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Home > Cruise Destination Guide > Agadir

Time Zone: GMT.

Currency: Moroccan Dirham (Dh) = 100 centimes.

Language: The official language is Arabic, but French is widely spoken. English is also understood in the main tourist areas.

Sightseeing: Agadir is a modern holiday city founded in the 1960s with superb beaches, wide palm-fringed boulevards, excellent resort hotels and self-catering accommodation, and offers all types of sports activities. It is also the main port of call for visiting Taroudant, Tafraout and the Sahara. Agadir has a fantastic covered souk, which sells local specialities. The fish market is also worth visiting to see the locals at work and many visitors make the journey to the kasbah (citadel) if only to see the fine views back across the town.

Shopping: The co-operative shops of Moroccan craftsmen, coopartim, operate under state control selling local handicrafts at fixed prices and issue an authenticity receipt or a certificate of origin for customs when exporting. The souk (bazaar) is also a worthwhile place to visit for local products. Special buys are leather, copperware, silver, silk or cotton garments, wool rugs, carpets and blankets. Bargaining is essential, and good buys generally work out at around a third of the asking price.

Eating Out: Typical specialities include harira (a rich soup) and pastilla (a pigeon-meat pastry made from dozens of different layers of thick flaky dough). Couscous, a dish based on savoury semolina that can be combined with egg, chicken, lamb or vegetables, is a staple Moroccan dish. Tajine are stews, often rich and fragrant, using marinated lamb or chicken. Hout is a fish version of the same stew, while djaja mahamara is chicken stuffed with almonds, semolina and raisins. Many of the souks have stalls selling brochettes (kebabs), often served with a spicy sauce.