Morocco for extended visits/liveaboard

[s/v Oriole]

We stayed for four months in Agadir one winter and loved it. Lots of flights from airport. Cheap coach to Marrakech. Friendly and cheap. Fabulous food. Take plenty of alcohol with you though as its expensive and relatively hard to get hold of!

Phantomlady, do you know if Agadir is a good place to get my boat rerigged before crossing the Atlantic? Do you know the relative cost, vs Gibraltar, to get boat work done in Agadir? I'd bring the material. I'm a US citizen and will be out of Schengen days when I get to Morocco.

 

[capnsensible]

Personally, after a few visits to Agadir, I would avoid getting any boat work done there.

Gib has good facilities. Isla Verde boatyard in Algecieras can do anything and is in a tax free zone.

 

[st599]

Marina S'mir is worth a look.

Got offered a flat there when I did a training course out of Gib. Annoyed I didn't take it. Nice beach easy to get to other towns.

 

[Seashoreman]

Phantomlady, do you know if Agadir is a good place to get my boat rerigged before crossing the Atlantic? Do you know the relative cost, vs Gibraltar, to get boat work done in Agadir? I'd bring the material. I'm a US citizen and will be out of Schengen days when I get to Morocco.

I was in Agadir in January, by land not sea. Walked around the harbours and don't recall any sign of leisure boat repair yards. There are hundreds of fishing boats in the adjacent commercial fishing harbour but these were wooden boats and fairly basic repair techniques. I'm not sure there is even a slip in the yacht harbour, there would be in the commercial part, but no memory of cranes/storage etc. Further up the coast is the lovely little town of Essaouira were I have seen visiting yachts, but again mostly fishing boats. Frantic smelly fish market. There are large modern supermarkets in both places selling alcohol. Agadir has a very busy modern off-licence called Victoria, all viewable on line. Many places have reduced opening times on Friday, their holy day.

 

[capnsensible]

Marina S'mir is worth a look.

Got offered a flat there when I did a training course out of Gib. Annoyed I didn't take it. Nice beach easy to get to other towns.

I lifted in Smir a couple of times. Good for that....take your own paint, etc from Gib. Very expensive there. Also electrics...not electronics....and engines. Forget anything with rigging and sails.

A while since I was there, but a flat there would be cool. Not sure how we'll the buildings are maintained though.

 

[capnsensible]

View attachment 193788
I was in Agadir in January, by land not sea. Walked around the harbours and don't recall any sign of leisure boat repair yards. There are hundreds of fishing boats in the adjacent commercial fishing harbour but these were wooden boats and fairly basic repair techniques. I'm not sure there is even a slip in the yacht harbour, there would be in the commercial part, but no memory of cranes/storage etc. Further up the coast is the lovely little town of Essaouira were I have seen visiting yachts, but again mostly fishing boats. Frantic smelly fish market. There are large modern supermarkets in both places selling alcohol. Agadir has a very busy modern off-licence called Victoria, all viewable on line. Many places have reduced opening times on Friday, their holy day.

Took a friends yacht there for the winter, tax reasons, 2 seasons ago. I'm a fan of Morocco in general but Marina Agadir is a disappointment. First went there when it was still under construction and again shortly after opening. Now its in a sad state. There are a number of abandoned boats, pontoons in poor condition. Marina heads and bathrooms very shabby.,
The buildings ashore are in a mess too. Despite that, last time we had a good run ashore. Found a few cheapo bars on the strip. The cable car up to the Fort on the hill is modern and well looked after. A duty camel is at the top for photo opportunities and for a small fee, a guide will tell you a lot of fascinating things about the big earthquake.

 

[st599]

I lifted in Smir a couple of times. Good for that....take your own paint, etc from Gib. Very expensive there. Also electrics...not electronics....and engines. Forget anything with rigging and sails.

A while since I was there, but a flat there would be cool. Not sure how we'll the buildings are maintained though.

It was only £7k new build (about 20 years ago)

 

[capnsensible]

It was only £7k new build (about 20 years ago)

I had no idea on the prices.....

Spent many years backwards and forwards from Gib. Might have been tempted!