I took my first trip to Morocco in November 2023. Before that, it had never really been on my list of top countries on my bucket list. I could recognise that it would be an interesting place to visit and it does have that sunny weather that I always chase, so I went for it. Really glad I did!

I started off the trip by flying into Marrakech and staying for one night. While I did enjoy my flying visit, it was super busy and hustle-and-bustle, in stark contrast to Agafay and Taghazout village, where I went to later on.

My next stop was getting a private minibus transfer with other MINOMA attendees to spend three days staying at the stunning Selina Nomad Agafay Desert for MINOMA Festival (you can read my full account of this event here).

Taghazout Hill Retreat

After MINOMA festival finished, I travelled Agafay desert with some MINOMA attendees to the MINOMA popup coliving experience in Taghazout Hill Retreat, where I stayed for one week. The accommodation was nice, located in the mountains of Taghazout, and I enjoyed being in the same building as other MINOMA community members. I stayed in a ground-floor apartment with a couple of other lovely ladies from the MINOMA community who were great to share with. However, my flatmates and I found it a bit of an unusual setup, in that their twin beds were in the same room as the living room and kitchen, which isn’t immediately obvious when booking online, so privacy would be trickier if you’re staying in there. Thankfully I’d already booked the private double room, so I could hide when I needed to! My bedroom didn’t have a desk though, so I had to either work on the kitchen table, on my bed or use the bedroom shelf as a standing desk. I don’t think this accommodation is really made for remote working since the Wi-Fi was very weak, so we had to buy local SIMs to tether the internet from.

Taghazout Hill Retreat is indeed a good accommodation for a retreat as it is in a fairly remote(ish) and quiet area. We could go up to the rooftop at any time, which has tables, chairs and a kitchen that serves a yummy Moroccan buffet breakfast every morning. You could also order dinners on request, The views from the rooftop were amazing – many miles of hills all around and some ocean in the distance! There’s a nice yoga shala and garden to chill out in, which had a small cute tortoise in residence there.

You could walk into Taghazout village centre at the beach in 50 minutes, but of course, it’s quicker to drive. Where were provided with phone numbers of local taxis and had to coordinate getting taxis into the village centre whenever we wanted to go.

The MINOMA popup coliving itself was a great experience – an ideal opportunity to integrate what we’d learned at the festival and then network further with attendees in a beautiful setting. We did activities such as a sharing circle and an art workshop. It’s here that I spoke further with the co-founders of La Vita Sukha coliving space in Italy, whom I later ended up collaborating with!

Teddy Pirate Coliving

After the MINOMA pop-up coliving finished, I moved to Teddy Pirate accommodation in the village centre for two weeks. Teddy Pirate is in a better and more convenient location for discovering all the local amenities, and I also loved being right on the doorstep of the beach. Teddy Pirate promotes itself as a coliving space, but I personally felt that it was more of a hostel when I was staying there. The Wi-Fi worked amazingly well, but there was a big lack of tables to be able to work on your laptop. I said this to the owner, an Italian guy, and he told me that they had plans to build a proper coworking area in the accommodation, so I was happy to hear that efforts for those improvements were in order.

One slight qualm I have is that I booked the female dorm but found it strange that I had to walk through the mixed dorm to get to it, and there were no locks on the dorm doors, so it didn’t seem to me like there was much point in having the female dorm then. Also, the female dorm doesn’t have windows, which I’m really not a fan of – I much prefer to have natural sunshine coming in, so that’s something I need to always check for next time! However, the adjoining mixed dorm did have windows and was also a lot more spacious than the female dorm, which was a little cramped. Therefore, if I were to stay here again, I’d prefer to opt for the mixed dorm. There are also private rooms there as another option. The views that you get from that window are stunning as you look right onto the beach and sea.

Also, maybe I was just unlucky the time I went to Teddy Pirate, but it didn’t feel like it had much of a community or many events or social activities happening. The owner was overall a lovely host who was great to chat with, and he arranged a trip for some of us to go on a day trip to Timlanin Dunes when I’d asked, which was a good fun activity. There, we did some sand surfing (which is actually pretty hard work!) and then sat by a bonfire on the sand dunes watching the sun go down. I also got to meet up with a friend there who I’d met at MINOMA, as he’d also managed to get his hostel to arrange a trip there.

Teddy Pirate was a nice place to stay for a couple of weeks. They serve a great Morrocan breakfast every day and found it really clean. Also, whenever I did have queries, the owner and staff were always helpful and accommodating.

Discovering Taghazout

The village of Taghazout was wonderful. It’s small and you can pretty much walk all around it and get most of what you need within walking distance. There is a great variety of awesome shops, restaurants, cafes, bars and beach clubs, where I often went to hang out with other MINOMA community members. Thanks to my trip to Morocco, I discovered tagine, a dish that I previously wasn’t familiar with but now I love!

MINOMA gave us some recommendations for great places to work in Taghazout. Firstly, there’s the World of Waves restaurant, where you can go in and have a nice drink or meal, and then sit at one of the tables at the front or the comfy sofas at the back. The Wi-Fi is great and there are plenty of plug sockets around to charge your devices. I frequently worked from here, as well as several other MINOMA attendees, due to how comfy and flexible it is.

And then there’s Windy Bay coworking space, which is on top of its laptop-free restaurant of the same name. I used it once since there was a charge to enter, so I had to commit for the day. It is better security-wise than a restaurant or café, since you need a code to enter, and it of course has everything you need to work efficiently. It’s quite a small cosy space with wonderful views of the beach and sea. There are even lockers if you want to stop working to go sunbathe or have a swim.

The beach is lovely to sunbathe and to swim in, which I did a bit of. It’s also very popular for surfing as the waves are very good, and surfing lessons are plentiful in the area. And if you want to ride a camel, there are plenty of guys walking around who will sell you a ride on one. I had my first camel ride here and it was pretty fun!

Conclusion

The nearest airport to Taghazout is Agadir, about a 40-minute drive away. I decided on the day that I was leaving to spend a few hours exploring the city of Agadir. It was worth the stop as I enjoyed walking around, checking out the beach, Africa’s largest urban market Souk El Had, and the Agadir Amazigh Heritage Museum which displays lots of interesting Berber artwork and culture (please note though that English isn’t used much here).

Overall, I really enjoyed my 3 weeks in Taghazout and could have easily stayed longer. I’m glad I got the recommendation from MINOMA to go, and I’d totally recommend the location as a digital nomad hotspot, especially if you love sun, sea and sand, chill vibes and a digital nomad community on your doorstep! I can’t wait to go again!