Taking family on Europe holiday in June.
It's not a surf / kite trip so not taking any kit...
I'm not well travelled in this area and would like to visit Casablanca and Marrakech.
Essaouira is on the coast and gets a good wrap for wind and surf at certain times of the year.
Keen to hear of experience with conditions, rentals, accommodation, non surf / kite family members.
Only need ONE day that starts with an uncrowded head high right hander and finishes with a slightly d-powered 8m.
Then I'll cope and be patient as we visit markets and shops .........
Cheers mike
Hey Mike
Essouira is the windiest place in Morroco, but not known for the waves. A village further south called Taghazout has the right hand points. If you have a car, 1 1/2 hours south from Essouira. Driving along the coast you'll pass point after point of rights, as long as there is swell. I always went in winter (Dec, Jan, Feb) so not sure if you will score with waves. I've also had good waves in Cassablanca and Rabat. Ask around and you can hire anything, but kite gear might be harder to find. I've surfed the coast a few times between '98-'04 and never saw a kite in Marocco back then. Maroc's are beautiful people and will give you their camels if you ask them, just haggle a little on the price
. Check this link below for various spots. Qualidia is a nice village with a big lagoon for flat water as well.
se.kiteforum.com/kitesurf/country/Morocco
Enjoy, I'm jealous.
Scott
Can't speak from a kiting POV, but otherwise me and a mate did a mini backpacking trip around Morocco few years ago, and it was one of the best weeks holiday I've ever had.
Flew to Malaga (Southern Spain), then train down to Tarifa to get ferry over to Tangiers. The did a clockwise'ish loop from Tangiers to Chefchauen, down to Fez, then down to Merzouga on the edge of the Sahara (HOT!). Then into the Atlas mtns before heading Marrakesh to fly a back out.
Personally, I found Marrakesh a bit of a come-down after the rest of the trip. Overbearing, touristy and a bit boring after two days. Highlights for me were Chefchauen, Merzouga and overnight Bedouin camp/ camel trek into the desert, and trip thru and stop-off in Atlas mtns.
Never got to the coast- wanted to go to Essaouira, but didn't hear anything particularly good about Casablanca.
This was all my pre-kiting times too, so Tarifa and Essaouira meant feck all to me in terms of kiting Meccas.
Enjoy!
I was there couple of years ago, yes 45 knots for 3 days straight with no waves.
That region is very windy in summer. You can rent equipment in Essaouira, there are a number of stations/schools. It is mainly flat water with small waves at one side of the bay. A short drive to the North is Moulay Bouzerktoun which can have pretty good waves. A short drive to the South is Sidi Kaouki which has a beach break.
Video link Moulay: gleiten.tv/index.php/video/action/view/v/1139/page/302/ Waves are a lot smaller in summer.
Video link Sidi Kaouki: gleiten.tv/index.php/video/action/view/v/903/page/347/
