Imessouane: The Best Beach Town In Morocco!

Are there any cool beach spots in Morocco? You know, the kind of small, unpretentious beach towns where time is irrelevant and a sunset beer is the only scheduled activity of the day. Being big fans of anything sun-and-water-related, tracking down anything similar to this was a key mission for us in Morocco. However, once we started moving up the Atlantic coast to places like Sidi Ifni and Mirleft, our hopes started to dwindle. And then it happened. As an oasis appearing to the dehydrated wanderer in the Sahara desert, we found Imessouane, the best beach town in Morocco.

Fresh Fish Market And Delicious Juice Bars

Except for the sunset beer ($2.5 US a can and only sold in one hotel!), Imessouane was everything we’d hoped for. The town has all the usual ingredients for a typical coastal paradise: a few surf shops, hostels, restaurants and a couple of kiosks with basic supplies. A not so usual ingredient, though, is that the bars – just like in the rest of Morocco – don’t serve alcohol. However, fear not as the juice bars dish out some excellent alternatives to that sunset beer including the famous Moroccan avocado milkshake.

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What makes Imessouane extra good is its little fish market that fills with fresh catch every morning. If you go at midday, you can get yourself a nice half-kilo fish that goes by the local name “dorad” for around 40 dirham to cook back at your hostel.

Naughty Liam playing with dinner

This might sound like a bit of a gastronomical odyssey but as Liam proved, all you need is a good knife and a strong stomach (a few guts will have to be pulled out). If you instead go at dusk, you can enjoy the sight of the last fishermen packing down their stalls while the first fishing boats are getting ready to head out.

I’ve had worse views when prepping dinner

Along with the fish market, the other place to hang out in Imessouane is the little square overlooking the beach. Set on a cliff, the sunset here is quite something. The surf shops and juice bars in the square make for decent people-watching, which, considering the lack of internet in town, can easily constitute your afternoon entertainment.

Stay On The Beach At Imessouane

The majority of the hostels are located near the square and the harbour, but after walking around a bit, we discovered Chez Hafid, a really cool and relaxed surf hostel right on the beach. If you don’t want to splurge and go for the 200-dirham double room with possibly the best view in town, the dorms are around 60 dirhams and still quite nice. You’d probably spend most of your time on the roof terrace anyway, enjoying the sun and the sight of the surfers in the water below. What we liked the most about Chez Hafid was that it actually has a hostel feel to it, a thing that’s not that easy to come about outside the major cities in Morocco.

Killing it on the roof of Chez Hafid with a book and 101 other things

Imessouanes Surf Is Just As Good As Taghazoute

The only thing left to talk about is an important one – the beach. Surf-wise, we’re talking a long right-hand break. In the harbor, longboarders can ride an impressive 800-meter wave that local surfers claim is long enough to light a spliff on. Feel free to test if that’s even possible. Imessouane is all about surf and long-hair-don’t-care guys and gals drive in every day from the nearby, overcrowded surf-haven of Taghazoute. Many of these day-surfers actually end up staying in Imessouane because the surf is just as good and the vibe is much more relaxing.

Surfers heading out for afternoon session

On a more practical note it might be handy to know that the nearest ATM is a 20-minute drive away and that, as already mentioned, there’s no internet. Also, plumbing isn’t really a thing, so be prepared for bucket showers. Other than that, Imessouane is a complete paradise and quite frankly the best beach town in Morocco.

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