Brief intro to Essaouira

Essaouira is a coastal city in Morocco. It is known for its laid-back vibe & beautiful beaches.

It is a 3 hours drive (or bus ride) from Marrakech or 4.5 hours from Casablanca.

Why did we choose Essaouira?

We chose Morocco because we needed to stay at a non-Schengen country as a “Schengen shelter” before we head back to Italy for a hiking trip with our friends.

After researching cities like Rabat, Cassablanca, and Marrakech, we settled on Essaouira because:

• Rabat and Essaouira seemed the least chaotic of the lot. Chaos is fun to observe for a weekend trip, but we didn’t like the idea of like being disturbed by touts and having to haggle on a daily basis for 1 month.
• Compared to Rabat, Essaouira was cheaper and seemed more lively
• Living near the beach sounded great

Our Impressions

After spending 1 month in Essaouira, these are our impressions.

What we liked

Low cost of living

Our Airbnb was only $900+ USD for one month. The apartment was spacious, comfortable, conveniently located near eateries and the beach, and only a 15 minutes walk from the Medina (old town).

Eating out is very affordable. A main dish with protein will typically cost between 4-7 USD. If you know where to go, it can be downright cheap. For instance, a plate of 1/4 roast chicken with fries, salad, and bread below our apartment cost only $3 USD. We also managed to find an eatery in the Medina that serves a large plate of grilled sardines for only $2 USD.

Groceries are cheap if you get them from the local markets. But it can be a stressful experience with the constant worry of being charged tourist prices. You can also get your groceries from supermarkets and the prices are more typical of European supermarkets'.

Transport is also cheap. Essaouira is small and so you can walk pretty much everywhere. If you need a taxi it is only a mere flat rate of $0.80 USD. Thankfully, you don’t have to haggle the price with the driver, unlike in Marrakech.

Less chaotic and stressful than Marrakech

Our research was right. We did indeed feel that the locals aren’t always trying to rip tourists off in Essaouira.

Most of the times, the prices we pay at the markets when there isn’t a displayed price are the same as what the locals are paying.

The Medina also seems less hectic and dirty compared to Marrakech’s

Lively local life

Essaouira is not as hectic as Marrakech, but it is still plenty bustling by most standards.

We love to people watch and walking around the Medina or along the beach promenade is perfect for that. And the adorable street cats just add to the vibes!

Beautiful sunsets

It’s a coastal city facing west. On good days you’ll get to see the sun set into the sea which is absolutely breathtaking.

What we were mixed about

Weather

The weather in June is generally pleasant. Some days you can just wear a short sleeve tshirt in the day. But we usually wear a jacket at night, especially if it is windy

Essaouira is known as the windy city of Africa. And they aren’t joking! Note that on windier days, you won’t want to go to the beach unless you want to get battered by flying sand.

Safety

Some parts of town felt sketchy because of how run down and dark the area is. We had to walk through a street like that to get home. There were always some characters hanging about. But thankfully nothing happened.

There are also a lot of brightly lit streets with lots of families walking around at night that feel very safe.

However, you will have to be careful in especially crowded areas. For example, My wife did unfortunately get her butt groped at an especially crowded annual music festival.

Food safety

If you watch the eateries prepare food, you’ll notice that they typically don’t have the best hygiene standards.

We didn’t get sick during our 1 month of stay. But if you don’t have a strong stomach you might want to be careful when eating out.

Small size

Most of the “main attractions” can be covered in a weekend. So if you are not the type of person that likes to chill and hang out at the same place over and over, you might get bored really fast.

What we didn’t like

Dirty streets

In some parts of town, inside and outside of the Medina, you’ll see a lot of trash on the streets. It doesn’t help that they get picked up and scattered by the wind and seagulls.

Stark econonomic disparity

It is Morocco after all. The stark economic disparity between us and the locals always make us feel uneasy.

Limited airport connectivity

The local airport has few connections, so you might find yourself traveling to Marrakech, which is about three hours away, for more flight options. This can be inconvenient if you need to fly in and out frequently.

Far from the Sahara Desert

Many people go to Morocco to see the epic dunes of the Sahara Desert. Unfortunately it is really far away (~8h drive) and so we didn’t feel it was worth the trip.

Other misc notes

Internet seems good enough

We didn’t have fibre internet in our Airbnbs. But it was good enough for video calls.

Great for kite surfing

Since its usually so windy, Eassaouira is a great place for kite surfing.

We personally did not try, but we see kite surfers having a blast almost every day.

Alcoholic drinks are not widely available

They are available in some bars. But more restaurants don’t serve alcoholic drinks since Morocco is predominantly Muslim.

Conclusion

Will we come back?

The low cost of living, vibrant local life, and beautiful sunsets were great.

However, we felt like we had to be on guard as an outsider most of the time.

Maybe we’ll come back for shorter stays. Perhaps to experience the epic dunes of the Sahara desert.