journal

This the first on many posts about my travels around the world. Its purpose is to share my own experience of the places I have visited and also inspire you to pack your bags and see the world too.

Agadir is the perfect alternative from the usual choices for cheap winter sun destinations. My girlfriend and I traveled there in the month of March in search of some R & R and found Agadir to be the perfect break.

Agadir is located in southwest Morocco, near the foot of the Atlas Mountains. Its original site was destroyed by an earthquake in 1960. Locals, speak Moroccan Arabic, French and English, in that order, although, we did not find any trouble communicating in English with locals during our stay.

Although we visited in March we found the weather to be hot, with daily temperatures well into the high 70s(°F). We stayed in a boutique hotel not far from the beach, tucked away from many of the larger hotels that are situated on the beachfront. This turned out to be an advantage, our hotel was much more tranquil as it was hidden away from the busy flow of people walking along the beachfront, making it ideal for quality time alone and relaxing in the sun.

Agadir has a total of six beaches, and most of our time was spent on “Agadir beach”. A 17 km strip of glorious white sands looking out to the Atlantic Ocean, and in comparison to Hammamet beach in Tunisia. Agadir beach is in far better condition.

Agadir has a wealth of bars and restaurants. The food on offer ranged from the authentic Moroccan dishes, to the more recognisable Western ones and particular chains like Pizza Hut and McDonalds.). There are some familiar brands usually found on London’s high street that are also based in Agadir. So if shopping is more up your street, there is a branch of Zara, ALDO and other well-known brands located here to feed a shopaholic’s hunger (my girlfriend). Not forgetting the souqs, which is a marketplace selling all types of goods from livestock to clothing and jewellery.

During our time spent in Morocco, we also managed to take in an excursion to the nearby city of Taroudant, also know as the “Grandmother of Marrakech”- because of its surrounding ramparts. Our visit gave us the opportunity to experience traditional Moroccan culture. This was first witnessed on route to Taroudant, where we saw goats climbing argan trees to eat its fruit.

Argan trees are only found in the southwest region of Morocco, its nuts are used to produce “Argan oil”. While we were in Taroudant, we visited a traditional argan oil factory and saw the process of the oil extraction at first hand. I must say the process of producing argan oil is very extensive. It involves a nut being cracked by hand, then gently roasted, the nut is then grinded into a paste and the paste is squeezed by hand to extract the oil. Moroccans swear by argan oil for its healing properties and by the end of our visit I was ready to buy a few bottles of the stuff just in case (to try it out for myself).

All in all, Agadir catered for all our needs; sun, sea, sand, great food and great people. A holiday destination you must experience.

If you do decide to visit Agadir a few tips to note. Top tip #1: Like most North African countries, the locals tend to see tourists as an opportunity to try and sell you something. So should you come across the persistent local sellers pushing everything from camel rides to ray bans worn by Jimmy Hendrix, a polite but firm “no thank you” usually does the trick and moves them on. But be aware, they might come back and try and tempt you to change your mind, more often than not this rarely happens.

Top tip #2: Agadir has one of the biggest souk in Morocco (Souk Lhed). Although I never visited there. I did, however, go to another souks (Uniprix, and Souq el Had) and I would highly recommend you visit these for a thrilling shopping experience. Souqs give you the opportunity to enter into a barter discussion with the seller for the price of an item(s) and grab yourself a bargain!!