Sea, Sun And Fun In Morocco On A Budget.

October 2018 I got to tick another country off my travel bucket list. Instead of the usual markets of Marrakesh, our travel crew ventured over to the coast of Morocco and landed in the port of Agadir. My brother and I hastily booked this trip after a few drinks one evening. Kids, it was 'hella' cheap. One of the best things about living in the UK is the price of travel from almost any airport in my vicinity. Heathrow is an hour and a half away, Birmingham is forty minutes straight into the airport via train. Gatwick and Stanstead are a little further, but still very doable and Luton is again just forty minutes in the car. We're so so privileged, I know it and I use it as often as time off and money allow.

Anyway, to get an idea of how reasonable it was to spend a week in Agadir I will break it down. Flights to Agadir from London cost us about £75 return. We then booked a villa on the beach about an hour outside of Agadir and close to all the local surf spots called Tamraght. Because it's not a really touristy area, our accommodation cost us just £400 for the week! Yes, between 4 of us that was just £100 each. WHAT?! We hired a car which cost us another £300 including the fuel to ferry us around while we were there, and in this area a car is essential. Our accommodation was off the beaten track (literally) and we had to drive to most places as there just isn't any kind of public transport or taxi service. That worked out to another £75. That gives you a grand total of £250 for a week of transport, accommodation and a roof over your head on the beach. SWEET!

The roof terrace at the villa was our communal and eating area, as well as wave watching followed by glorious sunsets. It had a pool downstairs which is shared, check it out on Air BNB if you're the nosy type - Villa Limone, Tamraght. The perfect hideaway for some serious R&R. Driving about an hour from Agadir airport, we pretty much followed the coast all the way till we arrived in Tamraght. A sharp left turn down a dirt road with a forty five degree incline, we were totally glad for getting an SUV type car, (we needed it) and we arrived at Villa Limone. A small complex with about 8 apartments in total. Great little pool and the beach just on the other side of the gated complex.

So there were a few top things to do around this area, not huge amounts though, but we didn't come for the tourist rush; it was the beach and some serious isolation we were after so it was perfect for us. We drove along the coast every morning and ventured into Taghazout which is a popular area for people looking to surf. There is a lot more going on here than the rest of the area but it is still pretty basic in terms of what was available, and unfortunately the beach behind the main strip was a bit of a let down. But other than that, the cafe's here are awesome and the food is delicious and incredibly reasonable. We didn't spend a lot on food as we stocked up at Carre Four about 15 mins away from our villa so that was handy to keep the cost down too.

We did meet some locals and ask around for recommendations of restaurants and one evening we went to dine at a hole in the wall restaurant run by a Michelin star chef and his wife. La Palmier Bleu was a truly awesome dining experience and the food was sensational. Morocco is a Muslim country so you can't drink alcohol in public, and they don't serve it at any restaurants either, so be prepared to buy your own at a supermarket and drink it at your villa. We were totally fine with that and respected their custom, knowing that going in makes it a lot easier too!

Apart from surf, beach and eat, we also managed to visit Paradise Valley way into the mountains. It was like a lush oasis of palm trees with a whole village tucked away on the hills just above huge basins of water that have settled in the canyons like a pool. Unfortunately the day we were there to hike it, we got torrential rain. Not the whole time but it wasn't ideal, and didn't hike as far as we wanted to due to the mud and the smaller trail sizes, but we did stop at the base of the canyon for a mint tea and a freshly squeezed orange juice by our host Mohammed. He was so welcoming he invited us to spend a night at his house and to meet his family and have his wife cook for us. If we had had the time, we would have all jumped at the opportunity but we left Mohammed at Paradise Valley promising to return and take him up on his offer another trip.

This part of the world is so welcoming, and people genuinely want you to have a truly Moroccan experience. We tried to speak to as many people as possible, I bought oils and natural tea from an elderly gentleman in Taghazout with a knowledge about plants, flowers and their local Moroccan Red Mud which made me want to sit for hours and listen. I was allowed thirty minutes while the others shopped elsewhere, but he gave me a stool and poured me a tea and told me all about his products. It was a highlight for me on the trip. Most of the area do not speak great English, however if you have a Google Translate to hand and you don't mind using it, you can brush up on your French while you are out there.

French and Arabic are the main two languages spoken in Morocco and as I said before, we were out of the main tourist area, so we weren't expecting anyone to cater to us just because we are English, in fact, if you don't know at least a little French, it could be quite tough going, but hand gestures and signing things out also helped us along and we had fun anyway.

There is a lot more I could say about this part of the Morocco and I don't think any of us left feeling that we wouldn't want to come back and do that again. Maybe a bit longer next time and with a few more friends though!

Have you been here before too? Let me know your favourite parts!

Bussi Babe xx