Best Things to Do in Essaouira: A Family Guide, Essaouira, Morocco

A family guide to the best things to do in Essaouira, Morocco - from the UNESCO medina and port to Sidi Kaouki's surf beaches, Diabat's Jimi Hendrix café, sunset camel rides at Smimou and an unforgettable yoga retreat at Douar Noujoum.

Windswept, walled and utterly unpretentious, Essaouira is the Morocco most travellers fall for without expecting to. The medina smells of salt and wood shavings, gulls circle a port piled with blue fishing boats, and a few kilometres south the dunes run uninterrupted all the way to Sidi Kaouki. This is the Atlantic side of Morocco - cooler, lighter, and a world away from the postcard image of Marrakech.

We spent a week based in Essaouira with family and friends in late April, travelling with kids aged 10 and 15, and used it as a springboard for surf, sunset camel rides and a memorable yoga retreat in the countryside just inland. Here's our take on the best things to do in Essaouira - including the offbeat details most guidebooks miss.

Essaouira's medina is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and unlike Marrakech or Fez, it is small, flat and almost impossible to feel harassed in. The layout follows a loose grid laid down by a French military engineer in the 18th century, which means that even with young kids, you are never more than five minutes from your riad. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).