Learning to surf in Morocco: the surf camp for beginners
Never stood on a board? That is exactly who our stays are for. What a surf camp in Morocco changes for beginners — and how to recognise the right one.
First waves in the whitewater off Mirleft: a beginner stands up on the soft board, the group waiting behind her.Learning to surf in Morocco is mostly about choosing a place where beginners are the rule, not the exception. In Mirleft, an hour and a half south of Agadir, most of our guests had never had a board under their feet before they arrived. The beach break is twenty metres from the surf school, and the wave there is made for learning.
Do you need to know how to surf already?
No, no prior experience is needed. Sessions are coached and the instructor adapts each one to the group's level — eight people per coach at most. You start in the whitewater, standing on a soft board, before heading further out to the real wave. Being able to swim is the only genuine condition.
When do you stand up on your first wave?
Usually in the first or second session — in the whitewater, for a few seconds. Everything after that takes longer: paddling efficiently, reading the wave, picking the right moment. That is exactly why the length of the stay matters.
What do I need to bring?
Nothing technical: the board and the wetsuit come with every coached session. The rest is up to you.
- Swimwear to wear under the wetsuit.
- High-factor, water-resistant sunscreen.
- A towel and something warm for after the water.
- Booties if you are wary of rocks — optional on the beach break.
How long should a beginner stay?
That is the real question, and the answer depends on what you are after.
- Five days: the standard format — this is where the movement starts to hold on its own.
- One week: enough time for surfing to become a habit rather than an effort.
- Ten days: when you stop counting and the wave becomes a rhythm.
For a first stay, five days is the best ratio of progress to days off: long enough to get past the early frustration, short enough to fit in a week's holiday.
What is included in the price?
Our stays are all inclusive: the coached surf sessions timed to the conditions, board and wetsuit, yoga by the sea, accommodation in a shared or private room and full board — lunch at the surf school's café-restaurant by the sea, dinner at the camp. The transfer from Agadir airport is optional: €50 return per person.
Five days in a shared room start at €419; a 20% deposit confirms the booking, the balance is due no later than 15 days before arrival. There is no more paperwork than that.
When is the best time to start?
The season runs from September to May, with water around nineteen degrees. For beginners, autumn and spring are the most comfortable: steady but reasonable swells. In deep winter, when the Atlantic sends bigger sets, we move to more sheltered fallback spots — you can learn here all season long.
Why Mirleft and not Taghazout?
Taghazout is the famous name, and that is precisely the problem: crowded line-ups where beginners mostly learn one thing, which is how to get out of the way. In Mirleft you share the wave with your group and a few fishermen. A surf camp in Mirleft is the quieter version of the same ocean — same swell, no queue.
Learning to surf in Morocco at a camp of manageable size, with no crowd and no factory feel: that is what we do in Mirleft. You pick the length, we take care of the rest.