Beaches
Five beaches, one deciding factor: the wind. The bay is for walking rather than sunbathing, Sidi Kaouki for surfing, Moulay Bouzerktoune for experienced riders. Cap Sim and Tafedna are emptiness at the end of a track. The water averages 17 to 19 °C by month, and the afternoons blow from April to September.
Pick your Essaouira beach by the wind, not by the sand. The long bay beach is for walking and watching. Sidi Kaouki, 26 km south, takes the swell and the surf schools. Moulay Bouzerktoune, 29 km north, is only worth the drive for waves and strong wind. Cap Sim and Tafedna are earned at the end of a track, and what they offer is emptiness. From April to September the afternoons blow almost everywhere. It is the same wind that built the town’s kite reputation and clears the towels off the sand.
The bay: a beach you walk
The bay beach runs for about 3 km, from the medina to the mouth of the Oued Ksob, by our measurement on the OpenStreetMap outline. At low tide the exposed sand is wide and firm. You can walk it for an hour without passing a sun lounger.
It flies the Blue Flag in 2026. In Morocco the label is awarded by the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection. Its 2025 list names Essaouira among 28 beaches. Its review of 17 July 2026 counts 38 labelled sites, 33 of them beaches, and none of those 28 beaches lost the flag.
Our advice: come in the morning. Between 09:00 and 13:00 the wind is still manageable, the water is flat at low tide, and the horses and camels share the sand without the crowd. The rides themselves are in our horse and camel section.
Sidi Kaouki and Moulay Bouzerktoune: wind decides
Sidi Kaouki, 26 km south, is an open beach with no sea wall and no shelter. Waves, currents and horses on the sand: it is not a beach for a quiet swim. Our Surfing pages say what the swell there is worth.
Moulay Bouzerktoune, 29 km north, is a wave spot for experienced windsurfers and kiters. Nothing there is built for a swimmer. If you are a beginner, stay in the bay.
So the question is not which beach is prettier, it is how hard the wind is blowing today. Check the wind spot by spot before you drive, then our kitesurfing section and the surfing one to see which school covers which water.
Cap Sim and Tafedna: emptiness at the end of a track
Cap Sim lies beyond Diabat and the dunes. The road goes round by Sidi Kaouki: 29 km and 50 minutes from the medina, by our route calculation. The last few kilometres are a track. No bus, no café, no lifeguard.
Tafedna, also spelt Tafelney, is further out: 66 km and about 1 h 05 without stopping, on the N1 then the RP2226 past Smimou, by our route calculation. A fishing village, a sheltered bay, and almost nobody. Allow half a day, and check the journey in our distances from Essaouira before you set off.
What nobody tells you before you lay down the towel
The water stays cold all year: an average of 17 °C in February and March and 19 °C in October, the mildest month, by our calculation on Open-Meteo’s marine model for 2023 to 2025. Our Surfing pages say which wetsuit it asks for.
This is not a coast for sunbathing, it is a coast for walking, sailing and watching, above all from April to September, when the afternoons blow. Which month to pick for which weather is answered in our When to visit guide.
One last point, and the serious one. We found no published list of supervised beaches or of their dates, so look for the lifeguard post before you go in. Where no lifeguard is on duty, you are entering water with currents and shore break and nobody to pull you out. Our health and safety section sets out what to look at before you go in.
Pages in this section
Beach
Plage d’Essaouira
You can swim at Essaouira beach, but the water is cold: 18.1 °C on average in July and 19.4 °C in October, by our calculation. The Blue Flag went up in July 2026. Swim at the medina end, north of the kite schools, in the morning before the trade wind. No official source publishes lifeguard hours.
Essaouira bay (beach)
Beach
Plage de Sidi Kaouki
Sidi Kaouki beach starts at the saint’s white shrine and runs south for 2.3 km of open sand. The “Marabout” peak just below the shrine suits all levels depending on wave size. Swimming is not advised: there are currents along the sand and no published lifeguard post. Access is free.
Sidi Kaouki
Beach
La baie d’Imsouane
Imsouane Bay’s right-hander starts at the harbour wall and runs over sand. Its length made its name, yet no measurement has ever been published. From 2016 to 2025, the swell tops 2 m in 65% of February hours and a third of October ones. Access is free.
Imsouane
Beach
Plage de Moulay Bouzerktoune
A cove of sand about 160 m long, facing the rock slab where the windsurfers’ right-hand wave breaks. It is a launch for experienced sailors and a grandstand for everyone else, not a swimming beach. Come from March to June, when the swell builds, or for the Wave Classic, 24 April to 1 May 2027.
Moulay Bouzerktoune
Beach
Cap Sim
At Cap Sim you find a working lighthouse and Ramsar-listed dunes, 14.6 km south of Essaouira as the crow flies. By road it is 28.9 km and 50 minutes via Sidi Kaouki, including 3.3 km of track. From April to September the wind builds in the afternoon, so be on the point before 11:00.
Diabat
Frequently asked questions
Can you swim in Essaouira?
Yes, in the bay, if you accept water averaging 17 to 19 °C by month. We found no published list of supervised beaches, so ask at the lifeguard post before you go in. Outside the bay there are currents and shore break.
Which is the best beach in Essaouira?
That is not the useful question. For walking and watching, the bay. For surfing, Sidi Kaouki. For strong wind, Moulay Bouzerktoune. For emptiness, Cap Sim or Tafedna, at the end of a track.
Why is Essaouira beach so windy?
A north to north-easterly, the trade wind, blows mostly in the afternoon. From April to September the wind tops 15 knots one hour in eight at 06:00, and four hours in ten between 14:00 and 17:00, by our calculation over ten years of hourly data. It is what made the bay a reference for kitesurfing and windsurfing. Our forecasts give the knots hour by hour, spot by spot.
Which beach works with children?
The main bay beach on the medina side, in the morning. The wind is lighter before 13:00 and the water stays flat at low tide. Avoid Moulay Bouzerktoune, which is a wave spot for experienced riders.
Is Essaouira beach clean?
The main bay beach flies the Blue Flag in 2026. The Mohammed VI Foundation names it in its 2025 list, and its review of 17 July 2026 says no beach on that list lost the label. The beaches at the end of a track are not labelled.