Can you do a boat trip or sailing in Morocco?

People are sometimes surprised that a country so associated with deserts and mountains has plenty of water-based options, but Morocco has a very long Atlantic coast plus a Mediterranean one, so boat trips absolutely exist — you just have to know where. Essaouira is my first recommendation for most travellers. It's a working fishing port with a salty, characterful harbour, and from there you can take sunset sails, traditional fishing-boat excursions, and catamaran cruises out along the wild Atlantic, sometimes spotting dolphins. The catch — pun intended — is that Essaouira is famously windy (it's a windsurfing mecca for a reason), so the water can be choppy and cooler than the Mediterranean idea of a boat trip.

Agadir is the more resort-style option, with calmer, warmer conditions and a marina full of organised trips: catamaran cruises with lunch and swimming stops, dolphin-watching outings, and fishing charters. It's less atmospheric than Essaouira but more comfortable and family-friendly, and the sea is genuinely pleasant for swimming much of the year. Further south, Dakhla sits on a spectacular flat lagoon where boat trips take you to see the oyster farms, the white dune, and the birdlife — it's a different, wilder experience entirely.

The Mediterranean coast up north — around Al Hoceima, M'diq, and Tangier — comes alive in summer with cruises and boat hire, and the water there is warmer, bluer, and calmer than the Atlantic. And inland, surprisingly, you can get on the water too: Lalla Takerkoust, a reservoir lake about forty minutes from Marrakech against an Atlas backdrop, offers short boat outings, pedalos, kayaks, and even some jet skiing, which makes a lovely escape from the city heat.

My honest practical guidance: this is not the Greek islands, and on the Atlantic in particular you should pack a windbreaker and not expect bath-warm Mediterranean waters. Sea conditions can cancel trips at short notice in Essaouira when the wind's up. But if you want time on the water, it's very much available — I most often weave an Essaouira sunset sail or a Dakhla lagoon trip into coastal itineraries, and travellers always enjoy the change of element.