Can you go kitesurfing in Morocco, and where are the best spots?

Dakhla is the one every kiter dreams about, and it earns it. The lagoon is a vast sheet of flat, waist-deep turquoise water with steady cross-onshore wind that blows almost every day from spring into autumn. I have stood on that sandbar at golden hour watching beginners get up on their first runs while pros launch big-air sessions a hundred metres away — it suits everyone, which is rare. The trade-off is distance: Dakhla is far south, usually a flight from Casablanca or Agadir, so it works best as a dedicated kite week rather than a day add-on.

Closer to the classic tourist circuit, Essaouira is the windy soul of the Atlantic coast. The town beach is fine for learning on lighter days, but the serious action is at Moulay Bouzerktoun just north, where the wind howls and the waves stack up for wave-riding. I send confident intermediates and above there; total beginners do better on Essaouira bay or down at Dakhla.

Most centres in both places rent gear and run IKO-certified lessons, so you do not need to haul kites across the world unless you want your own. A typical beginner course runs three to five days to reach independent riding — I am honest that one afternoon will not make you a kiter, but it will get you hooked.

Wind season is the headline: roughly April to September is the sweet spot for the trade winds, with summer being windiest. Bring a wetsuit even in summer — that Atlantic current is bracingly cold, and the Canary-current upwelling keeps Dakhla cooler than the desert sun suggests.