Best Time to Visit Essaouira

General & Geography

Essaouira is a port city in Morocco. It is located about 120 miles north of Agadir and almost 250 miles south of Casablanca on the Atlantic coast and is an insider tip for Morocco tourists.

Until independence in 1956, the city was called Mogador. Today it is still the name of an island off the coast of the city. Mogador/Essaouira was founded by the Phoenicians more than 2,500 years ago as Migdol and expanded by the Portuguese in the 16th century. Even today, many buildings in the 85,000-inhabitant city still look Portuguese.

The city was once Morocco’s largest seaport and an extremely important trading centre. However, in the 20th century it increasingly lost its economic importance. In the 1960s the hippies arrived in the picturesque seaside town and since then Essaouira with its narrow streets, lively medina and beautiful wide beaches attracts drop-outs, artists but also enthusiastic tourists from Morocco and the whole world.

For many visitors, Essaouira is the most beautiful city in Morocco. As-Sawirah, the finished one is a nickname Essaouire has earned. Since 2001, the entire old town with its city gates has been a UNESC0 World Heritage Site. The small town often serves as a backdrop for historical and fantasy films.

Climate of Essaouira

On the Moroccan Atlantic coast there are pleasant temperatures practically all year round. It is warm but not too hot and the sun shines on about 300 days a year. In the coolest month, January, the average daily temperatures in the Essaouira region are 18 °C, in the warmest months August and September 25 °C. The water temperature is 18 °C in winter and about 25 °C to 28 °C in summer.

The special climatic conditions of the southern Atlantic coast of Morocco often lead to a refreshing sea breeze, which has earned Essaouira another nickname: “City of the Wind”. This is why surfers and sailors also get their money’s worth in the region. The surf is partly very respectable.

The so-called Canary current often leads to fog in the morning hours, which usually dissolves quickly. Sometimes, however, he lies down in the late afternoon again over the Atlantic and provides in the shine of the setting sun for very special color games. Anyway, the sunset from the old city walls is a popular and unforgettable experience.