What is Essaouira like in January?

I spent the first week of one January wandering Essaouira's ramparts with a wool scarf and a cup of mint tea that went cold faster than I drank it — and I loved every minute. This is the off-season town in its purest form. The medina is mostly Moroccan again, the gulls wheel over an empty harbour, and the famous blue fishing boats sit half-drawn-up on the sand. Days hover around 18–20°C, which sounds gentle until the wind reminds you it never truly rests here.

What January gives you is light. The low winter sun rakes across the white-and-blue walls at a flatter angle, and photographers I bring here in summer always wish they'd come now instead. Mornings can start grey and damp off the ocean, then burn clear by eleven. I tell guests to plan indoor pleasures for the chillier hours — the spice souk, an argan-oil cooperative, a long seafood lunch at the port grills where the day's catch is still flapping when you point at it.

Don't come expecting a beach holiday. The sea is around 17°C and the breeze makes the wide beach feel cold; you'll see kitesurfers in full wetsuits rather than sunbathers. But that same wind keeps the air clean and the skies enormous. Evenings are genuinely chilly — riads with a fireplace or good heating are worth seeking out, and I always warn people that 'mild Morocco' still means layers after dark in winter.

The trade-off is value and calm. January rates at the lovely riads drop, tables are easy to get, and the gnawa musicians playing in the cafés are doing it for the locals, not the tour buses. If your idea of a coast trip is atmosphere, food, and unhurried walks rather than swimming, January Essaouira is quietly one of my favourite recommendations — just bring a proper windproof layer.