Overview
The 5 Days Atlantic Coast Tour from Tangier to Essaouira is Morocco’s only dedicated coastal journey — a route that follows the entire Atlantic shoreline from the Strait of Gibraltar to the windswept port city of Essaouira, passing through five of the most distinct and rewarding cities in the country. This tour exists nowhere else in our catalogue and is genuinely unlike any other Morocco itinerary: instead of heading inland to medinas and mountains, it stays with the ocean, discovering a Morocco of white-washed Atlantic towns, Portuguese fortifications, Art Deco architecture, and the particular light that exists only on this coast.
The Atlantic coast of Morocco is one of the country’s best-kept secrets. While the inland imperial cities and Sahara Desert receive the majority of visitor attention, the coastline — stretching 1,800 kilometres from Tangier to the Western Sahara border — contains a series of extraordinary cities, each with its own distinct character and history. This tour visits five of the most important.
Tangier is where the journey begins — a city reinventing itself as Morocco’s most cosmopolitan destination, with a spectacular waterfront, a renovated medina, and a position at the meeting of two seas that is literally unique on earth. Asilah, two hours south, is one of Morocco’s most beautiful small towns: a perfectly preserved Portuguese-era walled medina painted white and blue, famous for its international arts festival and the murals that cover its medina walls each summer.
Rabat, Morocco’s capital, presents a face of the country that most visitors never see — an elegant, manageable city where the Moorish architecture of the Chellah and Kasbah of the Udayas coexists with tree-lined French colonial boulevards and a thriving contemporary art and restaurant scene. Casablanca, the commercial capital, offers the Art Deco Habous quarter and the extraordinary Hassan II Mosque — the world’s third-largest mosque, with its 210-metre minaret visible from 50 kilometres at sea.
El Jadida, a Portuguese fortified city with a remarkable vaulted underground cistern, is the tour’s hidden gem — completely authentic and largely unknown to foreign visitors, with a wide sandy beach and a walled Portuguese medina that was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2004. And finally Essaouira, the tour’s conclusion, is the coast at its most theatrical — blue-painted walls, Atlantic wind, fresh seafood, and an extraordinary creative energy that has drawn artists, musicians, and writers for over a century.
Highlights
- Begin in Tangier — the city at the meeting of the Atlantic and Mediterranean
- Explore Asilah, the Portuguese-walled art city of the Atlantic coast
- Guided tour of Rabat — Chellah necropolis, Hassan Tower & Kasbah of the Udayas
- Visit the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca — the world’s third-largest mosque
- Discover El Jadida — Portuguese fortifications and the remarkable underground cistern
- Walk El Jadida’s UNESCO-listed medina — almost entirely tourist-free
- Arrive in Essaouira — the wind city, the port, the ramparts, the seafood
- Follow Morocco’s entire Atlantic shoreline in a single connected journey
- Experience five completely distinct coastal cities in five days
- Unique tour — no other Morocco itinerary follows this coastal arc
Day by Day Itinerary
Day 1: Tangier — City Tour & Departure to Asilah
Morning tour of Tangier: the Kasbah Museum, the Grand Socco, and the legendary Café Hafa overlooking the strait. After lunch, drive south along the coastal road to Asilah (1 hour). Spend the afternoon in this extraordinary whitewashed Atlantic town — the Portuguese ramparts, the medina painted with international street art, the beach. Dinner in Asilah. Overnight in a riad or coastal guesthouse.
Day 2: Asilah to Rabat via Larache & Lixus
Morning walk along Asilah’s sea walls and beach. Drive south through Larache — a small Spanish-colonial port town with a charming blue-painted medina. Stop at the hilltop ruins of Lixus, a Phoenician and Roman city above the Loukos river estuary, with remarkable views and well-preserved amphitheatre. Continue south to Rabat (2 hours). Afternoon guided tour: Chellah necropolis, Hassan Tower, Mohammed V Mausoleum, and a walk through the Kasbah of the Udayas — arguably Morocco’s most beautiful neighbourhood. Overnight in Rabat.
Day 3: Rabat to Casablanca & El Jadida
Morning drive to Casablanca (1 hour). Visit the Hassan II Mosque — the world’s third-largest mosque with its extraordinary 210-metre minaret and ocean-facing marble terrace. Walk through the Art Deco Habous quarter, Casablanca’s most authentic neighbourhood with its covered market and traditional café culture. After lunch, continue south to El Jadida (1.5 hours). Guided tour of the Portuguese medina and the famous Citerne Portugaise — a vaulted underground cistern built in the sixteenth century, its arched columns reflected in a thin layer of water in a scene of extraordinary atmospheric beauty. Overnight in El Jadida.
Day 4: El Jadida to Essaouira via Oualidia & Safi
Drive south along the coast through Oualidia — a magical lagoon village famous for its oyster beds and one of Morocco’s most beautiful natural settings. Continue to Safi, the ancient pottery city of the Atlantic, where the traditional kilns and the old medina quarter of the potters occupy a cliffside above the sea. Continue to Essaouira (2 hours). Arrive in the early afternoon. Guided introduction to the medina: the ramparts, the Skala de la Ville (sea fortifications), the thuya wood craft souk, and the fishing port. Overnight in a medina riad.
Day 5: Essaouira — Full Day Atlantic Port City
Full day in Essaouira. Morning: the fish market and the best fresh seafood breakfast in Morocco. Walk the full length of the sea walls at different times of day — the light changes constantly. Visit the marquetry souk where Essaouira’s famous thuya wood inlay is made. Free afternoon on the beach, or in the galleries of local painters, or simply in a rooftop café letting the Atlantic wind blow away any remaining stress. Optional: argan oil cooperative visit (30 minutes outside town). Onward transfer to Marrakech (3 hours), Agadir (3.5 hours), or airport as needed.
What’s Included
- Private transport Tangier–Asilah–Rabat–Casablanca–El Jadida–Essaouira
- Expert English-speaking licensed guide throughout
- Hassan II Mosque entrance (guided)
- El Jadida Citerne Portugaise entrance
- Lixus and Chellah entrance fees
- 4 nights in riads or coastal guesthouses (breakfasts included)
- Lunch in Casablanca on Day 3
What’s Not Included
- International flights to and from Morocco
- Travel insurance
- Personal lunches (Days 1, 2, 4, 5) and dinners (most evenings)
- Tips for guide and driver
- Visa fees where applicable
- Personal expenses and souvenirs
Travel Tips
This tour is entirely different from standard Morocco tours and attracts travellers who have already done the classic desert circuit or who specifically prefer coastal and urban environments over mountains and desert. The Atlantic coast is cooler and breezier than inland Morocco — pack a light windproof jacket. Oualidia oysters (Day 4) are a genuine gastronomic highlight — stop for a dozen with white wine at a lagoon-side restaurant if your schedule allows. El Jadida is a revelation — most travellers say it is their favourite unexpected discovery of the entire tour.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can this tour be done in reverse? A: Yes — Essaouira to Tangier works equally well. Many travellers fly into Marrakech, visit Essaouira, and then do this coast tour north to Tangier.
Q: Is this suitable for beach lovers? A: Yes — while the tour focuses on the cultural and architectural highlights of each coastal city, every stop has excellent Atlantic beaches within easy walking distance. Essaouira’s beach in particular is spectacular.
Q: What makes El Jadida special? A: El Jadida is a UNESCO World Heritage Portuguese fortified city that is almost entirely unknown to foreign tourists. Its underground cistern is one of the most atmospheric spaces in Morocco, and the walled medina is completely authentic and unhurried. It is consistently travellers’ most surprising discovery on this tour.
Q: Is there good food on this tour? A: Exceptionally so — the Atlantic coast is Morocco’s seafood zone, and every city on this route has excellent fish restaurants. El Jadida’s sardines, Essaouira’s grilled fish, Oualidia’s oysters, and Casablanca’s seafood restaurants are among the best eating in the country.