Essaouira is a lovely town on the Atlantic coast a few hours north from Agadir and it’s a good place to come to if you feel like spending a week or two to relax.

Most of the action is centered around the old town which is fun to walk around, eating soup, drinking tea, talking to the locals, and then catching sunset over the sea down by the beach or on the rocks. Everything is painted in white and blue and somehow the sea air makes the whole place feel much lighter than towns like Marrakech or Fes.

Jimi Hendrix is alleged to have spent some time here and the locals have never forgotten it. At least that’s the excuse that some of them take to get stoned and make music. Part of that is just hype for the tourists and the musicians only actually start playing when they see a tour group coming, but there really are some Moroccans here who like the easy-going life.

And if Essaouira is too mainstream for you, you can catch a bus for half an hour to Sidi Kouki and live the quiet life by the beach. It can be a bit cold and windy in the winter though…