Agafay desert and Taghazout

In May I ventured back to a country I love - Morocco. 

Everytime I have been I find the people so friendly, the food delicious and the souks a feast for the eyes with colour everywhere. I always describe Morocco as the closest you can get to somewhere so different, by that I mean in three hours you can be immersed in a whole different world, you are after all in Africa.

After visiting Marrakesh, the Atlas mountains and Casablanca it was time to venture to a new part of Morocco so I headed to the Agafay desert and then on to the beach town of Taghazout.

                                                             Agafay

Firstly though, back to the desert, Caravan Agafay Camp only 40 mins drive from Marrakesh (where we flew in to) you have the Agafay desert. This area is now getting popular with crowds who want a night or two of calm from the bustling Medina in Marrakesh.

Berber style tents and desert experiences are popping up in a few places where they offer camel and horse rides, quad biking and relaxation and then a night in the quiet underneath the desert stars.

Where we stayed was at the Caravan Agafay camp, a really true desert experience with Berber style tents filled with Moroccan furnishings. The tents come with a fan in the summer and a hot water bottle in the winter, no aircon is provided, however the tents do cool down at night. I can’t say how hot they would be in summer though as it was quite toasty one night for me and that was early May.

The camp itself has so much space where you can find several quiet spots to enjoy the sun and relax. With around 40 tents spread out, it’s not a huge camp, which makes it not too busy.

The camp has an outdoor cocktail bar serving up some fine cocktails and juices and two gorgeous swimming pools to cool you down. Food is served from the main restaurant and salad, vegetables and herbs are all hand picked from the camp's “garden of intent” where they grow everything on site. 

Food wise, it is delicious, if you are going there for a Western menu then think again. This is pure Moroccan food at its very best and breakfast, lunch and dinner was spectacular. It’s a small menu that doesn’t change, but it doesn’t need to as the food is that good.

The only thing I would say is take some snacks if you tend to get hungry as there is no shop on the camp.

At night as the sun goes down hundreds of lanterns and candles around the camp are all lit up making it so easy to see the night's twinkly stars. Keep your tent door open and you can see the night sky from your bed and the sunset in the morning.

All in all I would highly recommend the camp for a night or two instead or as well as Marrakesh or the Atlas mountains.

                                                          Taghazout

After the camp we then hired a driver (£90) to take us to Taghazout on the coast which has been a popular surf spot for quite some time now. This laid back town has about 5 international hotels along the beach and then some smaller bed and breakfast style places in the town itself.

The drive there is around 4 hours long but it’s incredibly scenic as you pass over the mountains then on to the sea. Our driver was fantastic explaining what everything was along the way, you could tell he was very proud of his country, like all Moroccans are.

On arrival at the beach we were on time to watch the sunset at the hotel's beach bar Radison blue Taghazout and watch the surfers do their thing. We had 5 nights by the beach which was very relaxing and mainly stayed around the pool and beach. Taghazout town itself is worth a visit with its winding streets and quirky surf style cafes to eat in.

The only negative that I had about the place, that I did not know, is that it is not unusual for mornings to be cold and misty. I had different variations from locals that this is normal, it’s not normal, it happens in summer, so who knows. The sun would appear each day but not until lunch time, so if you are expecting to pull back the curtains and see Mr Sunshine, then think again. 

Staff at the hotel were some of the nicest and kindest I have seen in any hotel, every single person was helpful and genuinely seemed to love their job, even the security would stand and give the kids playing football ratings on how good their right foot was scoring goals.

The other bonus of staying in this area is that you are only around 50 mins from Agadir airport. A much smaller airport and a lot less busy than what’s become the dreaded Marrakesh airport. It took no longer than 5 mins to check our bags, go through security, immigration and lots of passport stops. Marrakesh is apparently taking up to 3 hours at the moment as it’s getting so busy.

All in all this twin center Morocco holiday was really nice, it felt quite different and it was great to see a new part of this lovely country.

If you are thinking of going to Morocco but are not sure, then do give it a go, yes it is culturally different but you are in Africa. I have always found it very safe, I never get hassled and I have been a few times by myself. The locals are honestly lovely people who are so helpful and friendly, more so than dare I say most places in Europe. They want you to visit as they want to show off their country.

For any more Morocco tips if you want to stay in either of the places I did then get in touch via my website www.ninapricetravel.co.uk or email me on info@ninapricetravel.co.uk. I am working with both hotels now so am able to get discounts on staying there. 

Go on, give Morocco a go.