Taghazout is twenty kilometres from Agadir. Twenty-five minutes on the N1, less if you leave before eight. It is the shortest trip in the Souss and the one most people make by taxi, which is a shame: the breaks are spread over fifteen kilometres of coast and none of them is within walking distance of the next.
Three villages follow one another along this stretch, and they are not alike. Aourir at kilometre 12, known as banana village for its roadside stalls. Tamraght at kilometre 15, quieter, with its river bed and painted houses. Taghazout at kilometre 20, the old fishing village that became the centre of Moroccan surfing.
The breaks, south to north
The logic of this coast is simple: rocky points producing right-handers, working mostly at low or mid tide with a north-westerly swell. In summer there is often nothing at all. The season runs from October to April.
- Banana Point, at Tamraght, at the river mouth. A long, gentle wave, the most forgiving for supervised beginners. Parking on the track down from the N1.
- Devil's Rock, between Tamraght and Taghazout, named after the black rock. Reef bottom, not a place to learn.
- Hash Point, at the southern entrance to Taghazout, right in front of the village. Convenient because you park thirty metres away, and crowded for the same reason.
- Anchor Point, at the northern end. The historic break, a right-hander that can run for several hundred metres when the swell is properly lined up. You park on the clifftop and walk down a path.
- Killer Point, three kilometres further north. More exposed, more powerful, and surfed by an experienced crowd.
Further north again, the bay at Imsouane is an hour from Taghazout on the N1 plus a seventeen-kilometre side road. It is the longest wave in the region, and it works well either as a trip in its own right or as a stop on the way to Essaouira.
The real problem: parking
Taghazout was built for boats, not cars. The main street is narrow, one-way in part, and permanently lined with parked vehicles on both sides. In high season, driving into the village at midday is a bad idea.
The solution everyone ends up adopting: park on the dirt lots above the village, beside the road, and walk down. Five minutes on foot, and you are not stuck behind a van unloading. Attendants in vests run most of these lots; a few dirhams when you leave.
At Anchor Point the clifftop parking is free and often full at weekends. Never leave a board or a bag visible inside the car: this is the one place on the coast where break-ins are reported with any regularity.
The road itself
The N1 between Agadir and Taghazout is wide, in good condition, and built up along almost all of it. Two things slow you down: the speed humps at the entrance to every village, which are genuinely high, and pedestrians crossing between cars at Aourir.
The humps deserve a special mention if you have a loaded hatchback. Taken at thirty they are fine; taken at fifty they scrape. On this road they are not always signed in advance and the paint has often worn away.
None of these three villages needs a special vehicle: everything is surfaced and a small car is ideal. The one exception is the track down to some of the breaks from the N1, particularly on the Banana Point side, where a deep rut can catch a very low car.
Eating and taking a break
The seafront at Taghazout is lined with terrace cafés, all with the same view and similar menus. Grilled fish is better down by the little harbour, where the boats come in late in the morning. At Tamraght there is less choice but noticeably lower prices.
Aourir is worth a stop for what is sold at the roadside: bananas, honey, and argan oil from the cooperatives inland. Prices are negotiable, and culinary oil does not cost the same as cosmetic oil — if you are offered both at the same price, one of them is not what it claims to be.
Carrying on into the mountains
From Tamraght or Aourir, the road up to Immouzzer des Ida Outanane heads inland. It follows the same river, the Oued Tamraght, up towards the gorges. In one day you can combine a morning on the coast with an afternoon in the pools of Paradise Valley, provided you set off early: that mountain road is no place to be after dark.
Whichever you choose, the practical side of hiring — documents, deposit, what to check at handover — is set out in the complete guide to renting a car in Agadir.
For this coast, go small. A compact car parks where a saloon cannot, and in Taghazout that is what decides your day. The available models are on the car rental in Agadir page.
