Escape 2 Essaouira
- Sharmeen Suleman
- May 18, 2018
- 3 min read
Last July, we decided to take Mum on holiday to Essaouira for her 75th Birthday. We also took along our 5 year old twins, 3 year old toddler & my teenage step-daughter. Thankfully, we were able to make use of the direct Easyjet flights from London Luton and in under four hours we were in sunny Morocco. All in one piece, thankfully. Although the first time, we visited Essaouira we made use of the Supratours coaches from Marrakesh. (More on that next time.)
We love Essaouira, having visited this wonderful coastal town twice before, we knew it would be the best place to take Mum. With its wide beach promenade & quaint Medina (old town), we managed to get Mum around in her wheelchair with relative ease. Of course, the highlight of the trip for her wasn’t the beach or the Medina, it was being able to tell all her friends that she was in Essaouira whilst Salman Khan, renowned Bollywood actor, was filming his latest blockbuster movie. We never actually saw the man himself because apparently filming took place at 6am in the morning. However, we did manage to capture the stuntmen in action & on camera too (Picture below).
But this certainly was not the highlight of holiday for the rest of us. What makes a family holiday memorable can the be sum of many small things. Since there are currently no All Inclusive places to stay in Essaouira, we enjoyed combining eating out with self-catering. The food & drink we enjoyed included the delicious fresh orange juice, the freshly barbequed fish, the huge pancakes oozing with Nutella or apricot jam and a new dish we tried called a ‘pastille’. Of course there was pizza & chips too. Although, I will give the kids credit, they did try many new things & even enjoyed them too.
The activities we enjoyed including bike riding on the promenade, walking the tracks left by the kite-surfers on the beach and wandering the Medina looking for the best fridge magnets to bring home. The kids had fun playing on the slides & swings on the sandy beach or riding around in the electric cars. We didn't manage to take any day trips or do many activities, with mum on the waiting list for her knee op, we wanted to stick together. But next time when we go we will be booking a private beach picnic & BBQ with Berberlands & riding the dunes in with PalmaQuad. Whilst I might not be trying out kite-surfing, I am sure we will fit in a camel ride with Explora Watersports, who pretty much do everything in Essaouira. Click Here for our full list of activities>
We made many happy family memories during our holiday to Essaouira. Memories that bring a smile to my face, even as I write this journal now. The list of all the things we enjoyed could certainly go on. There are so many things yet to try in Essaouira, which we will no doubt do on our next trip there. There is something quite enchanting about Essaouira, which keeps calling us back to visit time and again.
Essaouira is unlike Marrakesh. It is calmer and the summers are much milder. Whilst many people visit Essaouira as a day trip from Marrakesh, it is worth considering spending a few days there to experience what this gem on the Atlantic coast has to offer. Particularly in the summer months, where Marrakesh really hots up. The beach itself is a testament to the unique medley of cultures that co-exist wonderfully in this town. Kite-surfers walk past children playing in the sand, whilst young lads kick around a football as local women gather for a catch-up, sitting on the raised platform of the promenade. And amongst all of this, tourists catch the sun lounging on the private beach areas of the 5 star hotels. Everyone & everything has its place on the beach of Essaouira. That is part of its charm, part of its enchantment. It is one of the many reasons that I love enchanting Essaouira. Why not #Escape2Essaouira even for a long weekend ?
[This blog post was written by Sharmeen Suleman, Founder of Vacations MAROC. She is a British Mother who has travelled to over 25 countries worldwide but somehow fell in love with Morocco. She shares her experience on family travel on a budget & her passion for Morocco on her website & www.vacationsmaroc.co.uk .You can follow the family’s travel adventures on their social media platforms.]
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