Casablanca

Casablanca surfs at Dar Bouazza, twenty-odd kilometres southwest of the centre, where the city thins out and the coast turns into a run of reefs and sandy bays. It is the busiest surf scene in Morocco outside the Taghazout region, and almost entirely a local one.

The Dar Bouazza stretch has genuine variety within a few kilometres. Jack Beach and Sablettes are the sand-bottom, beginner-friendly end. Further along, reefs such as Dinosaure, Le Spot and Ain Diab hold real power on a winter swell and are the reason Casablanca produces so many of the country's best surfers. Water quality improves the further southwest you go, away from the port and the city outfalls.

The season is autumn through spring, when North Atlantic swell arrives and the summer onshores drop. Winter can be genuinely big here — this coast faces the open ocean with nothing in the way.

What you get in exchange for a less scenic setting than the south is convenience: an international airport, everything open all year, and a line-up that is Moroccan rather than a rotation of visiting surf camps. Schools and board rental cluster along the Dar Bouazza road.

Where to stay in Casablanca

Most surfers stay out at Dar Bouazza rather than in the city — apartments and small hotels along the coast road, roughly €35 to €80. Basing in the centre means a thirty to forty minute drive each way, which is fine once and wearing every day. Traffic in and out of Casablanca shapes a surf day here more than the swell does.

Good to know

This is a local scene rather than a camp scene: the line-ups have regulars and the usual courtesies count for more than they do at a beginner beach. Winter swells get genuinely large and the reefs are unforgiving on the wrong day. In exchange you get an international airport, everything open all year, and a city that does not close in November.