants and music. We recommend every Marrakech visitor adds an Essaouira experience to their itinerary.
Essaouira is wonderfully relaxing after the equally wonderful craziness that is Marrakech.
Essaouira has Famous Connections
Jimi Hendrix spent a little time here back in the day (1969) when Essaouira was a port on the hippy trail. Maybe it was that Jimmy died shortly after, but his Essaouira connection is remembered.
Some forty (40) movies have been shot here, the most known being Game of Thrones (where hasn’t it been filmed) and Orson Welles Othello (1951)
Essaouira Blue
The Hendrix legend lingers, but the Purple Haze has long gone, superseded by Essaouira blue.
Essaouira blue paint peels off trawlers and fishing boats alike, is layered on doors, shutters, roof and walls. Even the multi use plastic and sky comply.
The appeal of white washed walls with lashings of blue should not be underestimated.
Essaouira Beach
Beach Essaouira is long, wide and windy. Super popular with windsurfers and camel rides, walking and jogging, but for soaking up the sun, your best bet is to head to your favourite Beach Club. We loved Beach and Friends which opened in 2010 and is still popular today. Check it out on Facebook. Surrounded by wind breaks they offer sun lounges, bars, music and great food.
Being at the far end of the beach you do get to a long beach walk in also. The best of both beach worlds.
Essaouira Port
As much as I love Essaouira’s beach clubs the port is where all the action is. Check out these photos of boats, nets, pots and flags.
They mesh into a lively port scene overlooked by massive soaring gulls.
[pinit]
I wonder if the youngest fishermen gets the job of cook.
Tea is the drink of choice in Morocco.
Essaouira has a huge cat population and they don’t stray far from the carts. They are quite well mannered and wait for the fishermen to throw them tidbits.
How to get to Essaouira from Marrakech
By Bus from Marrakech to Essaouira
Supratours (Government Owned) run comfortable air-conditioned coaches from Marrakech to Essaouira.
The 3 hour trip with one comfort/food stop represents good value. The tickets are Flexible and able to be refunded in person. If you have purchased on line you must print it out and take it in. 100% refund up to the night before and 80% refund to the time of travel on ticket.
On our arrival at the Marrakech Supra terminal located at Marrakech Train station, the 10.30 a.m. bus is sold out, so we purchase tickets for the 2.30 p.m. Noticing our disappointment, the ticket seller suggests we might get on the 10.30 a.m. if we wait.
A crowd forms around the driver as soon as he appears and we squeeze through and chat. He pencils our names in and motions us to wait with the ever growing crowd of would be passengers.
Eventually our names are called – we’re going to Essaouira.
Supratours is part of the Morocco Rail System ONCF. The Marrakech Express arrives at the same station. Buses are linked to train times. One way cost 80 MAD (11 AUD). 6 buses each day.
Day Trips from Marrakech to Essaouira
If you only have one day to visit Essaouira why not join others on a day trip from Marrakech to Essaouira.
Flights to Essaouira
Domestic Flights to Essaouira
There are no domestic flights to Essaouira.
International Direct Flights to Essaouira
Yes, the hippy days are long gone with the introduction of seasonal and direct flights to Essaouira.
- England (STN) London Stansted – Ryan Air – Beginning March 2022 you can fly London to Essaouira
- France (MRS) Marseille – Ryan Air – March to October
- France (ORY) Orly – Transavia – March to October
- France (BOD) Bordeaux – Easy Jet – October to November
- Belgium (CRL) Brussels Charleroi – Ryan Air – March to October
Other airports near Essaouira Morocco are Agadir and Marrakech.
Accommodation.
We recommend choosing a Riad in the Medina (inside the walls of the old town). A Riad has an internal courtyard with a water feature and serves breakfast either in the Courtyard or on the flat rooftop. Be aware that the riad will have several floors and flights of stairs and probably no lift.
Essaouira Scam.
A scam operated at the joint train/bus station in 2012. It could have morphed into a variation by now, but should be recognisable. A cultured looking Moroccan man, well dressed in Polo Shirt and Slacks, speaking excellent English approaches offering a taxi sight-seeing trip around Marrakech, with an airport drop-off afterward, for a too-cheap price.
Chatting amiably we explain we have no intention of buying any carpets in Marrakech. No, No, that will not be necessary, he assures – he is only trying to help out a driver friend of his and promote Marrakech at the same time. We tell him how pleased we are because we’d accepted a similar deal in Bangkok and were eventually kicked out of the tuk-tuk for refusing to buy from a Gold Shop. Clucking sympathetically, he feigns a phone-call and then announces his driver friend is busy and won’t be able to take us after all. Oh – what bad luck and he was such a nice man.
Tuesday in Townsville – The Starter’s Flag
Absolutely LOVE these photos, Jan. 🙂 Especially that top one with the birds – wonderful. 🙂 I’m a big fan of fishing ports. There is never a shortage of things to look at. 🙂
Oh my, between the blue and the cat, it could have been Greece you were showing us this week! A most interesting post~and loved the photos.
Gosh those photos are incredible – you take such good shots {think I have said that before, but its so true!!}
And damn you were lucky NOT to get into that Taxi Ride with the Scam….imagine what could have happened 🙁
We have seen a fishing boat come in after its been out at sea – its good to watch them unload all of the different fish 🙂
Lisa I love compliments 🙂 B.H. and I love the ocean and boats and fishing. I just wished there was somewhere at that port where we could have sat and enjoyed the scene for longer 🙂
Oh my friend has just been visiting Morocco with her sister – so thanks for the rustic tour – I hope she didn’t get conned by can scams. The problem with travelling can sometimes be the fact that we have “tourist” written all over our foreheads!
Have a wonderful week.
We tend to be totally gullible when it comes to scams. Even if we are pre-warned we don’t pick it. So we were quite proud that we picked this one 🙂
Beautiful photos 🙂
Thanks Muza-chan.
One of my favorite cities in Morocco, the blue and white is such an iconic statement along with their famous doors!
Essaouira is certainly a haven of peace (unless you are there at music festival time) after Marrakech, I was so glad we included it in our itinerary.
Love all the blue and white in the photos. I am always on the lookout for scams and rarely do I trust the well heeled and well dressed. Essaouira is a place I would like to visit when I finally make it to Morocco.
Ha Ha. Even after being caught by a similar scam in Bangkok, we still debated amongst ourselves if this one was indeed a scam. We must be totally gullible. It was not until he said that the driver was not available, that we knew for sure that this too was a scam.
The blue and white ports remind me of Greece. Scams can be tiring, but at least he was polite while trying to rip you off!
I think being likeable and polite is a must have attribute for a successful scammer 🙂
My favorite place in Morocco! I loved Essouira and your pictures capture it well.
I think I will show some more photos of Essaouira one day, We have so many happy feelings associated with that town.
I love photos like this. You truly captured the essence of the place. Would Essaouiria be worth more time than a day trip, do you think?
Definitely. We stayed five days and really enjoyed it. 🙂
Beautiful place but I can’t imagine Jimi Hendrix there.
That was quick thinking on your part. Glad you didn’t get sucked in to his game.
The only reason we did not get sucked in was because it had happened to us before 🙂
These are beautiful and you truly captured the daily activities of this fishing port. It’s such an unexpected sight of Morocco beyond the dunes. Lucky you for knowing better than to get into that taxi.
We didn’t want to think it was a scam because he was so nice 🙂
I always read up on scams before I travel. I am going to Bangkok soon and I’m keeping my fingers crossed though it should be ok. Blue is my favourite colour, so I really enjoyed this post.
Outside the Royal Palace in Bangkok is where a nice man will tell you it is closed just now but he has a friend who will drive you around the sights for a reasonable price, bring you back so you can go in to the palace later 🙂
When I noticed this was your last post in my comments I couldn’t resist but reciprocate and comment.
I really enjoyed my visit to Essaouira and like you was fascinated by the working fishing fleet and the harbour area.
It brought back some memories and love the photos, thanks for returning me to a favourite destination. There are a few posts from the town on my site you might find interesting.
I checked out your Essaouira posts and they are keeping the town foremost in my thoughts. I am so glad we included Essaouira on our itinerary, it was such a contrast to our stay in Marrakech and the three day trip to the Sahara. These three together gave us a neat little cross section of Moroccan experiences. Thanks for visiting BTT 🙂
Hi Jan,
Love your capture of the amazing blueness of Essouira and the port scenes.
Ahh…the infamous Moroccan tourist scams. You were so smart to smell that something was a bit fishy. We encountered several scam attempts while in Morocco. My “favorite” was when a taxi driver was charging us 50 dirham for a ride from New Fez to Old Fez which is more than double the evening fare we normally paid. When we protested he said that it was the official evening rate and even produced an “official “ piece of paper to prove it. After arguing with him for few minutes, I said.”Okay, here’s your 50 dirham. But remember, It’s Ramadan and you’re cheating people. Allah will punish you.” He immediately gave us 30 dirham change.
No Marisol, the only reason we didn’t fall for it this time, was we fell hook, line and sinker for the same one in Bangkok. Even so, he was such a nice man, we nearly fell for it again 🙂
That was quick thinking of you to bring Allah into the equation!
You aren’t kidding about all that blue. It’s beautiful. I would have been totally taken in by that scam.
Thanks Michelle, I actually purposely did not put in too many blue shots – I will have to do another post. We nearly fell for that scam again:)
Love the blue and white, blue sky and birds in that first photo, Jan. This is just the kind of place I’d like to wander round with the camera.
Essaouira is a dream. I shall share some more blue and white photos soon 🙂
All that blue and white, so nice!
Great photos! The blue is stunning. We’ve been to Essaouira as well and loved it there. The fishing scene is spectacular and I think you captured it well!
Cheers!
Thanks Dariece, I feel another blue post coming in the future 🙂
Love the continuity of a kitty being home everywhere.
I host a weekly link party called “Oh, the PLACES I’ve been!” The link goes up at 7pm EST on Thursday. I hope to see you then!
– The Tablescaper
I love taking photos of cats or dogs when we are roaming. Thanks for visiting and commenting 🙂