Agadir, Morocco

Tips:

• DHR=MAD Moroccan dirham is the currency and you may see it written as MAD on currency converters but DHR in Morocco. They are they same and they convert to 10MAD=1EUR

• Every single person that had been to Morocco before had said “watch out for your wallet and purse.” I never once felt nervous about our things but we also aren’t careless. My boyfriend carried a small backpack everyday with no problems and I only had a wristlet. We locked any valuables left in the hotel in the safe. We even left my boyfriends very expensive camera on our beach chairs while we took surf lessons. The great this was that the surf place had a guy watching the beach chairs and we of course covered the camera with a towel to not draw attention to it. Be smart and there is no need to worry.

• Expect to tip but not a lot. Giving 10-50MAD/1-5EUR is ok. 

• Boardwalk does have some beggars including kids but not many. Just be prepared.

• South side is more quiet. North side has tons of activity and restaurants. Central, near the ferris wheel is where a lot of events and action takes place like street performers.

• Make sure you are allowed to bring snack and alcohol in hotel before buying (or make sure they don’t check your beach bags and hide them in there). Our alcohol and soft drinks were taken but not our snacks.

• Said(Sayeed) is a super fun taxi driver and inexpensive. Highly recommend that you call him for rides to and from airport or long distances 0677974208. He also has a brother that owns a spa and charges about half the price of hotels. Seriously call him.

 

Common Phrases:

• Shukraan- Thank you

• Assalamu alaikum- Hello (but means peace be unto you) You say as a greeting first but if someone says “Assalamu alaikum” to you you respond with “Wa Alaikum Salaam”

• Everyone also speaks French but they appreciate when you try to speak Arabic.

 

Unique:

• Moroccan scrub is a must do while there.Feel free to go into other hotels through front entrance for more spa treatment options and restraints Atlantic palace hotel (where we stayed) was a bit higher in price for spa treatments than the hotel across the street. I paid 850MAD/85EUR for a scrub and a 45 min facial. I believe the scrub itself was only 300MAD/30EUR

• Henna is 100-250MAD/10-25EUR depending on what you get and how you bargain. I got brown and it was barely visible. I suggest black or none at all.

• Goats in trees sounds bizarre, and it is. This is one of those rare photo opportunities that you can get if you take one of the day trips. I highly recommend these day trips. You can read about them under “Budget”

• Tagines are the most typical Moroccan cuisine so definitely plan to eat one while there. You will be served a tagine with couscous for lunch if you take the day trips. Also, the Indian Restaurant offered to make us a vegetarian tagine if we wanted. Good to know since it was not on any menu in Agadir.

 

Food & Drink:

• Marjane is a large grocery store (like TESCO, Wal-Mart, Carrefour) and is only 25MAD/2.50EUR taxi ride. 

• Most restaurants offer same menus, meat tagines, pizza, pasta, burger…I will try to list the ones that offer something a bit different so when you are tired of the same thing you can try thess places.

• It seems that all of Morocco is bad at making drinks and they are not cheap. They run about 80-140MAD/8-14EUR and are watered down or the bartender has a bad recipe. We tried about 5 places before giving up completely.

• If you are a dark beer fan then be prepared. We only found light beers everywhere. No IPAs, stouts etc.

• Bollywood Indian Restaurant Oceana was the only one to have vegetarian menu. It also happened to be the best Indian food we have ever eaten. I highly recommend this place.

• English pub is great for different foods.

• Les Blancs Spanish restaurant was by far our favorite. We went 3 or 4 times during the entire trip. They have authentic Spanish Tapas and Sangria pitchers.

 

Budget:

• I suggest all inclusive package or room with kitchenette to cook breakfast and lunch if you are on a budget. As a couple, we spent on average $75 per person a day on everything but that is after learning about why were we spending so much on food & drink. I’ll explain more in “Food & Drink.”

• Boardwalk has outdoor gym equipment along the entire path, bike rentals, small electric toy cars for kids to ride in, popcorn and street food at night. It’s a lot to keep you entertained for free or little money.

• 2 hours of surf board and wetsuit rental including lesson was 400MAD/40EUR for 2 people. Really great price. Look for the blue tent on the beach in front of rocks in the water. Our teach was Osama, he had dreads, he was SUPER cool.

• Bike rentals are more expensive than taxis so don’t use them for budget stay but still fun to ride around one day looking at the houses just off the beach.

• We took 2 different day trip excursions with Sté BAKHZOUZ TOURS (Call Brahim: 06 71 45 09 87 or email: alphamaroc@hotmail.com) and highly recommend them. We paid 300MAD/30EUR per person and we later found out others paid 400-600 each so negotiate!! They also give discount because we did 2 tours. Tours last the entire day and include lunch so this is a great deal considering the average daily price we had been spending (75EUR per person remember). Make sure you have change for tips though. Many of the stops included some tour guide which was hoping for tips afterward.

• Trip 1: Fishing Caves, Little Sahara (this is really small and only for camel rides, get excited for the other things on the trip but not for this), Massa, Tiznit old town

• Trip 2: Goats in trees, Mini Marrakech, Kasbah lunch and Oasis tour

 

Shopping:

• There is one central convenience store in a small souk that connects the beach to the street near ferris wheel. It was the only place we could find to buy liquor to make our own drinks. I bought 60ml of Argan oil for 40MAD/4EUR at the convenience/grocery store and it was the cheapest I could find. Don’t pay more! Also nobody pressures you to buy anything here. Stress free shopping!

• Must negotiate the price on almost everything. Also, do not agree to pay after as they will rip you off or pressure to to pay more. Agree on a price in advance and pay (Cabs do this and the Henna person tried).

 

Downfalls:

• Our hotel was absolutely gorgeous and the pool made it completely worth the stay alone but the -Atlantic Palace Hotel needs to improve on a few things which I will list for you to be aware of in case you are interested in booking.

• Internet sucks. It was much better at restaurants so we did most of our family calls at restaurants.

• Atlantic Palace doesn’t have any sustainability options like leaving towels hung so they aren’t exchanged.

• Because of the above we used the “do not disturb” sign every other day. Unfortunately this didn’t stop housekeeping from entering. We ran to the lobby for a minute and caught housekeeping leaving our room but they weren’t cleaning it. Questionable behavior to me.

• Entrance to rooms are in a garden/atrium that echoes loudly into the room so if you are a light sleeper bring ear plugs.

• Since we went on a “off peak” period a few of their restaurants and services we not available. Unfortunately this was not advertised anywhere on the website. 

 

Travel Details:

• Saturday-Saturday 

• December

• Personal travel