KiteLife Watersports runs kitesurfing lessons in Essaouira, one of the windiest cities on Morocco’s Atlantic coast. Our home beach sits right on Essaouira Bay, a few minutes’ walk from the old town, with our favourite spot at Ord Omar a short drive further south. Essaouira has been on the map as a kitesurfing destination longer than almost anywhere else in the country, and the wind still blows here nearly every day of the year.
At a glance:
- We are a kite, surf and wingfoil school based on Essaouira Bay, one of Morocco’s original kitesurfing spots
- Kitesurfing lessons for all levels, from first-timers to advanced riders, run as group, semi-private and private classes
- Wingfoil and surf lessons taught by the same instructors alongside kitesurfing
- Safety: rescue support in deep water, dedicated insurance and a video briefing and debrief with every course
- Equipment: Harlem Kitesurfing twintip and strapless boards, new and secondhand
- Wind: Atlantic wind blows 80-100% of days from April to September, 55-75% from October to March, with air temperatures around 25°C
- Multilingual instructors teaching in German, English, French, Spanish and Moroccan Arabic
- Kitesurf camps of 4, 6 and 8 days, with accommodation, breakfast, a welcome dinner and airport transfer included
- A personal photographer joins every course, with high resolution pictures included
About our spot in Essaouira
Essaouira offers two kite spots, both with shallow water that makes life easier for anyone still finding their feet on a board. Essaouira Bay is the main one, a half-moon stretch of sand only a few minutes’ walk from the old town walls, with a side-onshore breeze for most of the year. The wind gets messier toward the northern end of the bay and cleans up as you head south. That’s what pulls us, and most of our students, ten minutes further down the coast to Ord Omar, known locally as the Second Beach. It’s quieter, away from the tourist crowds, and a good place to learn to kitesurf without dodging other riders.
Our kitesurfing season in Essaouira
Essaouira has earned its nickname, The Windy City, honestly. The Atlantic wind blows here with a probability of 80-100% between April and September, dropping only to 55-75% from October through March. Air temperatures sit around 25°C for much of the year, so there’s rarely a bad stretch to book a kitesurfing course. Essaouira built its reputation as a kitesurfing spot well before most other parts of Morocco, and the wind is the reason why.
Wingfoil & kitesurfing lessons we teach
We teach kitesurfing lessons through a six-step method built from more than a decade teaching and competing across four continents: understanding the safety systems first, then kite control on the beach, body dragging, the waterstart, riding in both directions, and finally riding upwind as an independent rider. Courses run as group, semi-private or private lessons. Every session includes video recording with a briefing and debrief, so you can see exactly where your technique needs work. A personal photographer joins you on the beach too, and every course includes insurance along with rescue support out in deep water.
For longer stays, we run 4, 6 and 8 day kitesurfing camps that bundle accommodation, breakfast, a welcome dinner, airport transfer and a local SIM card into one booking.
We also teach wingfoil lessons and surf lessons alongside kitesurfing, so a flat or gusty day doesn’t have to mean sitting on the beach. Wingfoiling works especially well when the wind is too light or too messy for kiting, and the same instructors who run our kitesurfing courses teach it.
Our crew
Our instructors come from both Morocco and Europe, and between us we teach in German, English, French, Spanish and Moroccan Arabic. Some of our team grew up in Essaouira, picking up surfing, then windsurfing, then kitesurfing as each sport reached the town. Others arrived from Spain, chasing the same wind that keeps all of us here.
Our equipment
We teach and rent Harlem Kitesurfing gear, a Dutch brand we’ve come to trust for how long it holds up. Our fleet covers twintip and strapless boards, and we sell both new and secondhand Harlem equipment for students ready to buy their own kit.
Our accommodation
Our multi-day camps include accommodation as standard, from 3 nights on the 4 day camp up to 7 nights on the 8 day camp, with breakfast and a welcome dinner included. We also build custom packages around your preferences and budget, combining lessons, transfers and accommodation, with extras like a massage or yoga session if you want them.
No-wind activities
When the wind takes a day off, Essaouira still has plenty going on: yoga, quad or bike tours, horseback and camel rides, cooking or language classes, sand surfing, or a visit to one of the town’s hammams and spas. The historic medina, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is a short walk from the beach, and day trips out to the dunes or to Marrakech are easy to arrange.
