Mehdia

Mehdia sits at the mouth of the Sebou river north of Rabat, backed by the Mamora cork forest. It is a straightforward beach break town with a long-standing local scene and very few foreign surfers.

The beach is long and sandy, the swell is consistent through autumn and winter, and the jetty at the river mouth shapes decent banks. It is one of the more reliable places to find a rideable wave on this stretch of coast.

In summer this is a Moroccan beach resort rather than a surf town: families from Rabat and Kenitra fill the sand, the swell drops away and the water is warm. The surf season is the other half of the year, once the crowds have gone home and the Atlantic starts working again. There is almost no foreign surf tourism here, which is both the appeal and the limitation — the schools and the board hire are aimed at local surfers and run in Arabic and French.

Two practical things. The Sebou drains a large agricultural catchment, so the water at the river mouth is not at its best for a few days after heavy winter rain, and the open beach away from the jetty is the better call then. And Mehdia only works as a base if you are already in this part of the country: it is the best part of a day's drive from Agadir, and nobody crosses Morocco to surf it.

Where to stay in Mehdia

Mehdia is apartments and small hotels aimed at Moroccan summer visitors rather than surf travellers, which keeps prices low — roughly €20 to €45 — and the choice plain. Many people base in Kenitra, fifteen minutes inland, where there is more of everything, or simply day-trip from Rabat.

Good to know

Autumn and winter are the surf seasons; in July and August this is a family beach resort with very little swell. The jetty shapes the banks and concentrates the crowd with them, so walking south usually finds space. After heavy rain, give the river mouth a few days — the Sebou drains a great deal of farmland.