A travelogue about Morocco and the sand dunes near Agadir.

To the previous travelogue for Morocco: Marrakech and travel program - see here

By bus from Marrakesh to Agadir

We arrived at Marrakech's central bus station boldly holding the QR codes from the purchased online bus tickets, we started walking around in search of our bus. The whole thing lasted about an hour and a half, during which time the locals told us that the bus would come here, then - that's it. And during that time all kinds of other buses were arriving and leaving again. Finally, our bus came and a "helper" called us to get on first as he got in before us and rearranged the people who were already inside so that we could sit together the four of us. This cost us a tip, but there's no way - we're in Morocco 🙂

For information - we bought the tickets at this site– bus search engine and supports almost all companies, including the smallest and regional ones. There is an English version and it is paid with all kinds of cards.

The buses are terribly amortized and have their seats, but the journey, which lasted about 4 hours, was calm without any disturbing moments. At one time before we boarded the highway to Agadir, the bus stopFor a toilet and a meal - there was both a small store and cooked food and necessarily - many outdoor fountains. The landscapes on the road were unexpectedly beautiful - there was a palette of colors - a desert in beige, tile red and brown.

InDrive App (or in other words - "Arabic Uber")

At the bus station in Agadir was the first time we used InDrive. This is an app, an alternative to the popular Uber and Bolt, where local people offer transportation services from point A to point B at a price many times lower than the price of official taxi companies. It is important to note that the application is illegal in Morocco and drivers making money in this way are subject to sanctions. That's why it often says in the app that a car with a certain number and model will come, but in reality it comes completely different and always after request there is subsequent communication in the chat or by calling to specify exactly where the driver can stop so that he is not caught. We learned this grip the hard way... Several times we called a car through the app, the driver was seeing us, waving us to go to him, and by the time we found out, he was leaving because the taxi drivers near us identified him and went to him They are chasing. Even when we were far away from the bus station, taxis were still found to cause a problem and threaten the driver who finally picked us up and drove us to the apartment in ANZA.

Agadir and the area. Sights.

The City of Agadir has quite a non-Moroccan, one can even say a modern look. It was built almost at first after a severe earthquake that happened in the 1960s. There is still gypsy, but much less than in Marakesh. The promenade and the promenade are great for walking and eating. Agadir is also the only lift in Morocco – it goes up to the Ufla fortress and has a nice view of the city and the ocean at sunset. One of the other sights in Agadir is the croccopark, which is a botanical garden and a park with crocodiles. For all those who cannot do without shopping, there is a retail park with Sela Park stores with familiar brands such as Defacto, Waikiki and others.

To the north of Agadir are the tourist resorts of Anza, Tamtracht and Tagazut, where both surf beaches and luxury hotels and closed complexes are located. The apartment I had booked was located in Anza, in a gated complex, and I had to show my passport to be allowed inside.

It was a sunset time. That's why we threw the backpacks in the apartment and we don't have smoke. The beach was only 5 minutes away and we arrived just in time. Then we walked along the promenade, which was full of families with children clicking to and fro. There were children's climbing frames, an outdoor gym, a football field and what shocked me the most - they sold steam snails in the same way as steam corn is sold in Bulgaria! And there was a queue in front of the snail cart! Then we shopped in a nearby Carrefour, prepared dinner in the apartment, had some new exotic fruit - cactus fruit and forged on the beds.

–> Browse and book a budget hotel in Agadir, Morocco at a discount. See HERE!

ORGANIZATIONAL CONFUSION – PART ONE

The next day during the GetYourGuide I had booked an organized tour with buggy riding and sandsurfing at Tifnit sand dunes near Agadir. The day before, the agency had to contact us to specify the exact place and time of pick-up from the accommodation. I waited all day for them, in the evening I wrote on all possible contact channels to them and they only repeated "The driver will contact you later". I was literally facing a nervous breakdown as the whole program for Morocco revolved around this organized excursion, and if they screwed us up and it didn't happen, I would be very disappointed to say the least. After all, it wasn't until 11 p.m. that they contacted us for confirmation. Unfortunately, a similar lack of organization was repeated in Marakesh with the other tour we went on.

Organized buggy tour and sandsurfing in sand dunes

In the end, we were a small group of 9-10 people and drove to a village near the dunes where we drove the buggies. We were two on Buddy, so that there would be countless photos and videos 🙂 Just kidding, so the price was almost twice as low. At first we drove on asphalt, then on rough terrain and finally - in the sand. The view was absolutely amazing! The Atlantic Ocean was on one side of us and the sand dunes on the other. In total, the buggy ride lasted about an hour and a half, and in the middle of that time we stopped at some big dunes, climbed them and did sandsurfing there. The view from the neighboring dunes was even more incredible - the sand dunes looked just like you were deep in the desert. We thought the whole experience briefly, so we decided that the next day when we're in Marakesh, we'll include a buggy ride in the program again because we all really liked it.

After we were brought back to Anza, we sat down at lunch at a small fast food restaurant named Anza Gourmet. There we ordered 1 pasta, 1 margarita pizza, 3 burgers with potatoes, 2 drinks and 2 desserts, all of which were normal to large portions and it cost us a total of 20 euros!!

Surfing on the Atlantic Ocean

My son and I then went surfing along the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean. 10 years ago I was surfing in the Indian Ocean on the island of Bali during our tour of Southeast Asia, the travelogues you can read about here.

Unlike the previous time, when the air and water temperatures were more than wonderful, here in Morocco we generally froze, we did not expect the weather in December there to be as similar there as in Plovdiv at the same time. The water temperature was 16 degrees, so when we rented the surfboards, we asked to be given wetsuits, as I was personally very reserved about how much they would protect us from the cold water. Skipping the topic of the hygiene of these suits, and the fact that they have probably never been washed, but only spread to dry until the next use, I must admit that these wetsuits really kept out of the cold. We surf calmly for about an hour and a half and it may have been salty in our mouths, but not cold!

For dinner we went to La Bargue Gourmande restaurant, which is located right on the coast with a great view and reached along the pleasant promenade. We were just in the restaurant. From time to time other people came, looked at the menu and left. The prices were lower than the restaurant in Marrakech, the portions - bigger, and the taste - just as nice! We recommend the restaurant. At some point, my husband was startled when he remembered that he had left the gas stove in the apartment to make tea, but he completely forgot and immediately ran to try. Well, that's it with the delicious dinner... 🙂 Thank God, everything was fine!

To the next travelogue for Morocco - Agafay desert near Marrakech - see here

–> Browse and book UNIQUE accommodations in Morocco at a discount. See HERE!

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