Where can I escape the summer heat in Morocco?

This is one of the most useful questions to ask, because Moroccan summer heat is no joke. In July and August, Marrakech and Fes regularly hit the low-to-mid 40s Celsius, and the Sahara is genuinely dangerous in the daytime — I steer clients firmly away from inland desert and city sightseeing in high summer. The good news is that the country has two superb natural air-conditioners: the Atlantic coast and the mountains.

The Atlantic coast is where Moroccans themselves flee in summer. Essaouira is the star — it is famously breezy (so much so it is a windsurfing capital), and while inland bakes, Essaouira can sit in the mid-20s with a cool sea wind. Casablanca, Rabat, El Jadida, Oualidia and the surf coast around Taghazout and Agadir all stay comfortable thanks to the cold Atlantic current. If you are travelling in July or August, I build the itinerary around the coast and use it as your base.

The mountains are the other escape, and they are spectacular in summer. The High Atlas around Imlil, Ouirgane and the Ait Bougmez valley is green, watered by snowmelt streams, and pleasantly cool by day and genuinely chilly at night — you may want a fleece. Oukaimeden, the ski resort, becomes a cool hiking base at 2,600m. The Middle Atlas around Ifrane and Azrou, with its cedar forests and that Swiss-village feel, is one of the coolest inhabited places in the country and a lovely summer retreat from Fes.

My practical advice for a summer trip: flip the usual itinerary. Do your culture and sightseeing early morning and late afternoon, retreat to a pool or shade in the midday furnace, and weight your nights toward the coast and mountains rather than the desert and the inland medinas. If the Sahara is a must, save it for a winter trip, or do desert nights only in shoulder season — April–May and September–October are far kinder. Travel like a local: chase the breeze and the altitude, and summer Morocco is delightful.