Taxi
The grand-taxi rank lies immediately west of the bus station. Fares include Sidi Kaouki (Dh10, 15 minutes), Marrakesh (Dh90, 2½ hours) and Agadir (Dh80, two hours).
8Getting Around
To get to the airport, take bus 2, which passes the airport turning (Dh10, 15 minutes, every two hours), or a grand taxi (Dh150 to Dh200). The blue petits taxis ( GOOGLE MAP ) are a good idea for getting to and from the bus station (Dh10), but they can’t enter the medina. If you’re happy to walk but don’t want to carry your bags, there are plenty of enterprising men with luggage carts who will wheel your bags directly to your hotel for about Dh20.
Around Essaouira
Diabat الديابات
The sleepy Berber village of Diabat, 5km south of Essaouira, was once a dope-smoking colony popular with hippies. Today it is the site of a major new tourist development, Golf de Mogador, which comprises a luxury resort and two golf courses designed by Gary Player. Also in the village are two horse- and camel-riding ranches: Ranch de Diabet and Zouina Cheval.
2Activities
For something more serious than the horse and camel rides on the beach, several companies offer cross-country trekking and multiday rides in the countryside around Essaouira. Tailor-made horse trips can be arranged through Ranch de Diabat and Zouina Cheval.
Golf de Mogador (www.golf-mogador-essaouira.com) offers two six-tee courses suitable for players of all levels, as well as a golf academy and a clubhouse with restaurant.
Zouina ChevalHORSE RIDING
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0682 65 27 42; www.zouina-cheval.com; Diabat; 1hr rides from Dh160, day rides incl picnic from Dh600)
This outfit in Diabat is owned and run by Najib and Sophie, highly qualified and experienced instructors who cater for all levels, including children and beginners. Longer horse trekking and camping trips are also available.
Ranch de DiabatHORSE RIDING
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0524 47 63 82; www.ranchdediabat.com; Diabat; 30min horse or camel rides Dh150/250)
This outfit, approximately 3km south of Essaouira, offers horse and camel riding, as well as quad excursions. Also on offer are hikes and four- to six-day trail rides in the desert or along the coast (Dh6065 to Dh8800).
Maison du ChameauCAMEL TREK
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0658 37 60 43; www.lamaisonduchameau.fr; Douar Al Arab; prices on application)
This guesthouse is home to eight meharis (white Sudanese racing camels). It offers rides, weeklong camel-riding courses and shorter excursions. Accommodation is in simple but comfortable rooms (doubles including breakfast Dh1030), and there's a swimming pool for guest use. A set dinner costs Dh165. You'll find it approximately 20km from Essaouira, past Bouzama.
4Sleeping
Auberge TangaroBOUTIQUE HOTEL€€
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0524 78 47 84; www.aubergetangaro.com; Zone du Golf, Diabat; s/d Dh760/870, ste Dh975-1520, all incl breakfast; pWs)
Set in flower-filled grounds, this 1915 house, close to the golf course in Diabat, offers 19 guest rooms decorated in a chic mod-Moroccan style. Facilities include a yoga studio (supposedly the only one in or near Essaouira), a hammam and a tranquil pool area. Meals are available.
Sofitel Essaouira Mogador Golf & SpaRESORT€€€
( GOOGLE MAP ; %0524 47 94 00; www.sofitel.com; Domaine Mogador; r Dh1800-2200, ste Dh2280-3800, villa Dh4370-5160; paiWs#)
Part of the Golf de Mogador development, this luxury resort offers a range of rooms and suites as well as 28 villas with private swimming pool. Facilities include a luxury spa, two bars (one of which functions as a club in the high season), four restaurants and a large swimming pool. Breakfast costs Dh110.
8Getting There & Away
To get to Diabat from Essaouira drive south on the coast road to Agadir and turn right just after the bridge about 5km out of town. Alternatively, local bus 5 leaves from outside Bab Marrakech (Dh5, every two hours).
Sidi Kaouki سيدي كاوكي
Pop 4582
The constant blustery winds, wild beach and good budget accommodation at Sidi Kaouki have made it one of Morocco’s top windsurfing and surfing spots. It’s not for the faint-hearted (waves average 1m to 3m and the currents can be dangerous), but even if you don't take to the water, it's a chilled escape from Essaouira.
The large building on the rocks, washed by the sea, is the final resting place of Sufi saint Sidi Kaouki, who was known for his healing abilities. People still visit the shrine. For water sports, the quintessential surfers’ hang-out on the beach is the Sidi Kaouki Surf Club, a brightly decorated cafe-clubhouse with a cool vibe. You can arrange lessons and hire surfing, windsurfing and kitesurfing gear here.
2Activities
Sidi Kaouki Surf ClubWATER SPORTS
(%0672 04 40 16; www.sidi-kaouki.com)
Offers surfboard hire (two hours Dh165, one day Dh270), windsurfer/windkite rental (three days Dh1570), and lessons. Can also book accommodation in a number of apartments and guesthouses in the village; check the website for information and rates.
MOGAsurfWATER SPORTS
(%0618 91 04 31; www.mogasurf.com)
This Essaouira-based company offers half-day kitesurf (Dh165), surfboard (Dh165) and paddleboard (Dh325) hire in Sidi Kaouki, as well as two-hour kitesurfing (Dh650), surfing and paddleboarding (Dh325) lessons.
4Sleeping & Eating
A clutch of guesthouses are set back from the beachfront and can be booked through the surf club or the Al-Vent restaurant.
Al-VentINTERNATIONAL€€
(%0623 83 66 15; http://sidikaoukihotel.com; Sidi Kaouki; paella Dh75-150, mains Dh50-125; h10am-10pm; v)
This Spanish-owned place opposite the beach is popular with the ultrachilled surfer crowd, who can't get enough of the paella (fish, chicken or seafood), burgers and tajines. There are a number of options for vegetarians and vegans. The owners also offer backpacker-style accommodation in the village.
8Getting There & Away
Sidi Kaouki is about 25km south of Essaouira. Bus 2 or 5 (Dh6) leaves from outside Bab Marrakech every two hours.
Mediterranean Coast & the Rif شاطىءالبحرالمتوسط و منطقة الر فٌ
Mediterranean Coast & the Rif Highlights
West Mediterranean Coast
Tangier
Cap Spartel
Road to Ceuta
Ceuta (Sebta)
The Rif Mountains
Tetouan
Around Tetouan
Chefchaouen
Trekking in the Rif Mountains: Talassemtane National Park
Oued Laou
Targa to El-Jebha
Al-Hoceima
Al-Hoceima National Park
Cala Iris & Torres de Alcala
East Mediterranean Coast
Melilla
Nador
East of Nador
Saidia
Berkane
Oujda
Mediterranean Coast & the Rif شاطىءالبحرالمتوسط و منطقة الر فٌ
Why Go?
Caught between the crashing waves of the Mediterranean and the rough crags of the Rif Mountains, northern Morocco is one of the most charming parts of the country. Tangier, the faded libertine of a port that links Africa and Europe, has shed its shady past to enjoy a rebirth as fashionable Moroccan riviera. To the east, the coast is dotted with high cliffs and sandy coves; the area booms as a Moroccan holiday destination.
The charming pastel blue medina of Chefchaouen deserves its reputation as a magnet for travellers, while Tetouan boasts the food and architecture of the Spanish protectorate era. Echoes of Spain continue with the medieval fortresses and modernist architectural treasures of the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla.
Inland, you can get away from everything with treks in the Rif and walking in the little-visited remote Beni-Snassen 'national park'.
When to Go
AApr Spring is perfect for trekking in the Rif or exploring national parks.
AJul Head t
o Chefchaouen for its annual arts festival.
ASep Mediterranean beaches await, without the crowds.
Best Places to Eat
A Auberge Dardara Restaurant
A Art et Gourmet
A Populaire Saveur de Poisson
A Blanco Riad
Best Places to Sleep
A Dar Nour
A Villa Josephine
A El Reducto
A Casa Hassan
Mediterranean Coast & the Rif Highlights
1 Chefchaouen Getting happily lost in the blue-washed lanes and alleys of one of Morocco's most enchanting medinas.
2 Tangier Looking beyond this city's gleaming modern face to find traces of the artists, from Matisse to the Beat poets, who made it home.
3 Melilla Wandering around the modernist buildings and imposing medieval fortress, before indulging in tapas for lunch or dinner.
4 Tetouan Taking in the art and colonial history of this Riffian town's museums and its beautifully restored Spanish architecture.
5 Al-Hoceima National Park Exploring the remote hills and beaches while looking for birdlife in this overlooked national park.
6 Talassemtane National Park Looking for Barbary apes while trekking amid the forests and Berber villages of the Rif Mountains.
West Mediterranean Coast
Morocco's west Mediterranean coast takes in the area around the storied port city of Tangier, as well as Ceuta, one of Spain's few remaining enclaves in North Africa.
Tangier طنجة
Pop 950,000
Guarding the Strait of Gibraltar, Tangier has for centuries been Europes's gateway to Africa. Its blend of cultures and influences is unique in Morocco – for much of its history it wasn't even governed by Morocco.
Tangier has always carried a slightly seedy allure, in part due to its time as a semi-independent international zone that attracted eccentric foreigners, artists and spies. Officially sanctioned neglect later gave it a dismal reputation, and visitors were often quick to flee its sleaze and hustle.
Contemporary Tangier could hardly be more different. Investment has flowed in and the white city gleams with an air of confidence. The corniche bustles, entrepreneurs in the new business district have replaced the hustlers, and a new marina is under construction, along with the new TGV train line to Casablanca. Tangier's cultural life is buzzing in a way it hasn't done since the 1950s.
21ST CENTURY TANGIER
Times were that Tangier was exactly the Moroccan destination that you'd pass through – a rundown city full of hustlers trading on stories of a libertine past. Those days are long behind it, and Tangier has entered the 21st century with a fresh face and a confident spring in its step.
Tangier's renaissance began in 2007 when the main port was replaced by the Tanger Med facility, 40km along the coast, now one of the busiest ports not only in Africa but anywhere in the Mediterranean. The new port allowed investment to flow in, not least the flagship Renault-Nissan car plant. Tangier now makes over 200,000 vehicles a year, exporting to the European Union as well as selling on the domestic market – the majority of petits taxis are now locally made Dacias. The plant is entirely fuelled by biomass from Morocco's olive oil industry – a neat fusion of ancient and modern Moroccan know-how.
The next step has been the Tangier Metropolis program, remodelling the city's corniche, building a new marina (due to open in 2017) and redevelopment around the train station, and adding hotels, malls and the new TGV train station for the high-speed link to Casablanca. The medina has been cleaned up, and the plan is to put the city back at the forefront of Moroccan tourism. There's a strong focus on domestic, Gulf and package tourism, but Tangier still lags behind destinations such as Marrakesh when it comes to boutique offerings. In spite of this we'd suggest keeping your eyes on the kasbah area as the place for future developments. Still, with events like the hipper-than-thou Nuits Sonores electronic music festival, and the artsy digital start-up at Technopark, the city's forward motion is bringing an optimism that it hasn't known for decades.
History
Tangier’s history is a raucous tale of foreign invasion, much of it driven by the city’s strategic location at the entrance to the Mediterranean. The area was first settled as a trading base by the ancient Greeks and Phoenicians, and named for the goddess Tinge, the lover of Hercules, who legendarily pulled Europe apart from Africa to form the Strait of Gibraltar. Under Roman rule, it was the capital of the province of Mauretania Tingitana. The Vandals attacked from Spain in AD 429, followed by the Byzantines, and then the Arabs, who invaded in 705 and quelled the Berber tribes. Tangier passed between various Arab factions before finally coming under Almohad rule in 1149. Then the Portuguese arrived, capturing the city on their second attempt in 1471, only to hand it to the British 200 years later as a wedding gift for Charles II. The English diarist Samuel Pepys lived here briefly, calling it ‘the excrescence of the earth’. Morocco regained control of the city under Sultan Moulay Ismail in 1679, destroying much of the city in the process. They remained in power until the mid-19th century, when North Africa once again piqued the interest of the European powers.
The modern history of Tangier begins here. While the rest of Morocco was divided between France and Spain, strategic Tangier was turned into an ‘International Zone’ of various sectors, similar to West Berlin in the Cold War. France, Spain, Britain, Portugal, Sweden, Holland, Belgium, Italy and the USA all had a piece of the pie, which was managed by the sultan, at least on paper. This situation lasted from 1912 until shortly after Moroccan independence, in 1956, when the city was returned to the rest of the country. During this famous Interzone period, expats flooded in, forming half the population, and a wild, anything-goes culture broke out, attracting all sorts of people, for reasons both high and low. Socialites, artists, currency speculators, drug addicts, spies, sexual deviants, exiles, eccentrics – the marginalia of humanity all arrived, giving the city a particularly sordid reputation.
When the Interzone period ended, Tangier entered a long period of decline. As the economic base moved on, so did the cultural scene. The city became a dreary port, while retaining its criminality. King Hassan II hated the city and starved it of funding. Street hustlers multiplied, turning off tourists. The number of expats dwindled, until there were only a few thousand left.
Since 1999, Tangier has been the site of major development, most notably its new port, Tanger Med, and the high speed TGV train line to Casablanca, currently under construction.
Tangier
1Sights
1Instituto Cervantes GalleryA3
2Mohamed Drissi Gallery of Contemporary ArtB3
4Sleeping
3Grand Hôtel Villa de FranceB3
4Hotel El DjeninaC3
5Pension HollandaB3
5Eating
6Ana e PaoloC4
7La FabriqueB3
8OtoriC4
6Drinking & Nightlife
9Beach Club 555D3
10Regine ClubC4
7Shopping
11Ensemble ArtisanatB3
12Fès MarketB3
Transport
13Ferry Company Ticket OfficesD1
FRSD1
Inter ShippingD1
1Sights
Medina & Kasbah
oMedinaAREA
The medina, the top attraction of Tangier, is a labyrinth of alleyways both commercial and residential. It's contained by the walls of a 15th-century Portuguese fortress, although most buildings are actually relatively young for a Moroccan medina. Clean and well lit as medinas go, the place is full of travellers' treasures, from glimpses of traditional living, to the more material rewards of the souqs.
oTangier American Legation MuseumMUSEUM
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0539 93 53 17; www.legation.org; 8 Rue D’Amerique; Dh20, guided tour Dh50; h10am-5pm Mon-Fri, 10am-3pm Sat)F
This museum,in an elegant five-storey mansion, is a must-see: Morocco was the first country to recognise the fledgling United States,
in 1777, and this was the first piece of American real estate abroad, as well as the only US National Historic Landmark on foreign soil.
There are some unusual displays, including a Moroccan Stars and Stripes carpet, and an 1839 letter from a hapless US consul who had been given two lions as a diplomatic gift. The museum also holds an impressive display of paintings that give a view of the Tangerine past through the eyes of its artists, most notably Scotsman James McBey, whose hypnotic painting of his servant girl, Zohra, has been called the Moroccan Mona Lisa. There is a small bookshop and a wing dedicated to Paul Bowles.
Musée de la Fondation LorinMUSEUM
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0539 93 03 06; [email protected]; 44 Rue Touahine; donations appreciated; h11am-1pm & 3.30-7.30pm Sun-Fri)F
This eclectic museum is housed in a former synagogue. Here you will find an open two-storey room with an engaging collection of black-and-white photographs of 19th- and 20th-century Tangier on the walls. Meanwhile there will likely be a children’s theatre production going on in the centre – as the museum doubles as a workshop for disadvantaged kids, bringing life to the static display.
Lonely Planet Morocco Page 42