In short
Essaouira is the easiest town in Morocco with children: the medina is car-free, the beach is huge and flat, and the hassle is a fraction of the big cities. Plan the beach and surf lessons for the morning, and camels or horses at Diabat late in the day.
Morocco with small children can be hard work. Essaouira is the exception, and families who arrive planning two nights routinely stay five.
The reasons are structural. The medina is closed to cars, so a four-year-old can walk in it without a hand permanently clamped to their wrist. The beach is enormous, flat and right next to the town. The town is small enough to walk everywhere. And the hassle — the constant approaching that wears people down in bigger Moroccan cities — is a fraction of what it is inland.
The beach
The bay is the main event. At low tide it is a vast flat expanse of hard sand, which is football, kite-flying and running-around territory rather than a narrow strip of towels. There is a playground near the promenade, and in season the trampolines and inflatable things appear.
The swimming is Atlantic swimming: cold, around 17 to 20°C most of the year, with real waves. The bay is the most sheltered water on this coast and the safest place for children to get in, but it is not a pool. Swim in front of the surf schools, and stay away from the river mouth at the south end, where the current is genuinely dangerous.
Most children will want a wetsuit, and most surf schools rent small sizes.
Camels, horses and the dunes
For a lot of children this is the trip. The ranches south of town, across the Oued Ksob, run short rides along the beach to the half-buried Borj El Baroud fort and up into the dunes behind Diabat.
An hour is plenty with young children. Longer than that and you will be carrying someone. Ride late in the afternoon in summer, put them in long trousers, and go with a proper ranch rather than someone touting on the beach — the animals are better cared for and there is actual insurance.
Horses are the better option for nervous children. They are lower, smoother, and less alarming than being hoisted three metres into the air on something that groans.
For a change from animals, sandboarding on the Ouassane dunes, near Sidi Kaouki, works at any age: the sand forgives every fall, and it needs neither wind nor waves.
Surfing, from age five
Essaouira bay is a genuinely good place for a child's first surf lesson: the bottom is sand, the wave is slow, and the schools are used to teaching children. Book the morning slot, before the wind.
The school we recommend takes children from five, in waist-deep whitewater with three children per instructor at most, a life jacket and a wetsuit each. Teenagers can start kitesurfing at 12. Say at the booking stage if a child is not a confident swimmer.
The medina with children
The grid layout matters more than it sounds. In Fes you navigate by dead reckoning and anxiety; here you can walk a straight line and come out somewhere sensible. Pushchairs work on the main streets.
Things that reliably land well: the port, with its blue boats, gulls and nets; the cannons on the Skala de la Ville, which are climbable enough to be exciting; the spice souk, because it looks like a paint shop; and the wood workshops, where someone is usually happy to show a child what a lathe does.
Things that do not: long shopping sessions, and any attempt to look at ceramics for more than four minutes.
Food children will eat
This is the quiet advantage. Msemen — flaky fried flatbread — with honey is a universally accepted breakfast. Fresh orange juice is everywhere and costs almost nothing. Grilled fish, chips, bread, plain couscous and vegetable tagines cover most fussy eaters, and pizza and pasta exist in the medina when you need to surrender.
Portions are large and sharing is normal, so you rarely need a children's menu.
The wind, with small people
Be realistic about this. On a windy summer afternoon the beach has blowing sand at knee height, which small children hate and which gets into eyes and food.
Plan around it rather than fighting it: beach and activities in the morning, and after lunch retreat inside the walls where it is calm. Sunglasses and a buff or scarf for each child are worth packing. And remember the wind masks the sun — children burn here without anyone noticing it is happening.
Practicalities
Riads are often better than hotels for families because they have a central courtyard children can be released into. Ask about stairs, though: many riads are vertical, with steep steps and open galleries, which is worth knowing before you book with a toddler.
Nappies, formula and basic medicine are available in the pharmacies and supermarkets on Avenue Mohammed V. Pharmacies here are competent and used to advising on minor issues.
Common questions
Is Essaouira good for families with young children?
It is probably the easiest town in Morocco with children. The medina has no car traffic, the beach is wide and flat, the pace is slow, and the hassle level is far lower than in Marrakech or Fes.
Is Essaouira beach safe for children to swim?
The bay is sheltered and shallow, which makes it the calmest swimming on this stretch of coast, but it is still the Atlantic. Swim in front of the surf schools where people are supervised, keep well away from the river mouth to the south, and expect the water to be cold enough that most children want a wetsuit.
What age can children learn to surf in Essaouira?
Some schools take children from 5. The one we recommend teaches them in waist-deep whitewater, three children per instructor at most, and runs a family day where parents and children surf together. Say when booking if your child cannot swim.
Can you use a pushchair in the Essaouira medina?
Yes, more easily than almost anywhere else in Morocco. The medina is laid out on a grid, the main streets are wide and flat, and there is no car traffic. Some of the smaller alleys and the rampart steps are not pushchair friendly.
