19 Best Things to Do in Agadir, Morocco

We're a small team of guides based between Agadir and Taghazout, and we get asked the same thing almost every week: what's actually worth doing here? This is our honest answer — the 19 things we'd send our own friends to do, from the obvious (Souk El Had, the cable car) to the ones most visitors miss (the hidden pools above Paradise Valley, horse riding along the empty southern beach). Agadir was rebuilt after the 1960 earthquake, so it's modern, flat, and easy to get around — which means you can do a lot in a few days. Some of this you can do alone in an afternoon. A few are better with someone who knows the trails. We'll tell you which is which.

1Relax on Agadir Beach

Agadir Beach is the reason most people come. It's a wide, gently curving stretch of Atlantic sand backed by the Corniche, and the water stays swimmable for a big chunk of the year. Mornings are calm and good for a swim; afternoons get breezy, which is when you'll see the kitesurfers come out. You can rent a sunbed, grab mint tea at one of the beach cafés, or just walk the length of it. If you want it quieter, head to the southern end near the dunes — fewer crowds, same sun.

2Hike Paradise Valley

This is the day trip people remember. Paradise Valley sits about an hour inland, where the road climbs into the foothills of the High Atlas and drops you into a palm-filled canyon with natural rock pools cut into the stone. When the water's high you get waterfalls and jumping spots; even in the dry months the upper pools hold water and stay cool.

Most day-trippers stop at the first pool by the roadside café and call it done. The good stuff is further up — quieter pools, Berber hamlets, argan and juniper woodland, and views that open up the higher you climb. The trail is beginner-friendly but it's not signposted, and the best pools take some local knowledge to find.

3Shop Souk El Had

Souk El Had is one of the biggest markets in Morocco — thousands of stalls behind tall walls, divided roughly by what they sell. One section is spices and dried fruit, another is olives and argan oil, another is carpets, leather, and crafts. It's loud, packed, and genuinely fun if you go in with no fixed plan.

Haggling is expected, not rude. Start well below the asking price, stay friendly, and be ready to walk — half the time that's what closes the deal. As a rough guide, a handmade Berber carpet that starts around 1,500 MAD often lands closer to 1,200; a silver necklace asking 300 might settle near 250.

4Ride the cable car to Agadir Oufella

The Agadir Oufella ruins sit on the hill above the city — the old kasbah that survived while the rest of Agadir was flattened in 1960. A cable car runs to the top in about six minutes, and the view from up there covers the whole bay, the port, and the marina. The inscription on the hillside in Arabic ("Allah, Nation, King") is visible across the city, and the ruins themselves are worth the walk once you're up.

If you're fit, you can hike up from Route Agadir Oufella instead of taking the cable car — it's steep but short, and you get the views the whole way.

5Wander the Medina d'Agadir

Here's a quirk most people don't know: Agadir's "old" medina isn't actually old. The real one was destroyed in the 1960 earthquake, so in 1992 a Sicilian-Moroccan master craftsman named Coco Polizzi started building a new one by hand, in traditional Berber style, using local stone, clay, and salvaged materials. The result is the Medina d'Agadir — a walled artisan village in Bensergao, about 10 minutes from the city centre, where craftspeople work in stone, silver, leather, and wood while you walk the lanes.

It's part open-air museum, part working souk, part garden, and it's calmer and cleaner than Souk El Had — a good option if the big market feels like too much. There's a restaurant, a kids' play area, and regular cultural events.

6Go horse riding on the beach

One of the best ways to see the coast is from the saddle. Stables near the southern end of Agadir Beach and up around Tamraght run guided rides along the sand, usually at a gentle walk so it suits complete beginners and kids. You follow the waterline with the Atlantic on one side and the dunes on the other, and the late-afternoon rides catch the sunset off the water. It's calm, it's scenic, and it's a nice change of pace from the busier central beach.

7Go sandboarding near Tamri

North of Agadir, past Taghazout toward Tamri, the dunes run right down toward the coast. Sandboarding here is like snowboarding on sand — strap in, walk up, ride down, repeat until your legs give out. It's a good half-day for anyone who wants something a bit more active than the beach, and the drive up the coast road is scenic on its own.

8Tear through the dunes by quad or buggy

For something with an engine, quad biking and buggy tours run inland from Agadir into the semi-desert and dunes around Tamri and the back country. You get kitted out, given a quick briefing, and then follow a guide through sand tracks, dry riverbeds, and argan groves. Quads are the classic choice for solo riders; buggies seat two, so they suit couples or a parent with an older kid. Most tours include hotel pickup and run two to three hours.

It's dusty, fast, and a complete contrast to the calm of Paradise Valley — a good pick if you've got a day for adrenaline.

9Take a sunset camel ride

Camel rides happen up the coast in Tamraght and Taghazout, usually starting around 5 or 6pm so you finish as the sun drops. You head out along the ranch land near the river mouth — eucalyptus, ocean breeze, golden light — at the slow, rolling pace camels set. It's calm and a bit cinematic, and it's an easy one to do with kids or family who aren't up for a hike.

10Surf at Taghazout & Tamraght

Taghazout is the reason surfers from all over the world end up on this coast. The breaks suit every level: gentle, sandy-bottomed waves for beginners at Tamraght and Crocro, and serious right-handers at Anchor Point for experienced surfers. There are surf schools and board rental all along the front, and the town itself is small, laid-back, and full of cafés.

Even if you never get on a board, Taghazout is worth the trip for the sunset and the slow pace. It's a 25-minute drive north of Agadir, and some of the best hiking trails near Agadir start from the hills just behind the town.

11Take a boat trip from the Marina

From Agadir Marina you can jump on a boat trip out into the bay — anything from a relaxed sightseeing cruise with snacks and music to a proper fishing trip where you drop lines for the day's catch. The coastline looks completely different from the water, and on a clear afternoon you'll often spot dolphins riding the bow. Sunset cruises are the popular choice; fishing trips run mornings.

12Do a Berber cooking workshop

If you want to actually take something home from Morocco, learn to cook one of its dishes. A Berber (Amazigh) cooking workshop walks you through a proper tagine or couscous from scratch — the spices, the slow cooking, the order things go in the pot. Most sessions run two to three hours and end with you eating what you made. It's hands-on, social, and the kind of thing you'll repeat back home.

13Steam in a traditional hammam

A hammam is a steam bath, but it's also a social ritual that's been part of Moroccan life for centuries. You sit in the heat, get scrubbed down with black soap and a coarse glove (kessa), rinse, and come out feeling completely reset. There are simple neighbourhood hammams and fancier spa versions aimed at visitors — both do the job. Go in the evening when locals do and you'll get the real version.

14Walk the Marina & Corniche promenade

The Corniche runs about 5km along the beachfront — palm trees, cafés, ice-cream stands, and joggers. It's where Agadir comes out to walk in the evening, and it's the easiest way to feel the rhythm of the city without doing anything in particular. At the north end you reach the Marina, where you can watch the boats, eat fresh seafood, or pick up a coastal boat trip.

15Visit the Museum of Amazigh Heritage

The Amazigh — the Berbers — are the indigenous people of this part of North Africa, and this museum near the seafront lays out their history, jewellery, textiles, and craft. It's small and easy to do in under an hour, and it gives real context to everything you'll see in the souks and villages. As Berber guides ourselves, we'd say it's the best 30 minutes you can spend understanding where you actually are.

16Birdwatch in Souss-Massa National Park

South of Agadir, Souss-Massa National Park protects a stretch of coast and wetland that's a haven for birds — including the rare Northern Bald Ibis, one of the last wild colonies on earth. Even if you're not a birder, the landscape is a quiet change from the city: river estuary, dunes, and scrub running down to empty beach. It's an easy half-day trip, and you can pair it with a stop at the river mouth at Sidi R'bat.

17Bring the kids to Crocoparc

Crocoparc is exactly what it sounds like — a landscaped park north of Agadir home to hundreds of Nile crocodiles, set among gardens and botanical planting. The walkways keep you close enough to see them properly, and the gardens make it a relaxed visit even in the heat. It's the easiest win on this list if you're travelling with children.

18Day-trip to Essaouira

Essaouira is a couple of hours up the coast — a walled, whitewashed port town with a completely different feel to Agadir. The medina is calm and walkable, the seafood comes straight off the boats, and there's a real arts and music scene tucked into the lanes. If Agadir is the beach resort, Essaouira is the old soul of the coast. Worth a full day.

19Day-trip to Legzira & Tiznit

Head south instead of north and you hit two very different gems. Legzira beach is famous for its dramatic red sandstone cliffs and arches that glow at sunset — it's one of the most photographed beaches in Morocco, about two hours from Agadir near Sidi Ifni. On the way you can stop in Tiznit, a walled town known across Morocco for its silver jewellery; the silversmiths' souk is the real draw, and the ramparts are worth a walk.

Done as a loop it's a long but rewarding day: Tiznit's silver in the late morning, Legzira's cliffs for sunset. Bring proper shoes for the beach — the walk to the arches is over rock and sand.

How long do you need? A quick comparison

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