Full-Day Essaouira Trip with Historic Sights & UNESCO Medina
Overview
Three hours west of Marrakech the air turns to salt and the light goes white. Essaouira is a walled 18th-century port whose UNESCO-listed medina was laid out on a grid and then filled in with Arab, Berber and European detail, and the day takes in its ramparts and cannon, the blue fishing fleet in the harbour, two art galleries and the shaded lanes of the old town. On the road out there is a women's argan cooperative and, if the timing is right, the argan trees full of climbing goats.
Highlights
- UNESCO-listed medina inside 18th-century sea walls
- Skala ramparts lined with original bronze cannon
- The blue fishing fleet at the working harbour
- Argan oil cooperative run by a women's collective
- The famous tree-climbing goats of the Essaouira road
- Contemporary Moroccan art at two town galleries
Full Description
Argan Cooperative
A women's collective where argan kernels are cracked, roasted and pressed by hand. You can taste the culinary oil and watch each stage of the work.
Duration: 20 min
Goat Tree
Goats balanced high in the argan branches, browsing the fruit — one of the strangest roadside sights in Morocco.
Duration: 10 min
Rempart Mogador
The 18th-century sea wall, with the Atlantic breaking below and gulls riding the wind above the parapet.
Duration: 20 min
Old Fortress
The Portuguese-built bastion still mounted with its original cannon, pointed out over the water.
Duration: 15 min
City Walls
A walk along the ochre ramparts, with the whitewashed town on one side and the open coastline on the other.
Duration: 15 min
Beachside Corniche
The oceanside promenade, wide and wind-scoured, where kitesurfers work the bay on breezy afternoons.
Duration: 15 min
Medina of Essaouira
The old city's grid of shaded lanes, thuya-wood workshops, cafés and small shops. Easier to navigate than most Moroccan medinas.
Duration: 15 min
Centre d'art le real Mogador
A gallery of contemporary Moroccan work, much of it by artists based on this coast.
Duration: 30 min
Gallery Kasbah
Local and international pieces shown in a converted kasbah building in the heart of the medina.
Duration: 30 min
Fishing Port Squala
Rows of blue wooden boats, nets being mended on the quay and the day's catch grilled on the spot.
Duration: 15 min
Sunset Port
The harbour at the end of the day, when the light drops behind the Purpuraire islands and the fleet turns gold.
Duration: 10 min
Inclusions:
- Entrance fees to all sites
- A/C, Wi-Fi Car or Van with Multilingual Tour driver
- Mineral bottled water
- Hassle-free hotel pickup and drop off
Exclusions:
- Hotels outside city center pick up is not included and require extra fees
- Gratuities (recommended)
- Book Without Credit Card - Book Now Pay Later
- Instant Confirmation
- You will receive a confirmation email and voucher instantly after booking
- You may present either a printed or a mobile voucher
- Up to 12 hours prior to departure time, you can request a date change free of charge
- If you cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled pick up, there is no cancellation fee
- If you cancel within 24 hours of the scheduled pick up time, there is a 100 percent cancellation fee
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.
- No refund for cancellations made less than 24 hours before the start time.
- Changes requested less than 24 hours before the start time cannot be accepted.
- Times are local. Experiences cancelled for poor weather are refunded in full or rescheduled.