Wingfoil

Wing foiling is the youngest of the bay’s wind sports. The first inflatable wing went on sale in spring 2019 (Duotone brand page, read on 25 September 2026). Four of the bay’s kite schools teach it today and publish their prices. The bay suits it for the same reasons it suits kitesurfing: a sand bottom, side-shore wind, no rocks. It asks for one thing more, water under the foil, and the tide decides that. Allow about ten hours of lessons to become independent, and €123 to €130 for a two-hour private lesson (the four schools’ price lists, read on 16 October 2026). The wind statistics and the three stretches of water live in our kitesurfing section, which owns them.

What the wing changes, next to kitesurfing and windsurfing

An inflatable wing held at arm’s length, with no lines, and a short board mounted on a foil: a mast that carries a wing under the water. Above a certain speed the board lifts clear. The foil is the sport, not the wing.

Two things separate it from kitesurfing. Nothing pulls you: let go of the wing and it drops flat, and the first hours are gentler. And the foil gets by with less wind than our kite window, which starts at 15 knots. No school on the bay publishes its own threshold. With windsurfing it shares the gesture, a sail held by hand, but neither the mast nor the boom. Nobody needs either to start: two schools on the bay say so (sites read on 16 October 2026).

What the foil demands of the bay: wind, water and a tide

The wind, Essaouira bay has. What changes with a foil is depth. Duotone sells its aluminium foil mast in 60, 75, 82 and 90 cm lengths (maker’s product page, read on 16 October 2026). Our advice: do not climb on the board in water shallower than the mast is long, and set the session by the tide as much as by the wind. Use an official tide table: our weather and wind pages do not publish one yet, and say why.

One school recommends May, June and September for beginners. It describes summer afternoons as very demanding (site read on 16 October 2026). Our advice: a foil beginner has no business in 25 knots. Learn in the morning or late in the day, and leave the middle of the afternoon to experienced riders.

Where it is taught, how many hours, and for how much

Wing foiling is taught by the bay’s kite schools. Explora and Ocean Vagabond have their bases on the beach, on boulevard Mohammed V. The schools sell private or semi-private lessons, for two pupils of similar level, in blocks of 1 to 12 hours depending on the school. At KSE and Ocean Vagabond, equipment is provided during the lesson. KSE lists it: wing, board, foil, wetsuit and safety gear. Explora starts its pupils on the flat water across the bay, with an instructor following in a boat.

Three steps. The wing on land, then on a large board without a foil. The foil board ridden low. Finally, take-off. One school advertises independence, meaning the ability to sail upwind, in five two-hour sessions (site read on 16 October 2026). Count on ten hours and a week of wind. One school sets entry at about 12 years old or 30 kg, and a 50 m swim.

The schools publish their price lists in euros. A two-hour private lesson costs €123 to €130 depending on the school, and €85 to €100 semi-private. The ten-hour private block, the one that gets you to independence, comes to €575 to €600. Only Explora also shows dirhams: 1,430 MAD for two hours and 6,600 MAD for ten (price lists read on 16 October 2026). Independent riders rent the full kit from €90 a day at Ocean Vagabond, and for €90 at Explora, plus €10 insurance. The whole trip is costed in our budget pages, bed-plus-lessons packages in our surf and kite camps.

From October to April, when the trade wind eases, the wings go away and the bay turns to surfing. Wing foiling carries on in the swell, among experienced riders, without schools.