Beaches in Morocco

An Atlantic coast of surf and cliffs running most of the country's length, and a short Mediterranean one in the north that behaves completely differently. The Atlantic water is cold year-round because of the Canary Current, which surprises visitors expecting African warmth, and the swell it carries has made Taghazout and the coast north of Agadir a surf destination with a season running from autumn to spring. Essaouira, further north, is a walled eighteenth-century port with a long beach and a wind so reliable that the town is a kitesurfing centre and an uncomfortable place to lie on the sand. Further south towards the Western Sahara the coast becomes desert meeting sea, with some forty kilometres of empty sand at Plage Blanche and almost no infrastructure behind it. The Mediterranean side around Al Hoceima and Saïdia is warmer, calmer and barely visited by outsiders, with a national park of limestone cliff and cove between them. Practically: modest dress away from the beach is expected and swimwear stays on the sand; the Atlantic has rip currents and little lifeguard cover outside the resort beaches; and the coast road from Casablanca south is good, while the Rif roads in the north are slow. Alcohol is available but not everywhere, and Ramadan changes the rhythm of a coastal town entirely.

The two are different kinds of shore. The sand is golden sand throughout, and both sit on open ocean. Together they account for 8 km of shore. · computed from the 2 records below