What a place! Taghazout is no longer a best kept-secret, in fact, it’s topping the list of a lot of “Best winter surfing destinations” around the globe…The town itself is so incredibly charming and colorful and quaint, you won’t find an ATM in town, and you can get away with wearing just a swimsuit and a sleeveless dress because this is a very touristic city. There are a lot of stray dogs and cats be warned, but they are taken care of a local organization that vaccinates them so you don’t have to worry! There are even baby puppies and kitties that will melt your heart…. We will start with a surf overview and get into the cultural bit at the end here.
I planned to get here on shoulder season to avoid scary waves and freezing temperatures, and just as I hoped I was able to find nice mid-sized, right hand point breaks from mid to late November. The famous, WSL spot is Anchor Point, a peeling right hand wave with rocks right in front of you that is an absolute show to watch when the swell hits “2 meters” (but we know Magic Seaweed is vastly underestimating what turned out to be some triple-overheads… ) So that being said, you’re probably not gonna be surfing Anchor’s on a big day unless you’re super advanced, but I was able to surf an inside section of this wave and had it all to myself one morning. There are about three sections, each breaking super hard to the right, but you will probably mostly wanna check out Anchor to watch and photograph the best locals and tourists absolutely tearing up those waves. It takes about 20 minutes to walk here from town. Low tide only!
ANCHORS <3
Killer Point is the best intermediate wave in my opinion, as it also has three sections of varying size and paddling amount. I never found any need to go all the way out to the main point because the 2nd section is still pretty steep and gets gnarly. In my opinion, crowds were rarely an issue here (or actually anywhere in Taghazout when it’s bigger) and I had some super nice rides that didn’t close out for quite a bit. It takes 30 minutes to walk here from town. Low to mid tide only! Or else you’re slamming into the rocks baby
(Did I mention it’s not called Killers for the rocks… but for the killer freaking WHALES that apparently live in the rock caves somewhere between Taghazout and the next surf town, Imsouane! Heard some fun tales about orca sightings, but as for how true they are, that’s for you to decide :)
Different boards everyday.... peep the taxi driver on the left (I feared for my board's life)
La Source blends in with the most inner section of Killers but is a little easier because it breaks more at mid to high tide. On days when Killer was too big I just stuck around here to avoid a heavy paddle. It can close out a bit more because its just a beach break.
The most finicky point break in town would be Panorama Point, where I had some really fun sessions but never anything too scary, so once again a very intermediate point break. It’s a touchy spot because Magic Seaweed is so far off on the report, saying you will have a 3 star 3-4 feet session when it’s more or less insurable :( When Panorama breaks I would say it is beginner friendly but you really have to hop back on your board fast and paddle back out so you don’t get stuck inside after taking a wave, and there is a strong strong current that makes this place quite paddle heavy. I liked it here because it was 3 minutes from the hostel and is basically the closest surf spot in town. Despite all that, I had both glassy sunrises and sunsets all to myself, with the sprawling Moroccan coastline and mountains as my view <3
When the surf is too big (rare in November— its usually too flat!), you can head about 10 minutes south by car or bus to Devils Rock, a right point/beach break that has more surf schools in the water. If that doesn’t look good to you, its even a little smaller just a half mile down the beach at Banana Point. The one day that the ocean popped off, I swallowed my pride trying to get to the line up at Banana Point and never making it, but otherwise this spot is super mellow and beginner friendly. It’s actually in the town of Tamraght, where I unfortunately didn’t get to explore (yet) but has an awesome Wednesday market, more surf hostels, and conveniently the closest ATM ;)
A surfboard in town has a going rate of anywhere from 50 dirhams-80 dirhams (5-8 euros), depending how much you chum it up with the surf shop owner and if you’re trying to rent a more technical hard top or just a foamy. It’s nice because most shops throw in a wetsuit if you don’t travel with one! I loved renting boards here because the whole town has surfed every board since there is a limited supply, so when you have a fun sesh on the 6’0 blue Al Merrick (my baby), you can share the stoke with the surfer that used the same board on the last swell! Got to try a ton of fun shapes and sizes and trade out my board three times a day!!
For eating in Taghazout, I was hella nervous because most everyone I talked to said I should expect to get at least mild stomach issues. Nothing ever happened! I only was warned to avoid one restaurant, and other than that I had fresh salads, street food, and the like and never had any problems god bless. I haven’t even ranted about how cheap and good and vegetarian the food is yet but boy oh boy Morocco does it right! Everything I loved about cheap Mexican food is even cheaper here, to the point where I more or less didn’t even cook for myself in three weeks because groceries cost as much as eating out…..
The bougiest food spots in town ,World of Waves and Windy Bay, are literally right on the water and even still a meal with coffee and fresh OJ is 40 dirham (4 euro)… were talking Moroccan bread (my true love), some eggs, and all the yummy sauces and spreads and olives with a traditional meal. For something cheaper, you gotta eat the Moroccan dinner of tajin, salad, and bread conveniently right under the mosque in town— you’ll see it marked as Almugar. Other than that, I really didn’t go wrong with where I ate and found myself returning to the same shops over and over because you really build camaraderie with the locals here and it’s nice to talk over a good Moroccan tea.
Moroccan tea... hostel bonfires... stray goats...
As for where I stayed, I felt so welcomed by my host Anis at Kiwi Hostel that helped me get used to Morocco in my first week there (and even took us to Agadir for an alcohol run— you can’t buy alcohol in Moroccan villages!) I also checked out Rooftop Hostel but tbh almost every surf hostel here is the same so just go for the cheapest one in my opinion.
Last but not least, the skate park! What a VIBE and a half. I think it’s fairly new but it’s such a special place to make some friends at sunset with an incredible view of the ocean below, and just see how the local skater kids shred with tourists is the best. I met my best friend in Taghazout here so it’s gotta be a special place :)
Overall, while Taghazout was incredible it wasn’t quite as consistent as I hoped so I actually only surfed in this area one week and dipped to other parts of Morocco for the rest of my adventure…. My recommendation is to hit it in February when you will still have friendly water temps and outdoor temps but hopefully a little more consistent swell. I mean, hey, a WSL even just got scheduled at Anchor Point in late Feb. See you there…?
These guys cheered me up and made me some tea (which I then bought said teapot) when we all had 48 hours to leave before the Omicron lockdown... shukran you guys <3
