What are the best beaches in Morocco overall?

After fifteen years sending travellers up and down both Moroccan coasts, I tell everyone the same thing: there is no single 'best beach' here because the two coastlines feel like different countries. The Atlantic, which runs from Tangier all the way down past Dakhla, is wild, windy and theatrical — think Legzira's red sandstone arches near Sidi Ifni, the surf breaks of Taghazout, the oyster lagoon at Oualidia. The Mediterranean strip in the north is the opposite: warm, calm, turquoise, with resort towns like Saidia, Martil and M'diq made for actual swimming.

If you want drama and photographs, go Atlantic. My favourite stretch is the deep south around Sidi Ifni and Mirleft — empty golden bays, cliffs, surfers, and almost no crowds outside Moroccan summer. Legzira at low tide is the most photographed spot on the whole coast, and deservedly so. The catch is the water: the Atlantic here is cold even in August (the Canary current), and the rip currents are real. I never let clients swim outside the lifeguard-flagged zones.

If you actually want to lie in warm shallow water with the kids, I send people to the Mediterranean coast around Tetouan — Martil and M'diq especially — or to Saidia near the Algerian border, marketed locally as the 'Blue Pearl' for its long pale-sand beach. The sea there is genuinely Mediterranean: gentler, warmer, swimmable from June through September. It is less photogenic than the Atlantic cliffs, but far more relaxing.

For most first-timers I suggest pairing one classic Atlantic beach town — Essaouira for its medina and breeze, or Taghazout for surf — with the rest of their Morocco trip, rather than treating the coast as the whole holiday. Build me a sense of what you want (waves, lagoon calm, photos, or family swimming) and I'll point you to the exact stretch, because conflating them disappoints people.