AGADIR

Shortly before midnight on February 29^th, 1960 Agadir’s cityscape changed forever. Everybody was sleeping when an earthquake took the life of 15. 000 people, destroyed the Oriental flair of the city forever and left nothing but fragments of the walls of the historical buildings. Europe supported Agadir’s reconstruction and created a quite modern appearance: functional streets instead of labyrinthine ways and concrete blocks from the 1960ies instead of whitewashed stone-houses. Even the climate seems to have accommodated to European ways: While thermometers show 40° Celsius upcountry, on the coast in Agadir the temperature rarely goes up over 30° Celsius thanks to the nippy winds.

However a deeper look still reveals Morroco’s gold: the smell of strange spices at the souks, the pastries-sellers at the beach who keep yelling to advertise their goods and the hair-dresser who pares back the customer’s beard in a tent. – All of that including the surf camps, the canvas chairs at the mile long beach or the golf clubs for the luxury tourists make up Agadir’s diversity. 

If you drive a car in Agadir, watch out for hightailing Mercedes taxi cabs, because reckless passing maneuvers are their specialty. Even on expressways, you always have to look out for pedestrians and animals. In case of an accident, it is nearly impossible to get even legitimate claims for damages through. You want to take a trip to Algeria? Forget it, because the borders are closed.

Agadir has an international airport: Al Massira Airport is a popular destination for scheduled, charter and budget flights that mainly transport vacationers.

Airport

Various transport and taxi companies offer rides from the airport into the area of Agadir. The journey with public transport is not necessarily easy: the next bus stop is a far cry from the airport: 1.5 km. The bus stop and a shared taxi stop can be found at an intersection point. We advise you to use the CTM coaches, unless you want to waste precious vacation time on seemingly endless bus rides.

Musée Bert Flint
In this museum you can marvel at the private collection of the Dutch art historian Bert Flint.
Avenue Mohammed V (close to Hotel Salam); opening hours 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. and 2:30 – 6 p.m. (during Ramadan until about 5 p.m.), closed on Sundays and holidays.

Museum of Berber Arts
A small but interesting collection of South-Moroccan folk art from the end of the 19th century to the present. You can see chests, carpets, traditional costumes, commodities and objects of art with traditional motives as well as inlaid doors.
Passage Ait Souss (next to the theater), tel. 84 45 41, opening hours Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 9 a.m. – 1 p.m., Friday 3 – 9 p.m.

Taking pictures
Ask the locals in advance if you want to take pictures of them – many women and also religious people don't like being photographed at all. Some might try to make some money in exchange for their picture, but this surely won't be too much of a drain on your holiday budget. Just so you know: it is strictly prohibited to take pictures of military facilities.

Clothing
Morocco appears to be modern, but it is still a very conservative country. You can wear what you want in clubs, but be careful especially in the hinterlands. Scantily dressed women are often mistaken for prostitutes (which can be dangerous), and even male visitors should comply with the country's conventions in terms of clothing. Particularly, tight t-shirts are regarded as undershirts and shorts as underpants. Wide clothes are appropriate, shoulders and knees should be covered.

Hands off drugs!
Morocco is one of the world’s most important hashish exporters, and especially the Rif Mountains are covered with cannabis plantations. Drugs are smoked and even offered in public, but don't let people fool you: it’s still illegal.

Boiled goat head with salt and cumin, or animal brain with eggs are not a rare kind of Moroccan dishes. If you do not like to experiment too much in terms of food, it might be best to ask the waiter about the contents of the dish in question before ordering. We don't intend to deter you: of course you can also find "normal" dishes such as grilled sword fish or green cabbage balls filled with minced meat. Salad - in the traditional Moroccan way including cucumbers and tomatoes chopped into tiny pieces - is often served as starter, but also accompanying the main course. Deserts usually meet everyone's taste, too: popular ones include rice pudding with cinnamon and sugar, or fruit.

Tajine and Couscous are two of the national dishes. Tajine is the name for dishes which are cooked in a clay pot as well as for the clay pot itself. There many differnet variations, for instance: with fish, lamb or beef, sweet & sour with prunes or vegetarian with vegetables.

Ibis Moussafir Agadir
Though this 3-star hotel is not located at the beach, it is situated near the Soukh El Had. The 104 rooms are not likely to win any design-award due to functionality, but at least they treat your purse with care. The bar evokes oriental feeling and the pool invites to take a break. WLAN is available.
Rue Abderrahim Bouabid, tel. 23 28 43, DR starting at € 33.00

Hotel Le Tivoli
This 4-star hotel was built in 1995, it is very centrally located (900 meters away from the city center and only 500 meters away from the beach).
Additional pros: the 280 rooms are equipped with a TV, a telephone, air-conditioning, mini-bar and bathroom.
There is also a Moroccan restaurant, a café, a gym and a heated pool.
Boulevard 20 Aout, tel. 645 83 58, DR starting at € 56.00

Hotel Sheraton
For the gamblers among you, they have a casino.
Boulevard Mohamed V BP 339

Flamingo Club
Located at Hotel Beach Club, the Flamingo Club offers cabaret shows.
BP 310, tel. 84 43 43

Disco Papagayo
You should take a peek at the biggest disco in Agadir. You can dance to good, also Arabic, music. In addition, there is no entrance fee.
Hotel Tikida Beach, Chemin des Dunes B.P. 901

Disco Oasis
Another disco where you can spend the whole night dancing.
Boulevard Mohammed V, tel. 84 33 13

In Morocco there certainly is imported food, but it is naturally much more expensive than the local products.
If you want to buy alcohol, tinned food or European groceries, the Uniprix store on Avenue Hassan II might be a good venue. Doing shopping in the small shops is more charming, though. Vegetables, fruit and fresh foods are best bought in the market hall to the north of the store. On Sunday there is a big market about 3 km to the south-east of the city center on Rue Chaib Al Khamra Mohammed. The market in Inezgane (Tuesday and Friday) at the great bus terminal, 12 km to the south-east, is even bigger.

Interesting Moroccan souvenirs include Berber carpets, leather, copper and/or silver handicraft and jewelry, clay pots, baskets and hand-woven textiles (scarves, blankets, rags). You can buy all these things on the markets and of course in the Souks. To buy something from the Berber, you have to go to the mountains of Agadir. This form of handicraft is unique in ways of nativeness: For instance, with a handmade lipstick you definitely are going to be the star at any party.

Whoever wants is looking for something else should make a detour to Medina Souvenirs (Avenue Jamal Abdenacer 87). This Moroccan souvenir-shop offers sweet oils, crafted jewelry or paintings from local artists.