Things to do in Essaouira, Morocco
My dear followers, have you ever been to Morocco? I bet you have ! And you probably visited beautiful cities of Marrakesh or Casablanca as the most popular touristic destinations. And I love those places too but on this site I want to expend your horizons and shows you hidden gems of Morocco! And the exciting part is that you probably know them from famous movies and TV shows!
Azur Art & Spa hotel rooftop, Essaouira
We will start with Essaouira that is located 5 hours drive from Casablanca or 3 hours drive from Marrakesh. What is this little city famous for? I’m so excited to tell you that my favorite tv show of all times was filmed here! Can you guess which one? I hope suspense is killing you but i wont torture you much longer, yes it is the Game of Thrones! The episode of the most popular drama series was filmed here! You can see a Youtube clip here to refresh your memory ESSAOUIRA Game of Thrones.
Skala de la Ville
Skala de la Ville is the #1 attraction in the city and it is an image of The Little Harbour in Astapor, also known as the Red City, one of the three great city-states of Slaver's Bay.
Skala de la Ville was built in 18th century to defend the city against attacks from the sea. Nowadays it is a popular film location and historical destination. You must visit it for the best instagram pictures, beautiful sunsets and the best part is that it’s free, you don’t need to buy tickets or hire a tour guide! You just walk over there and enjoy the beautiful views of the fort, cannons, seagulls and tourists. Yes, there would be many, therefore I recommend to start early in the day to snap the best pictures without people on the background. Also, the sunset in Essaouira is something you shouldn’t miss! And it applies to sunsets everywhere in Morocco! Morocco is called Kingdom of the sun for very little amount of rain and enormous amount of sun that leads to many solar plants and desert conditions. But as well as its proximity to the sun you will see the biggest most rounded and beautiful sunsets and sunrises. But for the convenience I’ll tag a restaurant that has the most beautiful view of the kazbah (fortified city as Essaouira is fortified and surrounded by the walls) and a sunset accompanied with music, drinks (don’t forget in this country it’s not common to see alcohol in restaurants so it’s a plus for this place) and amazing Moroccan seafood, yum! Il Mare restaurant had the best view of the fort and the sunset, we had the best experience there, I highly recommend! For the place to stay I recommend Azur Art & Spa hotel for the beautiful rooftops and a pool that you can enjoy best in the morning and have a breakfast there as well before hitting touring route.
Essaouira fish market
Essaouira fish market
Essaouira being a fishing port provides all kinds of seafood that one must try, the exotics and the usual. For the ones who are on the budget there is a chain of street market cafes that grill and marinate freshly delivered seafood in front of the customers and have seatings outside. Must see and not for the fainting souls, believe me your life will never be the same after this visit. What can you expect: a huge variety of seafood that you probably won’t see on a market in your hometown. Straight from the fishing boats that you will see parked right there it is boat to table experience. It doesn’t matter if you there just for sightseeing or to get a taste of the ocean wonders there are fishermen that can cook for you right there. But be prepared that locals don’t like tourists taking pictures of them. Why? First of all the traditional aspects where you better ask if you can indeed take a picture, or you might experience an outrage. And second aspect applicable to this particular location is ... pirating. Fish piracy seems to be a big issue on the coast of Morocco and due to the lack of regular jobs it is widespread source of an income. Therefore, fish market view isn’t for the weak hearts because you might see huge bleeding sharks on the market and species that are forbidden for fishing and sale. Another alert is a smell, I would recommend to wear a face mask. I went there during covid and I had them handy and it blocked most of the fish and birds poop smell which is VERY VERY strong. Coming back to the picture taking topic, given this information you can understand why fishermen there don’t express friendliness towards photographers and while I was there were turning their faces away or actively expressing their anger at the view of my camera. Watch movie Seasparacy on Netflix for a better comprehension of the topic and understanding of the situation that sea life faces in the costs of Africa and China, I was blown away by this knowledge.
Blue boats
At the same fish market you can find the gem of Essaouira- the fleet of famous blue boats. Why blue you would ask ? And it was my first question also … The reason lays in the history of fishing and farming a local murex mollusc for three thousand years. You can read more about it here and it’s quite an interesting read.
Dress code
Keep in mind that you are in a Muslim country and to avoid problems and unnecessary attention (especially if you are a woman) I suggest to pack clothes that would cover your knees and shoulders. Don’t panic, you can mix and match your peaces to perfection of a colorful ensemble. I suggest to bring colorful clothes because Morocco is full of color because of their dyes and colorful textile patters. Because of the sun it can and will be quite hot along your journey therefore white clothes are the best to bring as it is a sun repellent and also preferably of the linen texture. Don’t stress if your wardrobe is lacking some pieces because there are plenty of shops from very traditional clothes to touristic variations where you can purchase additional atmospheric clothes to complement your style and your pictures.
The landscape and themes are very diverse in every region of Morocco: from the seaport of Essaouira (that is more traditional and less touristy city) to the mecca of European tourists Taghazout with all-inclusive resorts and surfing, to the desert of Sahara with Berbers clothes and Berbers camps in the desert, to the mountains of Tafraoute with The Painted Rocks. From the mountains of Ouarzazate with black granite and The Atlas Film Studios, to the famous Marrakesh with medinas and markets and beautiful museums (my favorite YSL house but we will talk more about it later in the blog). Therefore, the diversity of this country requires the diverse clothes, and I would recommend bringing one or two sets of pants different lengths’ one is for riding camels and trekking, could be knee length and another one is longer for breezing nights (hell yeah it can get cold at night depending on a season and region). I insert amazon link to the pants I bought for this trip here and you can check them out on me in my other posts about Tafraoute and Sahara desert. Other clothes you must have are tunics or spf shirts, that you can buy on Amazon to cover your shoulders because the sun is quite strong and chances to get sunburn especially for a long outdoor tours are quite high. So, protection from the sun comes first and can’t be ignored!
Tips for tourists
Please negotiate prices everywhere you go in Morocco! Don’t be like me haha who came from USA where prices are set and non-negotiable. It could be a challenge to start negotiating but keep in mind that it is common and quite expected! The prices are initially cranked up 2X or 3X times higher than the initial cost. Therefore, don’t be shy and reply with the counter offer that is at less twice less of what the seller asks. It is especially common for street markets and street food courts, same goes for all kinds of tours! Ask for discounts, pictures (Moroccans take amazing pictures and know best places and times of the day to take them) and referrals for other tours. Word of mouth and referrals will take you a long way!
What not to bring
Morocco is a no-fly zone for drones and even if customs might not detect a drone on the way into the country they will detect it on the way out of it and the fines along with possible prosecutions can badly spoil ones experience. And yes, we didn’t know about it and almost got in trouble oops and had to ship out our drone out of the country to get it off our hands.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you like my suggestions and decide to make a purchase through my links, at absolutely no extra cost to you but it will earn me a cup of coffee that i will enjoy while writing more articles for you guys:) Cheers!
