Surf Travel Guide: Imsouane, Morocco

High tide in the harbour at Imsouane, Morocco

Going to Morocco is like travelling back in time. Life is lived at a much slower pace. The cities aren't crammed with towering skyscrapers. There's little phone signal and far less reliance on technology. People live off the land and the days are dictated by the tides and the sun.

Instead of heading to Taghazout, arguably the most popular surf destination in Morocco, we decided to stay in Imsouane, a tiny fishing village just one hour's drive south from the city of Essaouira.

There's very little in Imsouane, a few places to stay, a lively harbour and fish market which comes to life in the morning, a handful of shops selling bread and basics such as water and crisps. We stayed in an Airbnb recommended by Charlotte Howells, author of the blog Float Stories.

It is simply marked off the dirt road by a sign saying CAMPING. It's a large campsite on the edge of Imsouane with surf cabins overlooking Cathedral Point, one of the two major surf breaks in town. It's called Ocean Point and you can book it from just £18 per night for two people.

View from our surf cabin overlooking Cathedrals, Imsouane

All of the cabins overlook the water - some are made from old converted fishing boats. There's a shared kitchen/dining area, a big shower block and a car park behind for vans to park up in.

The campsite is supposedly owned by a British ex-pro windsurfer who we never saw but lived up on a house in the hill and hired a friendly Moroccan guy called Akeem to run the place. It was amazing. Our days went like this...

Catching a nice wave at Cathedral Point, Imsouane

7AM Wake up, head to beach for a surf.

9AM Buy loaf of bread (which cost 8p!) to eat with eggs or Nutella for breakfast.

10AM Sit in the sunshine, chat to other folks at Camping. Read.

Overlooking Imsouane from Cathedral Point

2PM Stroll into town, eat lunch and drink sweet Moroccan tea by the harbour. Buy fish for dinner.

4PM Nap.

5PM Head down to catch the pushing tide. Surf.

Walking the pier in Imsouane (followed by the local stray dogs)

7PM Make our way back to camp. Cook our fresh fish with harissa, vegetables and couscous for dinner.

8PM Drink beer and play cards with the other guests.

10PM Bed. Repeat the next day.

Longboarding for days at Cathedral Point, Imsouane

THE SURF

There are two major surf spots at Imsouane - the Bay and Cathedral Point - with enough variety for beginners right up to advanced surfers.

The Bay is said to be the longest point break in Africa. It's seriously long - we spoke to a guy who rode the wave for 1 minute and 20 seconds. It's a longboarders' dream, a perfect right hander breaking just inside the harbour, creating a super mellow wave.

Courduroy lines coming in at the Bay, Imsouane

Even if you drift towards the beach, there's a second section halfway to the beach where the waves reform. It's a great place to sit if the line-up near the harbour wall is super crowded.

The beauty of the Bay is you don't even need to paddle out back. When you get noodle arms, just paddle in, walk around the bay and hop back in at the harbour wall and you're out back again. The dream.

Local surfer getting barrelled at Cathedral Point, Imsouane

Just watch out when the Taghazout crowds come to town - the water fills up with a lot of people that could do with a bit more surf etiquette guidance.

Cathedrals is a faster point break to the north of town, opposite our campsite. It works best on a west/north-west swell. When the surf is tiny at the Bay, head round to Cathedrals and it's bound to have a ripple or two.

There's another gnarlier reef break that only works at high tide when the surf is BIG. Needless to say, we didn't surf there - it's right in front of the town's main surf shops and cafes so everyone can watch the big wipeouts while drinking their tea.

If you've got a car, there are dozens of other surf breaks further down the coast - but if you're only around for a few days, there's more than enough to satisfy you in Imsouane.

We hired our surfboards from Ocean Vagabond in Essaouira. They had a really professional set-up on the beach and a good selection of boards to choose from (not just crappy foamies). It cost us around €80 per board for five days.

There is a surf shop in Imsouane you can rent boards from, not sure what the selection is like there.

EAT

Let's just say the restaurants in Imsouane aren't exactly extensive. We mainly cooked in the campsite's kitchen - we did a big supermarket shop for all our meals before we left Essaouira in the big Carrefour. This was helpful because the groceries in Imsouane are limited and overpriced.

We had one dinner out and it was delicious - at the Auberge Tasra hotel, just on the outskirts of town, right next to the campsite. A two course meal of soup and tagine (fish, meat or veg) plus two beers cost around £20 for both of us. Amazingly cheap.

There's also a surf shack style cafe in town which serves paninis, pizza and Moroccan mint tea called Surf Pizza.

DRINK

Morocco is a dry country, so there isn't much of a bar culture out there. You can buy alcohol in the supermarket, it's not cheap - about the same price as it is in the UK. There is a bar in the Auberge Tasra and it's nice, not crazy priced, plus they have pool tables to entertain you in the evenings.

REMEMBER

There's no cash point in Imsouane. The nearest is about 25km drive away, so make sure you get plenty of cash out before you leave Essaouira or the nearest main town.

There isn't many petrol stations down there either. Make sure you fill up when you see a legit filling station. We passed two guys who got some petrol off a guy selling it on the street - turned out it was unleaded rather than diesel and it totally messed up their engine.

Don't speed on the roads, particularly through towns. The police will fine you on the spot and won't be happy if you only have a Visa card on you - as some unlucky friends of ours found out.

Be respectful of the locals. We found everyone very friendly and accommodating. You don't get hassle like you do in big cities such as Marrakech. Just don't start stripping out of your wetsuit in front of the town mosque and you'll be alright.

As a woman in Morocco, I had no hassle but I was travelling with my boyfriend. It's a personal choice but if you want to avoid stares, I would say avoid tight, skimpy clothing and go for light baggy outfits instead.

Spend a day or two in Essaouira - it's only an hour away and it's pretty old market town with hammams, big hotels and lots of fresh seafood to eat.

We had the best time in Imsouane. Unlike other places in Morocco, we really felt like we escaped the crowds, surfed some amazingly long waves and met a whole bunch of excellent travellers from Sweden, France, America and beyond. Just get there quick before everyone else find's out.