Sidi Ifni

Sidi Ifni was Spanish until 1969, and it still looks it — blue and white art deco buildings on a bluff above the sea, slowly weathering in the salt air. The surf is a secondary reason to come, but it is there.

The beach below the town picks up consistent Atlantic swell, and the coast either side has more spots for anyone with transport. It is exposed and often windy, and fog is common in the mornings.

The town is the real draw: a Spanish colonial grid, a decaying airfield, an arcaded square, and an atmosphere unlike anywhere else on this coast.

Practically, you need transport. The town beach is walkable but the better waves are spread along the coast north towards Mirleft and Legzira, and there is no surf-camp minibus culture here to move you between them. Expect wind most afternoons and low cloud that can sit over the town until mid-morning even in a dry month — it burns off, but it catches out people who came this far south expecting heat. Prices are low, the seafood is good, and nobody is in a hurry.

Where to stay in Sidi Ifni

Guesthouses in the old Spanish buildings, a few hotels along the bluff, and simpler places down by the beach. Twenty to forty-five euros buys a double, and the rooms worth paying for are the ones with the balconies the Spanish built. This is not a surf-camp town, so a bed and a board are arranged separately.

Good to know

Transport again: the town beach is walkable, everything else is not. The Legzira cliffs north of town are what most people come to see — one of the two famous arches collapsed in 2016, so check what is still standing before building a day around it. Morning fog is common and usually burns off by midday.