Surfing North Morocco

The Surf

Despite being in Africa, Morocco has always been an extension of the European surf trail. With 2900km (1813mi) of coastline (the southern 1100km (688mi) of coastline is disputed since the 1975 Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara) located at the ideal latitude, and a perfect NW exposure, travellers have been hitting the Agadir area for decades, soaking up the desert sun and riding clean pointbreaks. However, when driving south from Europe, there’s plenty of epic breaks to check out on the way, like Dar Bouazza, Oued Cherrat or inside Rabat’s jetties when the swell is firing. Despite the proximity of major cities, the North Coast waves rarely gets crowded. Local waveriders are the happy-fews who can afford a board; French ex-pats or those who benefit from the support of King Mohammed VI. Morocco fires in the northern hemisphere winter, but the rest of the year favours the north coast, as it’s more consistent and less windy than the Agadir area. The construction of a major highway between Tangier and Rabat gives more options to check less known spots in between although much of it is a straight sandy beach. 

Surfers arriving in Morocco in the winter surf season, either fly into the central cities or immediately drive south to the famous waves around Agadir. This is understandable when the weather in Northern Morocco is slightly colder in Dec/Jan. The area from Tangier to Rabat is predominantly beach, but there are a few notable spots, particularly Medhiya, which offers wind and swell protection behind long, rivermouth jetties. The same set-up can be found at Doura in Rabat, plus a load of slabby reefbreaks are ridden by the large local contingent. The beachbreaks of Skhirat and Bouznika to the south  can really turn on for 9 months of the yr when its a bit smaller. . Mohammedia has the famous beach peaks of Sablettes. Goofies will love the North as there seem to be no end of little beaches and a number of left hand point breaks. There is every chance a travelling surfer will pick up a some decent waves in winter, especially at the protected jetty breaks, but remember Northern Morocco is well worth a look all yr round and can be especailly good in the Spring / Autumn and in the summer mornings before the wind picks up.