Surfing in Morocco in April

Conditions in April

Swell : 1.4 m
Period : 11 s
Water temp. : 18 °C
Wetsuit : 3/2 mm, 4/3 mm for long sessions
Air temp. : 23 °C
Sunshine hours per day : 9.1 h
Rain : 13.8 mm, 2 days
Workable wind : 49 %
Crowds : Medium
Prices : Medium

April is when the coast becomes workable for everyone. The swell falls to 1.4 m and the period to 11 seconds: still groundswell, but no longer the kind that closes out a sandbar. Wind is workable fifteen days out of thirty, against seventeen in winter.

It is also when the weather turns for good: 9.1 hours of sun a day, two rainy days, 13.8 mm. A third of March's rain. Air holds 23 °C and water 18 °C, which is the least intuitive combination of the Moroccan spring: the weather is summer and the sea is still winter.

Crowds and prices stay medium, without the Easter spike in years when Easter lands here.

Learning in April

For learning : Excellent

This is the best month of the year for a first trip, and the data says so without hedging. 1.4 m at 11 seconds over sand is exactly the wave you want to stand up on: enough push to catch it, not enough to punish the mistake. Banana Beach, Devil's Rock and Imsouane bay all work. If there is one week available in the year and nobody in the group has surfed, this is the week.

Where a beginner goes in April

These spots are reachable all year. What the month changes is the size of the waves, not the access.

For an experienced surfer

Surf : Very good

April asks you to pick your day rather than your spot. Anchor Point and Killer Point need a forecast swell now, and between episodes the coast is small. In exchange, when it does work the queue is short. Boilers and La Source hold their shape longest as the size drops.

Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced

Spots that suit April

Where to base yourself

Taghazout

Camps in the region

Ten sheets taken from the operators' own sites, published prices included.

How April compares

All twelve months, side by side

Where these figures come from

Air, rain and sunshine: WMO / NOAA 1991-2020 normals for Agadir Al Massira, a station some twenty kilometres inland and so a little warmer than the coast in summer. Swell, period and share of workable wind: Swell Archive and surf-forecast. Water temperature: seatemperature.org and weather-and-climate. Crowds and prices are an editorial judgement, not a measurement.