Surf & Desert
3 experiences from verified suppliers
Surf and desert: Agadir to Marrakech
A line rather than a loop — no road driven twice
- Agadir
- 3 days
- Group
Surf and desert: Agadir to Merzouga and back
Three days, one dune sea — returning to the coast
- Agadir
- 3 days
- Group
Surf and desert: four days with a whole day in the Sahara
The version where you stop arriving and leaving, and actually stay
- Agadir
- 4 days
- Group
About Surf & Desert in Morocco
These are trips that pair the surf coast with the interior: a week of waves at Taghazout or Tamraght with the Sahara, the Anti-Atlas or the dunes bolted on. Most people who come to Morocco to surf end up wanting one, and the only real question is how many surf days it costs them.
The short answer is that the desert is a long way from the waves. Erg Chebbi at Merzouga — the dune sea in every photograph — is around ten hours from Taghazout, so a genuine trip there is three days minimum and honestly four. Zagora is closer and smaller. Agafay, an hour from Marrakech, is stony desert rather than sand, which is not a criticism unless a listing calls it the Sahara.
If you have a week and want to keep surfing, the dunes at Timlalin are the compromise everyone actually takes. They sit about an hour inland from Agadir, they are real sand, and quad biking or a camel ride there is a half day — you are back for the evening session. A surf-and-desert package built around Timlalin costs you an afternoon; one built around Merzouga costs you half the trip.
Read the driving hours per day before you book anything multi-day. On the long routes the distance is the experience and also the discomfort, and a three-day Merzouga itinerary is roughly twenty hours in a vehicle. Nights are spent in a fixed camp in the dunes with dinner and music, the camel leg is usually an hour at sunset rather than a trek, and the pre-dawn is very cold in winter — colder than anyone packs for.
Check what the surf half actually includes. Some packages are a surf camp that sells a desert excursion; others are a desert operator who has arranged a few lessons. Both are fine, but they are not the same trip, and the listing should tell you which lessons, how many, and whether the board and wetsuit are in the price.
Who it suits
Surfers with ten days or more, anyone who does not want to fly home having seen only one bay, non-surfing partners on a surf trip, and travellers who want the Sahara rather than a desert-shaped afternoon.
What to check before you book
- Coached hours per day, and how many people per instructor. Above eight to one you are being supervised rather than taught.
- What the room actually is. A dormitory bed and a private double are often quoted under one headline price.
- Which meals are included, and what happens on the days nobody drives to a spot.
- Whether transfers from the airport and to the surf are in the price or added later.
- The cancellation policy in writing, and what it says about weather.
Where to find this in Morocco
The coast this marketplace covers runs from Mehdia in the north to Sidi Ifni in the south. These are the places to start looking:
- Agadir — Where you land, and a long city beach that works when the coast is huge
- Taghazout — The village that turned Moroccan surfing into an industry
- Tamraght — Quieter than Taghazout, and where most first lessons actually happen
- Imsouane — The longest, gentlest wave in Morocco
- Essaouira — Wind city — a walled medina with world-class kite and windsurf
Related types
- Beginner Surf Camp
- Intermediate Surf Camp
- Advanced Surf Camp
- All Levels Surf Camp
- Family Surf Camp
- Women Only Surf Camp