What is Sidi Ifni beach?

Sidi Ifni is one of the most atmospheric towns on the whole Moroccan coast, and almost nobody on a standard itinerary gets there. It's a former Spanish enclave — Spain only handed it back to Morocco in 1969 — and that history is written all over it in faded Art Deco architecture: a Spanish-built town hall, a church, a lighthouse, balconied villas in white and washed-out blue, all sitting on a windswept bluff above a huge Atlantic beach. The light, the peeling pastel buildings and the empty sweep of sand give it a wonderfully melancholic, end-of-the-world feel.

The beach itself is broad, wild and largely empty — fishermen, the odd surfer, locals strolling at sunset. This is the deep Atlantic south, so the water is cold, the surf is powerful and the rip currents are serious; I'm clear with clients that Sidi Ifni is a beach for walking, photography and watching the swell, not for casual swimming. Surfers do come for the breaks, but it's not a beginner spot.

What makes Sidi Ifni really worth the long drive (about three hours south of Agadir) is its position as the gateway to Legzira beach, just ten kilometres north, with those famous red sandstone arches. Most people base a night or two in Sidi Ifni's simple guesthouses, do Legzira at low tide, eat grilled fish in the town's unpretentious cafés, and soak up the slow, time-warped Spanish-Moroccan mood.

I recommend Sidi Ifni to curious, independent travellers rather than first-timers chasing the headline sights — it's a reward for going further. Combined with Legzira and Mirleft it makes a genuinely off-beat two-to-three-day southern-coast loop that I'm always happy to build for people who want the Morocco beyond the postcards.