The best places to dive in Morocco

North Africa is Morocco, a beautiful and ancient country that has coasts on both the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The famous Strait of Gibraltar separates it from Europe and due to its close location and its natural and cultural beauties it receives a lot of tourism.

But did you know that in Morocco there are places to dive? That's right, in addition to its World Heritage Sites, its festivities and its gastronomy, Morocco jealously guards some places to dive and snorkel. Today we will meet them.

Morocco

As we said, this country is north africaIt is a sovereign country that has a long colonial history linked to Spain and France. These lands have been populated since prehistoric times, so many cultures have passed through here.

Islam arrived at the end of the XNUMXth century and from its hand shone cities as beautiful as Fez, Marrakech, Rabat and Meknes. With respect to its geography, Morocco has mountain ranges and plains and enjoys a Mediterranean climate on its coastline and more continental inland.

It is precisely on the coasts where the places to dive.

Diving in Morocco

Diving and Morocco may not usually coincide in the same sentence. One thinks of this country and imagines deserts, camels, caravans, safaris, bazaars with many vendors and those kinds of landscapes. Then, Can you really dive? Yes.

All its cultural wealth covers a little the beauty of its coasts, and there are no shortage of Europeans who they think that diving should be prohibited in Morocco, but it's not like that. It is also not that one can dive anywhere, so you don't have to go freely with high expectations either.

In Morocco there are few dive centers and they are not so close at hand. So, if you are interested in diving, you should first find where to go and head straight to the dive center. It is not that you are going to stumble upon these sites by chance.

Morocco is at the same latitude as Florida, but its waters are much colder, although the currents are softer and in general the ocean is placid. He calculates that the temperature in central Morocco, speaking of water, is around 15ºC in winter and 25ºC in summer.

In terms of marine life one of the advantages of diving in Morocco is that there is a lot of wildlife. In fact, it is one of the few places in the world where swimming with dolphins in the sea is legal. So, there are diving agencies that combine the boat ride with dolphin watching and swimming a bit with each other. You may also see sea ​​turtles and if you are on the reef there is tunas, eels, groupers and sea bream.

The best thing about diving in Morocco is precisely that it's off the map for diving in general, so whoever comes here will have the great advantage of not being with many people. The best thing when diving is to arrive before the crowds so as not to scare the fish away and here in Morocco that is easier. However, it's also not a wonder of diving and snorkeling so if you go with high expectations you will be disappointed.

Where to dive in Morocco

Agadir It is a good place to dive in Morocco. It is a city that is the capital of the Souss-Massa region and has a coastline on the Atlantic Ocean. It is 600 kilometers south of Rabat and 440 kilometers from Casablanca.

Agadir was founded by the Portuguese in the 1960th century and in XNUMX it suffered a tremendous earthquake. It has a very rich culture so you can combine everything in the same tour. You can hire one 45 minute diving excursion.

The water is warm, although visibility is never assured. It is best to check the weather conditions before signing up. Diving in Agadir is combined with a boat ride and usually starts at mid-morning, around 9:30 am, with hotel pick-up.

The car trip takes the hikers to the marina of the city where the boat waits and after sailing for half an hour, they arrive at the selected location where they stay for about 45 minutes. The tour includes drinks and lunch and if you get to catch something the fishing tax. You return to the hotel around 3 in the afternoon. To hire the tour, there must be at least one couple.

Another dive destination in Morocco is Dakhla, in the south of the country.

This city is west of the Sahara and today it is occupied by Morocco. rests on a narrow peninsula on the Atlantic coast, the Río de Oro Peninsula. These lands have been inhabited by Berbers for a long time, but the settlement grew from the hand of the Spanish who came as fishermen from the nearby Canaries.

Today Dakhla lives from fishing and tourism and for a time this part is water sports mecca in Morocco, being very popular the windsurfing, kitesurfing and surfing. And to a much lesser extent, the diving. Even so, there are those who think that this seaside resort is a little paradise for busos since its salt water lagoon is great. In Dakhla you can do adventures inland or at sea to see its underwater beauties and its incredible amount of fish.

Essaouira It is a port city and very touristy that is also along the Atlantic coast. Rest in a bay closedIt has a beautiful old town, with walls that look out to the sea, and it is super picturesque. It has everything and its beach, caressed by the trade winds, is a great destination for sports such as kitesurfing, windsurfing and surfing. Basically the same as in Dakhla, and it adds up here too diving, although it is not ten points.

The truth is that the waters are somewhat murkyThey are also not very clean some days, so while it is listed there are a lot of negative reviews. So far we have talked about diving in Morocco in Atlantic waters, but what about the Mediterranean waters? The coast on the Mediterranean is not better either, there are not many fish and some say that sometimes and in some places it is like diving in a sewer. Is it so?

The truth is that the city of Essaouira is a great place, with very nice people, good food and a lot of life in the city, but little on the beach. Beyond the aforementioned sports, which aren't terribly popular either, it's hard to say that diving here is worth it. On the outskirts of the coast there are some islands but they are not good destinations for snorkeling or diving because the sea can be a bit rough, due to the Atlantic winds.

In fact, keep in mind that Essaouira is a very windy city and that long pants and something warm are items to always have in your suitcase. But hey, basically it is about being on the water and not under it ...

Finally, to dive in Morocco you should also know that diving season is all year round because the climate is ideal in all seasons. As we said above, during the months of January to March it is around 17ºC and between July and September, 23ºC. Not bad to be in or out of the water.

Also know that there are not many agencies and that then is good because there are not many people at the dive sites and you are always accompanied by a professional. This is not a minor fact, the waters are runny so it is convenient to be with someone who knows what they are doing.