Essaouira Photography Guide

In this photography guide, I show you the best photo spots in Essaouira and give you tips on street photography in Morocco.

Here’s an overview of the topics I cover:

View of the ramparts of Essaouira at sunset | Prints available

Why Essaouira is ideal for photography

I have now visited Essaouira three times between 2019 and 2023. With each visit, I discovered new photo opportunities. The reason is the lively street life of the medina of this coastal city.

Essaouira isn’t just great for cityscape photography. This is an even better place for street photography. You will discover many interesting photo subjects as you stroll through the streets of the Medina.

But be careful. Most Moroccans do not like to be photographed and you must respect that. Your best chance of photographing people is to strike up a real conversation with them or buy something in a store and then ask for a photo. Or you can try keeping the people in your photos anonymous and focusing more on the street scenes as a whole. It’s my favorite way to capture the city.

Compared to the medinas of Marrakech and Fez, you will find that in general, street photography is much easier in Essaouira. It’s a more relaxed medina, which is why I never tire of this city.

How to get to Essaouira

Essaouira is approximately three hours west of Marrakech, 3.5 hours north of Agadir and 4.5 hours south of Casablanca by car. There is no international airport, so you have to fly to Marrakech, Agadir or Casablanca and then travel from there.

I like to fly to Marrakech and stay there for one or two days. It’s a beautiful city and the perfect place to start your journey through Morocco. But in recent years, flights to Marrakech have become expensive. Flights to Agadir or Casablanca are often cheaper, at least from Germany.

Between Marrakech and Essaouira, taking the three-hour bus is a convenient option. From Agadir, the bus journey takes a little longer but is also doable. I would recommend the trip from Casablanca only if you have enough time. It takes more than six hours. To book online you can use 12Go Asia, which I have used a few times during my travels in Asia. They also allow you to buy bus tickets in Morocco.

Another option is to use private transportation or a taxi. In 2019, we booked a taxi to take us from Essaouira to Casablanca to avoid the long travel time. It cost us 100 euros. I would suspect a higher price today, so I don’t know if that’s still an option.

Another way to get around Morocco is to rent a car. It’s a great way to see the country if you’re planning to travel along the coast. But be prepared to encounter many police checkpoints on your trip.

I usually travel around Morocco with Wild Morocco, because I also like visiting the desert. And a self-drive tour in Erg Chigaga is not really an option. I am also doing my next photo trip through Morocco with them.

Where to stay

To experience Essaouira at its best, you must stay in the Medina. I stayed in the following three Riads during my three visits. I can recommend them all. They are well located, have nice rooms and a nice roof terrace.

• Riad Kafila* – It is close to the Remparts and offers sea views from some rooms. I stayed there during my Photo Tour in 2020, and we had breakfast and dinner at the Riad. It was very good.
• Riad Dar Maya* – This is a very beautiful Riad located on a side street in the Medina. It has magnificent rooms. I stayed there on my first visit in 2019. Having breakfast on the rooftop was great, and having the heated floor in the bathroom was even better.
• Villa Garance* – It is located in a central part of the Medina. The rooms are beautiful, just like the Riad. I stayed there in 2023 and had a great time.

Move

In Essaouira, we walk. Since the medina is relatively small, you can get anywhere in 15-20 minutes. The best time to explore the city is early in the morning. You will then not have to share the narrow streets with many other tourists. The Medina still seems quiet at this time.

Best photo spots in Essaouira

The Ramparts

The best photo spot to capture the ramparts is next to the port. You can climb the wall to get a good view of the city with the waves crashing on the shore. At low tide, you can climb the rocks along the beach to get a great view of the city walls.

The best time to photograph this view is at mid to high tide, on a windy evening. As you see in the title photo of this article, this is when the city looks most spectacular. It is not for nothing that Essaouira is also called the City of Wind.

The port

Essaouira is also a fishing town with a lively port. There is always something happening at the port, and I’m sure you can take great photos there with patience and the right eye. I’m not a good street photographer and I haven’t managed to do it yet. That’s why I can’t show you suitable examples. I can only encourage you to explore this area, preferably in the morning.

The Medina

It is in the medina that we find the greatest diversity of subjects. The best time to photograph the narrow streets is early in the morning. As I mentioned above, this is when there will be fewer other tourists and mostly locals wandering the streets. You can also work with the long shadows cast by the morning sun. This light is ideal for street photography, as it keeps the identity of the people you are photographing in the shadows.

Camera equipment

I find that a 50mm lens or zoom lens* is most beneficial for capturing the type of photos I’m showing here. I rarely used my wide angle lens in Essaouira.

If you have a small fixed focal length lens like the Canon RF 50mm f/1.8*, it is perfect for the Medina. Because even if you don’t photograph anyone, you will receive harsh looks if you are identified as a photographer. Locals often expect you to suddenly point the camera at them. It is therefore better to keep a low profile. This is even more important in cities like Marrakech or Fez.

To photograph the ramparts, I recommend a tripod. Then you can take longer exposures of the waves to create some sense of movement. Neutral density filters can also help.

Conclusion

As you have hopefully seen in this article, Essaouira is a prime location for photography and a must-see during any trip to Morocco. If you would like to have a guided experience of Morocco and also see the spectacular landscapes of Erg Chigaga and the Anti Atlas, be sure to check out my Photo Tour with Wild Morocco. For inspiration, take a look at my Morocco photo gallery.

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