Agadir

Travelling to Agadir

We flew to Morocco on the 2nd of September 2018 with family and friends. We flew with Air Moroc which unknown to us a dry plane. During the trip on of our friends was turning 50 year’s young and hence we were all in good mood ready for a celebration. When we boarded the plane and noticed we could not have a drink we were somewhat disappointed! Some of the other passengers obviously knew about this and were drinking alcohol they had purchased from duty free (you would never catch us doing such a thing!). The plane was not very full so we had plenty of room to stretch our legs and move about. Not sure if this was due to it being a dry plane or, more likely, the time of year that we travelled.

Accommodation

We had chosen to stay at the Atlas Amadil Beach Hotel in Agadir on an all-inclusive basis. We were a party of 6 adults and 3 children aged 5, 4 and 4 months. The hotel was ideally situated close to the beach and within walking distance of the stylish Marina. The rooms in the hotel were clean but basic, however for the price we had paid they were perfectly adequate. The lobby of the hotel was pleasant and spacious with glass elevators gliding up and down the floors. There was a small shop on site which sold a range of reasonably priced items.

The entertainment round the pool was varied including aerobics, yoga, darts and aqua-aerobics. The entertainment staff were engaging and ensured that we had a great deal of fun during the day, and we joined in with most things. There was also a small children’s pool with plenty of available sun loungers around so that the children could enjoy themselves while the adults watched on from close-by. There was also a small pool with slides for the children.

Food and Drink

For dining the hotel had the usual buffet restaurant plus 3 al-a-carte restaurants; an Oriental, Moroccan and Italian from which you can book one visit per weekly stay. We managed to book the restaurants most nights with each family taking a turn at booking. Not sure how we managed this but we did! To book you have to be at the desk situated outside the restaurant in the lobby before 10am; it’d best to book these as soon as you can during your stay to avoid disappointment. Also you had to fill in what you wanted on a sheet that you gave in at the desk.

Snack Bar

The hotel had a snack bar overlooking the beach and sea which made for a pleasant venue to sit at during lunch. The food was was quite good for a snack bar and had more than your usual burgers, chips and pizza. The waiters at the snack bar were very attentive and brought bottles of red and white wine to our table when requested. We often sat outside for a few hours over lunch enjoying a bite to eat and a glass (or two!) of wine. There was also an enclosed area of sand right next to the snack bar terrace where the children could play.

Entertainment

On an evening we would go and enjoy the various shows in the entertainment room. The entertainment staff did their best to entertain both adults and children and while not particularly professional was still good fun. We were the only couple with no children so we often stayed until the bar closed in this part of the hotel. Unfortunately we did find some of the bar staff in the entertainment room very rude and always looked miserable. For example they cut me off mid-round saying that’s enough – we had 6 adults in our party! On the other end of the spectrum The staff in the lobby bar were great fun and often made us special cocktails. It seemed strange to see such different levels of service in the two bars.

Birthday Celebrations

For our friend’s 50th birthday we booked in to the Asian Restaurant. We had informed the hotel that it was his 50th birthday and they allowed us to go in the restaurant before it opened and decorate it with balloons and banners for our evening meal. The food was delicious and the staff were very attentive. They brought out a birthday cake at the end of the meal and all of the staff, including the chef and kitchen staff came out and sang Happy Birthday which was a lovely touch.

Pool Scene

The pool area was always kept immaculate. There was music and entertainment around the pool which made for quite a lively daytime if that’s what you enjoy. We enjoy music and fun activities so it was ideal for us. However if you did not want the attention the staff would leave you alone. The hotel also provides beach towels; as we needed 8 sunbeds each day the pool attendant always helped us to get 8 beds together and put towels on them. The drinks around the pool are served in small plastic cups. The cocktails unfortunately did not taste much like the cocktails they were supposed to be, but again we had not paid 5-star prices and overall the drinks were OK for the standard of hotel.

Marina

We often went for walks along the seafront to the marina. We were hoping that there would be some bars along the way where we could get a decent proper cocktail. Although we found a couple of bars, there were not as many as we had thought there would have been. The Marina is very picturesque with many boats in the harbour offering leisure trips. There were people trying to get us to go on a boat ride but they were not particularly pushy. As one person in our party suffers from severe motion-sickness and another not keen on boat trips due to not being a good swimmer we decided to give the boat trips a miss.

Summary

We found the most of the Moroccan people to be extremely friendly and helpful. It is a very interesting country which we managed to see on a previous trip to Agadir when we went on several excursions. Morocco is an ideal place if you are on a budget as it offers cheap flights and hotels. There are obviously higher standard hotels in Agadir (you get what you pay for), however if you are on a budget you will have a great time at the Atlas Amadil. We would definately recommend a trip to Agadir. The weather is warm for most of the year and not as seasonal as some other destinations.

Images

Things to do in Agadir

• Visit the Marina
• Visit Souk El Had
• Have a ride on La Grande Roue D’Agadir (Similar to London Eye)
• Spend a day on the beach
• Do a sight seeing tour
• Do a boat trip

Top Tips

• Research your hotel as to what it offers and compare with other similarly priced hotels
• If going all-inclusive be aware you get what you pay for. If wanting cheap and cheerful it is exactly that. (no premium drinks or special cocktails)
• Although we did not do any excursions on this visit we have previously and they have been well worth the money and we got to see some of the real Morocco
• Check out the weather below for best time to go to Agadir
• Check out other places in Africa we have visited Tunisia, Cape Verde , Sharm El Sheikh , Cairo , Hurghada
• Check out the government website regarding safety when visiting Agadir https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/algeria/safety-and-security

Temp – Celsius Rain – mm	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
High Temp	22	23	26	26	26	28	30	30	29	28	25	22
Low Temp	8	9	11	13	14	17	18	18	17	15	12	9
Rainfall	37	29	25	13	7	1	0	1	1	22	29	63
Number of days	5	3	4	2	1	1	0	1	1	3	3	6