Marrakesh to Essaouira
From Marrakesh to Essaouira was a 3-hour drive over a distance of 180km. We left our stay in Marrakesh at about 11am and drove westward towards Essaouira.
Thoughout the 3-hour drive we were constantly spotting out for “goats on trees” . Argan fruits a famous product of Morocco matured in June and goats would climb up these Argan trees to eat the fruits. Though it was still about a month to go before June, it would be “fun” to see such “natural” phenomenon!
We drove passed Argan plantation but did not see any goats on the trees, we even came out of the car to check out the trees, but there was no goats in sight no even on the land!
We did see a couple of “mobile barrista” by the roadside. The expresso machines in the back of these van looked impressive and we wondered if their coffee would taste as good.
Essaouira MEDINA
Essaouira was known until the 1960 as Mogador. It was a port city in the western Moroccan region of Marrakesh-Safi on the Atlantic Coast. The city was built during the mid-eighteenth century by the Moroccan King, Mohammed III. One of his objectives of building this city was to established a port closer (closest) to Marrakesh and at the same time to cut off trade from another city-port Agadir (situated further south) which was flavouring his political rival.
Like many Morocan cities, Essaouira had a medina and the Medina of Essaouira was designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage site in 2001.
We booked a stay “Daranur ” sited in the Medina for two nights. As cars were not allowed into the medina we had to park our car at “Parking Rédouane Essaouira”. This was a private parking just outside the walls of Essaouira Medina and the charge for two days was 100MAD. Though the parking charges were stepp, it felt good to have our car properly taken care off for two days.
From “Parking Rédouane Essaouira” we crossed the road and walked along the pavement bordering the medina wall and entered the first “archway” we saw and walked into the medina.
It was a short walk to our stay “Daranur” and we did not have much problem rolling our small luggage to our stay. Our stay was a three storey building near the northern end of the medina.
Our stay had a beautiful rooftop view of the Alantic sea. When we stayed near a sea we would opted for a place with a good seaview. This way even if we stayed-in we still could enjoy the view.
For that two days/nights at Essaouira Medina we went up to the roof terrace many times bringing our coffee/tea and fruits to enjoy the gorgeous view, the golden sunset, the cooling breeze, to rest and relax.
Having a roof terrace with a view at our stay was “super” we could stay on the terrace till as late as we like, till everything went dark before walking down to our unit.
The medina was full of activities in the days. Stores selling daily- use products, selling souvenirs, selling big and small stuffs that tourist liked to buy, grocery stores, cafes, restaurants and hotels. The picturesque alleys were home to woodwork, pottery, leather product, jewellery, fabrics and carpets.
Unlike the medinas of Fez and Marrakesh, Essaouira Medina was comparatively very small. It basically had two main streets and many side lanes. It did not take us too long a time to walk from one end to the the other. After we were done walking the alleys and streets we went up to the fortress wall.
At the top of the fortress wall was a huge wallking area. This medina was constructed to the limits of the rocky peninsula. Canons were placed at interval “openings”, that lined the walls facing the sea providing defends to attacks coming from the sea in the ancient times.
On the southern west end of the medina was a fishing port. It was amazing to see hundred of blue fishing boats anchored here. These brightly colored boats bobbed up and down in the water against a beautiful backdrop of blue sky, city walls and towers.
We saw a couple of sea food stores displaying the catches of the fishermen. We went nearer to explore but did not buy anything.
We ate our first dinner during our two days stay in the Medina at “Adwak ” restaurant. We were initially looking for a roof terrace restaurant and on google map we saw “Mama Souiri Rooftop Restaurant”, unfortunately when we reached the restaurant it was closed. Not knowing which other restaurant to select we pulled up google map again and looked at all the restaurants in the vicinity. Eventually we selected “Adwak” which seemed to have the highest rating (4.7 ouf of 5) as compared to the others.
Dinner at Adwak was nice, it costed 240MAD for two. After dinner we were back to our stay, “Daranur“. There we made two cups for tea and went up to the roof terrace to enjoy the sunset.
On the 2nd evening in the medina we ate dinner at restaurant called Bistro just a couple of steps from our “stay”. This was a “artist” restaurant as in the restaurant we saw art work for sale.
Dinner was better than we expected. We picked “Bristo” restaurant because it was near to our stay, we were tired after a day of exploration and did not want to go far. The google map review for this restaurant was only 3.7 (out of 5), so we were a bit apprehensive when we decided to dine at “Bristo”.
Our dinner costed 240MAD, we enjoyed the fish and the pasta very much, the chocolate crisp was nice too.
Essaouira Beach
On the second day after we were done exploring the streets and alleys of the medina we still had plentiful of time “to kill” till dinner. We were not sure where else to go so decided to go out of the Medina to a beach south of the port. It was just a short walk from the southern gate, Bab Marrakech Tower, of the medina.
The beach was a nice surprise, it was scenic, resorty and very relaxing. The buildings at the beach were more modern and we found a lovely cafe for a tea break. We ordered coffee and juice and they came with mineral water. The teabreak costed only 40MAD.
Our Stay
Our stay Daranur was located in the medina. It was a three storey building in a longer stretch of building. It was house number 3. Our hosts lived in one of the units on the 2nd level. Our unit was on the 3rd level and the roof level was on the 4th. Our unit was a self-contained apartment with bedroom, kitchen, sitting room and toilet.
The apartment unit was “lovely”, though it was in an old house our hosts had furnished it beautifully. The deco was olden and yet it had a modern vibes. The unit was comfortable, comfy and spacious.
The cost for two nights was Eur177 with no meals. The primary reason we booked this apartment was because it had a roof top terrace and the view did not disappoint us! We were able to cook two delicious breakfast at our stay and to make coffee and tea anytime to enjoyed in our cozy living room.
Other Accommodation in Essaouira