Location: Essaouira in Morocco
Nearest Airport:
Marrakech Airport at 180
Kilometres
Nearest Ferry:
Tangier at 700
Kilometres
Nearest Train:
Marrakech at 180
Kilometres
Nearest Motorway:
Marrakech at 180
Kilometres
Nearest Beach:
beach at 400.0
Metres
Car: not necessary
Essaouira is a tourist town, shops, restaurants, cafes and souks. Shopping includes handmade thuya wood products (cedar), hand-woven natural fabrics, leather shoes (babouch), pottery from Safi and art galleries. Beach is nearby, surfing, kiteboarding, windsurfing and sailing are popular. Also popular is walking along the beach to visit the Jimi Hendrix 'Castle in the Sand' or Diabet, famed for Cat Stevens holidaying there. The port is busy with fishermen bringing in the catch of the day - sardines, merlin, sea bass and lots more. Iles Purpuraires (Mogador island) famed for it's prison and providing the purple dye for Roman tunic's from the murex shell (Murex trunculus). Migratory birds fly along the Atlantic coast, on their way to warmer climes. Safi, an hour or two to the North is a centre for pottery. Also, Essaouira is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. To the South is Sidi Kaoiki, popular destination for surfers and kiteboarders.