When traveling to a country for the first time I often like to get a taste of it as a whole. Then go back and dig deeper in certain areas during another visit. After spending most of our time inland in Morocco, we wanted to explore some coastal cities. Essaouira is a perfect Marrakech day trip option. It’s about a 2.5 hour drive and is a nice escape from the busy chaos of Marrakech. It’s a lot more chill and shops were more at ease about getting you to buy stuff.
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Marrakech Day Trip to Essaouira
Essaouira is a port city, with beautiful ancient buildings accented with colors of blue and gold. The medina is surrounded by fortified walls and is easy to walk through. It’s also listed as a Unesco World Heritage site. During the summer it gets quite crowded here as Moroccans like to escape to the coast for a break from the heat. There’s quite a cool and beachy resort vibe to this city, with the weathered buildings and smell of sea salt in the air. Our visit here was in the spring, so we were able to escape the crowds for the most part.
How to Book
I had booked this Marrakech day trip through Riad l’Orangeraie, our home for a few days in Marrakech. Our driver picked us up around 9am at the other riad we stayed the night before. Along the way we saw a beautiful landscape of argan trees and got lucky to see the famous tree-climbing goats in one of the trees. There was also a farmer there holding baby goats for tourists to take pictures with for a small fee. If you want a better chance of spotting these goats, the best time is spring and early summer. We snapped a few pics of this amazing experience and headed on our way again.
If you’re not staying at this riad, you can easily book a day trip here. This option is a guided tour taking you to several main sites within Essaouira, and also allowing you to explore on your own. The transport is by minibus, but the cost is much more affordable.
Tree-climbing goats along the way
Lunch
We arrived in Essaouira hungry so we stopped at Le Chalet de la Plage for some fresh seafood. It was also situated right on the beach with gorgeous views. The fish was so fresh and perfectly grilled. Convenient and great location, although next time we’d love to try some other spots.
The view of the beach from La Chalet de la Plage
View of the village from the ramparts
Captured a seagull at just the right moment
Looking over the port from on top of the ramparts
Port of Essaouira
Beautiful blue boats by the port
Terra posing by one of the blue boats
The Port and Ramparts, Moulay El Hassan Square
After a light lunch we walked over to the port and ramparts with the picturesque blue boats. The port is so majestic with an incredible perspective of the city and its livelihood. We lucked out with a perfectly sunny day with clear skies. For a small fee you can go up and explore the ramparts and get nice birds eye views of the city and port. We highly recommend taking the time to explore this area.
On our walk to the main village, Terra came across a few kittens on the street. She couldn’t resist playing and petting them. We also came across a street vendor who was selling Berber flutes. My husband is a music lover, so we grabbed a souvenir. Near the port there’s several places with freshly caught seafood offering to grill it. Going by the smells in the air, I imagine it’s delicious and recommend trying one of these places as an alternative to a restaurant.
Terra playing with a kitten on the street
Exploring the Medina and Souks
For the rest of our time in Essaouira we walked around to explore. The village itself is not that big and you can cover a big portion of it within a few hours. The medina is pleasant to walk through and the buildings have so much ancient character. The colors are reminiscent of a seaside town with weathered buildings and beachy tones.
While exploring Terra asked for some fresh juice. We found a cute little gem of a shop with various fresh squeeze juice concoctions and smoothies. An older woman owned the shop and made a custom smoothie for Terra with such love and care. It was as if she was welcoming us into her home. If you’re in the mood for a little refreshment during your walk you should definitely make a visit here.
Juice shop for Terra with fresh squeezed juice
Essaouira is a Must See!
Essaouira just took my breath away, in the same way that Chefchaouen did. It had such charm and was pleasantly laid-back. It felt like such a nice escape from Marrakech, almost like a mini-vacation. The shops were more reasonable and less aggressive, so I definitely recommend picking up a few souvenirs here. I would have loved to spend a night here to explore more, but even a day trip is such a treat. If you’re trying to choose a Marrakech day trip, Essaouira is definitely a great choice!
See more: Morocco in 10 Days with Kids.
Guided Tour with Tastings: A 3 hour guided tour taking you to several eateries and includes some tastings of local pastries, fresh grilled fish, and much more!
Dromedary Ride: A high rated one-hour dromedary ride along the beach and countryside. Great for families!
Have you been to Essaouira? We’d love to hear about it!
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