Taghazout and Tamraght, Morocco: My Honest Guide After 16 Nights
We booked four nights on the Moroccan coast and stayed sixteen!
That is the most honest thing I can tell you about Taghazout and Tamraght. We came down from Marrakech expecting a few days of beach before moving on, and instead we cancelled everything else, extended twice, and ended up spending two thirds of our entire Morocco trip in two small surf towns ten minutes apart.
Almost nobody writes about this stretch of coast properly, and I think that is a mistake. So here is everything: where to stay in each town, which one to pick, what a day costs, and the small fish that put Dan on the sand in genuine agony.
Taghazout or Tamraght? My Quick Answer
Taghazout is livelier and more built up. Tamraght is quieter and more local. They are ten to fifteen minutes apart and you genuinely cannot go wrong.
We stayed in Tamraght and I am glad we did, but honestly I would have been just as happy basing myself in Taghazout instead! You can walk between them along the beach, and we were in and out of both almost every day.
Be honest with yourself about one thing. We stayed at the Hilton in Taghazout Bay and in Tamraght, not in Taghazout village itself, so I cannot give you a first-hand review of sleeping in the middle of Taghazout. I can tell you we were there most days and loved it.
Where We Stayed on the Moroccan Coast
Sixteen nights across three places, at three completely different price points. All three were good and all three were for different reasons.
Hilton Taghazout Bay Beach Resort & Spa
Two nights at the start, and we did not leave the property once. Four pools including a heated one and a kids' pool, a buffet breakfast and dinner that were both excellent, a gym I actually used, its own patisserie, and a short walk down to the beach. We got a free upgrade to a deluxe ocean view room and the shower alone was 10 out of 10. Family friendly and genuinely worth it.
Blue Surf House
Four nights at A$94.75 a night, so about A$47 each. It is listed on Booking as Tamraght Bleu House. Private rooms and dorms, so it has a hostel energy without being one, about ten minutes walk from the beach. The rooftop breakfast is the best thing about it: eggs, spreads, Moroccan mint tea and pitta, every morning. There is a shared kitchen, and you can hire a surfboard on site.
Our Tamraght Airbnb
Eleven nights at A$87.55 a night, about A$44 each, and our longest single stay anywhere on this trip. A full kitchen, a courtyard, a washing machine and about a six minute walk to the beach. The host is the reason it was the best of the three, and I have written about her below.
The host is the story. Halfway through our stay she cooked us dinner on the rooftop. A beef tagine with peas, herbs and prunes, homemade bread, Moroccan tea, and she gave us little surfboard fridge magnets as a souvenir. It was the best tagine we ate in the whole country, and the second best was in a riad in Marrakech! She checked in on us more than once over the eleven nights, in a way that felt like staying with someone rather than renting from them.
That is why we stayed eleven nights!
Things to Do in Taghazout and Tamraght
This is not a place with a list of sights. It is a place with a rhythm, and these are the things that filled our days.
Hey Yallah, and yes it is a whole personality
Our favourite cafe, one minute walk from the surf house, and genuinely part of why we stayed so long.
It is a cafe downstairs and a studio upstairs, and it runs yoga, mat Pilates and workshops. A Pilates class was around 130 dirham, roughly 12 euro. There was a vintage pop-up out the front one weekend and a second-hand and art market another. We did an incense workshop there, which I did not expect to enjoy as much as I did!
The mango matcha spritz over sparkling water is absolutely the thing to order! The honey lavender matcha is the other one. And the banana bread is 10 out of 10, which I know because I had it most days.
Horse riding on the beach at sunset
This was my favourite thing we did in Morocco, and I include the Sahara in that.
There are usually horses down on the beach in the late afternoon. You do not book anything, you just walk down and ask. I rode for about ten years as a kid and had not properly galloped in a very long time, and doing it along the sand with the sun going down is one of those moments that will stay with me for good!
Even if you have never ridden, take one at a walk along the water. It costs very little and it is the nicest possible way to end a day here.
The Taghazout skate park
I did not expect this to be a highlight and we ended up sitting and watching for ages!
It is right by the sea, it is properly busy, and the standard is high. That is it in the photo at the top of this page, with TAGHAZOUT painted across the bowl and the bay curving away behind. The whole thing has a real community feel to it. Free, obviously, and worth an hour even if you have never stood on a board.
The beach, and the sunbeds
Day beds are 30 dirham, which is about A$5, for the whole day. That is not a typo, and it took me a good few days to stop being quietly surprised every single time I paid it!
The beaches here are long, wide and much less crowded than the Mediterranean side of Morocco. You can walk the whole way between Tamraght and Taghazout along the sand, which takes a while but is a lovely way to do it.
Soz Cookies
There is a small cookie shop tucked in the back lanes of Taghazout, right above the beach, and it closes early. We very nearly missed it.
The cookies are the size of your hand and the banana bread one is the one to get. I had three in a single day, which I feel is an entirely reasonable response to being on holiday!
Other things that filled our days
- The gym. A week's pass was 100 dirham, A$16.40, which is less than one class at home.
- Markets. A second-hand and art market, and a vintage pop-up, both at Hey Yallah.
- Cooking. Fifteen of our nights had a kitchen and the local shops are cheap and good.
- Meeting people. We made friends with Olivia from Texas and Margo from France within about two days. Margo speaks French, which turned out to be enormously useful, because nearly every Moroccan we met on the coast does too.
Surfing in Taghazout, and the Fish Nobody Warns You About
Taghazout is a surf town first. There are boards everywhere, breaks up and down the coast, and lessons and camps at every price point.
Board hire was 80 dirham for three hours, about A$14, or 100 dirham for the full day, with a wetsuit included. You can hire on the beach or through your accommodation. Blue Surf House had boards on site.
Now the part I really want you to read.
Dan got stung by a weever fish. They are tiny, they sit buried in the sand in the shallows, and he stood on one walking out. He came in off the water in more pain than I have ever seen him in, said it felt like his foot was coming off his leg, and his foot swelled up badly.
I ran up to the Moroccan surf guys we had hired the board from and they were completely unbothered. It happens all the time, they said, the pain is bad for ten or fifteen minutes and then it goes. They were right, and it did.
So: shuffle your feet going in rather than stepping, and if it happens to you, it is horrible and it passes. Nobody warned us about this at all, and it is exactly the kind of thing I would have liked to know before walking into the water!
Where to Eat in Taghazout and Tamraght
The food here surprised me more than anywhere else in Morocco, because it is not what you picture.
Ohana Poke and Vitamin Bar, Tamraght. Poke bowls, burgers, fresh juices and coffee. We went three days in a row, which tells you everything! The chicken poke bowl is a 10 out of 10 and the chips are genuinely excellent. The owner is Osama and he is lovely.
The street food place 200 metres from our Airbnb. Traditional Moroccan pastries filled with sweet beef, sweet chicken, or spinach and cheese, plus fried eggplant and chicken pastilla, with homemade lemonade. Cheap, fast and one of my favourite meals of the trip.
A Lebanese place in Tamraght, which we went to with Olivia on the night the power went out on the whole street. He carried on cooking on a gas stove in the dark and it turned into one of the best evenings we had on this whole coast!
Everyday prices, from our own receipts:
Scroll to see the full table →
| What | Dirham | AUD |
|---|---|---|
| Coffee | 19 to 45 | 3.13 to 7.50 |
| Matcha at Hey Yallah | 45 | 7.50 |
| Chicken wraps | 42 | 6.97 |
| Poke bowl with extra protein | 80 | 13.30 |
| Dinner, main plus a drink and a shared starter | 105 | 17.50 |
| A local dinner out | 125 | 20.82 |
| Breakfast out | 140 | 23.16 |
What I Loved About This Coast
- The pace. Nobody is rushing here, and after two weeks I stopped rushing too!
- The cafe culture. Better than I expected anywhere in Morocco, and Dan rates the coffee here 10 out of 10.
- How cheap the good days are. Sunbeds A$5, coffee A$4, a huge lunch A$13.
- The people. Our Airbnb host, Osama at Ohana, the surf guys, the friends we made in 48 hours.
- Horse riding at sunset. Still thinking about it!
- That you can do absolutely nothing here and it still counts as a good day!
What I Didn't Love
- The weever fish, obviously.
- It is spread out. Tamraght to Taghazout is a 10 to 15 minute drive or a long beach walk, and you will end up in taxis. A taxi between them was 100 dirham split between four of us, so about A$5.50 each.
- There is not a lot to "do" in the sightseeing sense. If you need a list of attractions to tick off, you will be bored here in three days. That is precisely why we loved it.
- Dogs and cats everywhere. We adored this. If you are nervous around animals, know it in advance.
How to Get to Taghazout and Tamraght
From Marrakech, which is how we came, it is a bus of about three and a half hours. We paid 115 dirham each, which is A$19.09, and it was easy and comfortable.
From Agadir, which is the nearest airport, it is a short drive of roughly 30 to 40 minutes up the coast. agadir to taghazout is one of the most searched things about this area and the honest answer is that it is a quick, cheap taxi or a local bus.
Getting between the two towns, take a taxi and agree the price first, or walk the beach if you have the time and the light.
We never hired a car on this coast and never needed one.
What a Day Here Actually Costs
I filmed a completely normal day in Tamraght and added it up as I went:
Scroll to see the full table →
| What | Dirham | AUD |
|---|---|---|
| Breakfast | included in our accommodation | 0 |
| Matcha at Hey Yallah | 45 | 7.50 |
| Sunbeds for the day | 30 | 5.00 |
| Kombucha on the walk back | 45 | 7.50 |
| Lunch, poke bowl with extra protein | 80 | 13.30 |
| Dinner out | 105 | 17.50 |
| A cookie | 30 | 5.00 |
| Taxi home, split three ways | 100 total | 5.50 each |
| Total | 368 | 61.30 |
A$61.30 for a full day with two meals out, a beach day and a taxi! Add roughly A$44 to A$47 each for a bed and you have the whole picture.
The full trip numbers are in what 24 days in Morocco actually cost us.
Watch Our Taghazout and Tamraght Vlog
Three weeks on this coast condensed into one video: the cafes, the surf, the horses, the food and the friends. If you are trying to work out whether this is your kind of place, this will tell you faster than I can.
Watch the Taghazout vlog on YouTube and subscribe to Ell's Passport for the rest of Morocco, including Marrakech and the Sahara.
If you like a desert, here is our 8 favourite places to eat here and when to go.
FAQs About Taghazout and Tamraght
Is Taghazout worth visiting?
Completely. We booked four nights and stayed sixteen, which is the strongest recommendation I can give. It is a laid-back surf coast with excellent cafes, cheap food, long uncrowded beaches and genuinely warm people. Come for the pace rather than for a list of sights.
Taghazout or Tamraght, which is better?
Taghazout is livelier and more built up with more cafes, surf shops and people. Tamraght is quieter, more local and slightly cheaper. They are 10 to 15 minutes apart and you can walk between them along the beach. We stayed in Tamraght and loved it, but you genuinely cannot go wrong.
How long should you stay in Taghazout?
At least four nights, and longer if you can. This is not a place you tick off in two days, because the whole appeal is the rhythm rather than the sights. We planned four nights and ended up staying sixteen.
How much does Taghazout cost?
Very little. Sunbeds are 30 dirham for the day, about A$5. Coffee is A$3 to A$7.50. A poke bowl lunch is A$13.30 and dinner out around A$17.50. Our accommodation across sixteen nights averaged about A$44 to A$47 per person per night. A full tracked day came to A$61.30 each.
How do you get from Agadir to Taghazout?
It is a short drive of roughly 30 to 40 minutes up the coast from Agadir, which is the nearest airport. A taxi is straightforward and cheap, and there are local buses. Agree the taxi price before you get in.
Is Taghazout good for beginner surfers?
It is one of the best known surf spots in Morocco and there are lessons, camps and board hire everywhere. Board hire was 80 dirham for three hours, about A$14, or 100 dirham for the full day with a wetsuit. Shuffle your feet going into the water, because weever fish sit in the shallow sand and standing on one hurts a great deal.
What is there to do in Taghazout besides surf?
More than you would think. There is a busy skate park by the sea, horse riding on the beach at sunset, yoga and Pilates classes, workshops and markets at Hey Yallah, excellent cafes, and long beaches with day beds for A$5. We also used a gym for 100 dirham a week.
Do you need a car in Taghazout?
No. We spent sixteen nights on this coast without one. Buses connect Marrakech and Agadir, and taxis between Tamraght and Taghazout cost around 100 dirham, which splits well between a few people.
Where should you eat in Tamraght?
Ohana Poke and Vitamin Bar for poke bowls and burgers, and we went three days in a row. Hey Yallah for coffee, matcha and banana bread. There is also excellent, very cheap Moroccan street food doing filled pastries and chicken pastilla, which was one of my favourite meals of the whole trip.
Final Thoughts: Should You Go to Taghazout or Tamraght?
Go, and give it much longer than you think you need!
This coast is the part of Morocco I did not expect and the part I would go back to first. Not because there is a lot to see, but because there is very little you have to do. You get up, you walk to a cafe, you sit on the beach for a fiver, you eat something excellent for A$13, and at some point the sun goes down and someone offers you a horse.
We came for four nights and stayed for sixteen, and if we had not had flights booked I think we would still be there!
Ready to book? Blue Surf House in Tamraght for the sociable surf-house version, the Hilton Taghazout Bay if you want a proper resort, or our Tamraght Airbnb if you are staying a while and want a kitchen.
