What would it be like to take a surf trip through Morocco?
If you’re wondering whether morocco is the right surf destination for you, read jackie’s story to take a journey down the coast of north africa with our team of surf instructors and find out!
Our trip to Morocco was epic.
There’s no other word that can properly describe it. I knew traveling with SWA instructors, Alex, Coco, and Michelle, would be perfect. Two regular footers, and two goofy footers; the perfect balance of wild and chill. We decided to arrive in Morocco about ten days early for a little pre-retreat adventure, and to get our bearings on a new continent. Coco and I flew from California to Madrid, and met up with Michelle in an airbnb downtown.
Traveling from the USA over to Europe and staying for a few days is the perfect way to explore more and deal with jet lag before heading to morocco. I recommend it!
Normally around 9 pm, I start to wind down for bedtime, but that’s not how the Spanish operate. So, thanks to the time difference, most nights we ate dinner at 10pm, followed by hours of laughing and roaming through the cobblestone streets. After Madrid, we made our way to the south of Spain for a couple more memorable nights with SWA surf instructor, Alex, in her home turf.
The trip to Spain was short but jam-packed (I think we barely slept). In a flash, the four of us were on our way to Tarifa, where we’d take a ferry to Tangiers, Morocco.
Arriving to Morocco by ferry was like a scene from a movie. The Moorish architecture and sounds of prayer heightened our senses as we bobbed our way across the straight of Gibraltar. When we arrived, chaos ensued (as it normally does when you arrive to a place where everyone wants to help you). A few hours later we were on our way south, in a rental car we had delivered to us. I’ll never forget that first meal at the gas station passing through Tangier. All the food was fabulous during the trip, but we all agreed that gas station meal was the best meal of the month!
The road trip down the coast was cruisy.
We had no plans, just knew we wanted to get to a point break because there was swell on the way. The point breaks are in the south of the country, so we had a good eight hours of driving that day. We had heard of a wave in a town north of Essaouira, so at some point we decided to exit the highway and call it a night. In retrospect, it’s a bit uncharacteristic of us to not have had a place to stay- normally we’d book a hotel or airbnb and save the trouble of asking around. The phones weren’t working and it was about 10 pm. We had just gotten our first (of many) speeding tickets of the trip and were starting to wonder if we’d even find a good place to stay. We pulled into a gas station and found some girls to ask. They immediately saw our stack of surfboards on the car, and directed us to Mehdi’s place, a guesthouse for surfers.
We found ourselves completely enthralled by the rich culture all around us- colorful pottery, flavorful food, hot tea all day, and winding marketplaces.
The pre-retreat adventure that was meant to be a few different stops along the coast ended up being dominated by our stay in Safi. We had everything we wanted at this gorgeous Moroccan guesthouse. The owner, Mehdi, who put us in “Kelly Slater’s room,” took us surfing everyday, and sent cookies and tea to our room every evening. While waiting for the point break to turn on, we found ourselves completely enthralled by the rich culture all around us- colorful pottery, flavorful food, hot tea all day, and winding marketplaces.
We got scrubbed down at a local spa with Mehdi’s wife, and bathed our wetsuits in the rosewater fountain after surfing. My favorite aspect of the stay in Safi was the lack of tourists. We were totally out of our comfort zones in a new city on the coast of north Africa, and totally loving it. We stayed till the last possible moment that we could and wound up scoring waves on the very last morning.
side-of-the-road Camel rides? we’re in!
After saying our good byes to our new Safi family, we made our way down the coast to Imsouane, the retreat location! We had a villa to get to and a couple of retreats to run. During this leg of the journey we saw a guy with some camels on the side of the road, so we stopped for a quick lap on the camels to break up the drive. We got lost for a few more hours in a countryside full of argon fields and goats in the trees before we finally arrived to the retreat villa in Imsouane- the Dar Zitoun.
We crashed hard that first night in Imsouane, and I woke up at sunrise to check the surf. I knew immediately we were going to have perfect retreats. The point break is the perfect set up- it’s a super long, perfect right. Maybe the longest wave in SWA retreat location history. The wave is a bit slower, which makes it just dreamy for long boarding. That first session by myself was pure magic, and every session after that did not disappoint.
-Jackie George
The retreat villa is totally fabulous, the food is delicious, the cultural experience is so rich, and the wave is right out front. What more could you want from a SWA retreat location? Us instructors love going to new locations for retreats and Morocco was exactly the adventure we were craving. We knew a few days into the first retreat, we’d have to come back for more.
The Surf With Amigas community just raised over $2,000 in less than 48 hours to support all of our local partners in Southern Costa Rica while they are out of work due to the COVID-19 situation.
Pedro // SWA Taxi Driver
We’ll admit that we were hesitant to put out a fundraiser in the first place, knowing that so many of us are struggling financially, but we also realized it wouldn’t hurt to try and see what happens. We’re extremely excited about the success of the fundraiser and how the SWA community has come together to support these deserving folks that we all know and love. However, we’re not surprised that you all rallied to show your support- the SWA community is full of big hearts and the best surf ladies out there.
Hotel Staff (and their surf instructors)
We want to give a BIG thank you to everyone who has been able to donate, and another thank you to everyone who is holding this special group of people in your hearts! If you’re interested in reading the story that inspired this fundraiser or interested in donating, please click here.
One of our newest surf instructors, Florida grom Jazmine Dean, just spent her first season working retreats and adventuring with the Surf With Amigas crew down in Nicaragua and Costa Rica. She created this super rad little surf film and just released it last week! Enjoy the film and a note from Jaz below-
Surf with amigas x Jazmine
Pura Vida!
My life changed in the season I spent down here as a first time Surf With Amigas instructor just as much as Amigas often say their lives change during retreats. I’m currently still down in Southern Costa Rica and I’ve spent more consecutive months living here than I have spent living in any other foreign country before. I spend my free days in-between retreats almost the same as I spend my, “work”, days during retreats, and most of my closest friends down here were formed through the connections and roots that SWA has created here in the local community.
This film barely scratches the surface of how this life has reconnected me to my roots as a soul surfer and the good times had. I understand surfing and have for a long time, but these retreats are just as much about personal growth as they are about surfing a wave, and for that, I thank the guests, our Amigas, so much.
I’m most grateful of all for the women I’ve met through the retreats and I took a little from each person I spent time with. It’s possible that some of you reading this were on some of the retreats I worked at and maybe even appear in a scene or two! Anyways, please enjoy the film and thanks for watching.
It’s so fun to share the joy of the ocean with the next generation of little surfers. If you have kids that you want to get into surfing, bringing them to warm water waves with an easy channel for paddling out is the best way to do it! SWA founder Holly Beck has two kids that she’s been surfing with and has honed a program for getting kids up and riding that she wants to share with other parents! Older kids riding their own boards get to benefit from all the in water help as well as video coaching that the adults enjoy.
Check out the highlight video above from our first family friendly retreat in Costa Rica. This week we had kids from age 1-12 join us along with their parents and a few friends on a week of surfing, yoga, chocolate making, horseback riding and dance parties. It was so fun that we immediately put a couple more family retreats on the schedule.
Penny, age 7.
Bring your kids, no matter their age
If you have kids that you’d like to get into surfing, or kids that surf already that would love to join us for a weeklong adventure in warm water, or kids that are too young to surf that you’d like to setup with a nanny so you can go surfing…. join us on a family retreat!
Pricing is based on a per-family rate specific to your situation, ages of kids etc. We try to make it as affordable as possible, so email to discuss options. [email protected]
Now that I have kids, and my 3.5 year old has started surfing, I’m getting really excited about hosting more family surf retreats. There’s nothing more fun than sharing the love of surfing with family. Seeing your little one’s eyes light up and that full face smile as they ride a wave alongside you is every bit as fulfilling as getting an amazing wave yourself – or so I’ve come to believe.
SURF SURF SURF. Waves for everyone, from shredders to beginners!
We will stay at a little surf camp right on the beach, in front of the wave, where we can FROTH ALL DAY!!
Yoga with Carly!
[youtube=https://youtu.be/LDbG0bWwMpY]
4. The other activities are awesome: horses, out to dinner, kayaking, waterfall adventures.5. Panama City makes a great stopover before and/or after the trip. If you haven’t been, you’ll love the colonial streets, artsy vibes, and rooftop lounges.
We still have some spots available and we want YOU to join us. Its going to be epic.
Faced with a two week break, a few of the Surf With Amigas instructors adventured over to Bocas Del Toro, Panama for a little surf adventure. Here’s a quick little behind the scenes look at their trip. There is unfortunately no surfing footage because none of them wanted to sit on the beach and film (not surprising). If you happen to know any of these girls I think you’ll find it hilarious.
Melissa came on her second retreat with Surf With Amigas to improve her surfing and also celebrate her 40th birthday. Surfing must keep you young and hot, because Melissa is looking awesome!
5. Panama City makes a great stopover before and/or after the trip. If you haven’t been, you’ll love the colonial streets, artsy vibes, and rooftop lounges.
