Day trip from Essaouira
Diabat The village Jimi Hendrix made famous, a castle sinking into the dunes, and the best view of Essaouira.
Photo: MyName (Nick Barnes), CC BY 3.0
Why people like it
Across the river mouth from Essaouira, Diabat is a hippie legend turned sleepy village. The ruins of Dar Soltane, an 18th-century pavilion half swallowed by sand, are the photo everyone takes; the story that Hendrix wrote « Castles Made of Sand » here is false, and locals will tell it to you anyway. From the dunes you see the whole bay, the islands and the medina walls.
What you can do
- Walk through the eucalyptus to the ruined Bordj El Berod and the dunes.
- Have a mint tea at the Café Jimi Hendrix, the village's one landmark.
- Ride a horse or quad through the dunes and along the empty southern beach (stables in the village).
- Watch the sunset over the bay with Essaouira lit up on the other side.
- Short enough to combine with Sidi Kaouki or an argan cooperative in the same outing.
Good to know
A short trip; many customers add it before a longer beach day.
How it works
- You choose the date, the departure time and the return time. Nothing is fixed in advance.
- Your driver takes you there, waits for you on site and brings you back. You visit at your own pace, no guide, no group.
- We reply with one price for the car, whatever the number of passengers it carries. You pay the driver on the day.
Ask for a quote
Tell us the date, when you want to leave and come back, and how many you are. We reply with one price for the car.
No payment online. Usually answered within the day.
Other day trips from Essaouira
Photo: Goldfinchshuffle, CC BY-SA 4.0
Sidi Kaouki
A long empty beach, a surf village and a shrine at the water's edge.
Photo: DimiTalen
Sidi M'barek waterfalls
A stream that drops straight onto the beach, through argan trees, with nobody around.
Photo: Arabi629, CC BY-SA 4.0
Moulay Bouzerktoun
A fishing village on a windswept bay where the world's windsurfers come to play.
Photo: Man77, CC BY-SA 4.0
Souk Had Draa
The biggest country market of the region: camels, spices, barbers and tagines under tents.