Mirleft Surfing + Travel Guide [2026]
Welcome to the Morocco that virtually no one surfs.
At least, that’s been the story for the last 20 years. Today, there’s a growing trickle of van lifers and surfers flipping things up and heading south – not north – from Agadir, into the exposed and wild coast that runs towards the Western Sahara.
Yea, it’s pretty fantastic.
This is a land where sand-colored bluffs rise high above the lashing Atlantic, where oven-hot breezes blow across fields of dunes, where goats cluster by the lonely argan trees, and where the surf is consistent, punchy, yet often completely empty.
Mirleft is very much the gateway to the above.
It’s the first village in a string of them that offers access to wonderful right-hand points (the Moroccan special) but also lefts and beach breaks across maybe 35 miles of unexplored shore.
It’s our undisputed favorite place to base ourselves when we surf this coastline. An old Berber fishing village of paint-peeling houses perched on a rock above the waves, it’s kinda’ like what Taghazout was in the 60s; authentic, sleepy, characterful.
There are now a few great places to stay in the fishing town (which we now rank among the top surf towns in Morocco), all with walking access to the local waves. You will need transport if you want to travel south to the more famous spots, but that should be easy to organize on the ground.
We might use affiliate links in this post. Basically, you click em’ and we get a little something from your booking or purchase. They help us keep offering more and more in-depth surf guides to awesome places all around the globe. So, thanks for that!
>>This guide is just one part of our complete guide to surfing in Morocco
Mirleft surf at a glance
The good…
- Ultra-consistent beach breaks
- Authentic Berber fishing towns
- It can be almost completely empty down here
The bad…
- Windy in the summer months (May-August especially)
- Hard to reach – it’s best to have your own car
Where is Mirleft?
What’s important here is that Mirleft is SOUTH of Agadir. Morocco’s most famous surf destinations – Tamraght, Taghazout – are all north of the city, connected by good coast highways and served by loads of transfer companies.
This isn’t like that. To get here, you’ll need to hire a private driver or rent a car yourself (we tend to use DiscoverCars these days as they’ve been the cheapest for us recently), which isn’t a terrible option because the roads are usually quiet apart from the odd herd of goats.
Specifically, Mirleft is about 65 miles south of Agadir. Today, there are two road options.
The old P1905 is definitely the most dramatic route. It winds and swings past open Atlantic bays and is the way to drive if you’re brave enough and want to seek out surf spots between Mirleft and Agadir. The new N1 highway is safer, being both wide and two-lane at some points. It takes a little over 2 hours on the highway, but much longer if you take the coast road.
Mirleft surf spots
The surf in Mirleft is actually really, really good.
The village is the entry point to a run of coastline that’s highly exposed to all NW and W swells, so it’s really reliable throughout a long winter season.
What’s more, the addition of high cliffs and long headlands behind and to the north of the beaches respectively means that there’s often excellent wind protection, which is a gem in Morocco where the wind will likely be enemy numero uno (especially in the shoulder seasons).
Being Morocco, you get a good showing of right-hand points, but also beefy beach breaks, crumbly little cove waves, and plenty more.
As we’ve mentioned, there’s only one or two options that are withing walking distance of Mirleft village itself and even those are better accessed with a vehicle as you’ll need to hike some big cliffs to get down otherwise. Any breaks to the south – Sidi Ifni, Legzira – need a car.
Plage Imin Turga (Mirleft Beach/Grande Plage)
Plage Imin Turga is the main beach in Mirleft itself. You can see it opening up to the north of the coastal town. Come the winter months, there are usually sun umbrellas dotting the sand and a good showing of sunbathers.
With a direct northwest orientation, it’s perfectly angled to suck in very strong winter swells and gets the full whack, so the sets here are punchy as punchy can be.Regional beach break wedges erupt up the whole middle of the beach.
We’d say they hit their best on a smaller swell – anything around 3-6 foot – with a light offshore. Otherwise, the paddle out here can be brutal and the sets prone to closeouts.
Rasta Point
As the tide pushes in, a cliff in the middle of the Grande Plage will start working like a classic Moroccan point and can give off some mellowish, semi-sectiony rights that pitch and then mellow, pitch and mellow out until they fizzle into nada. It’s a fun wave that’s often frequented by local surf schools and camps.
Plage Tibougraychin
Plage Tibougraychin is a secret cove to the south of Mirleft town. It’s accessible on the main coast road and then down a dusty track from the center – it takes a few minutes to drive and maybe 20 minutes to walk.
It’s not great for surfing as there are rock reefs dotted all over the place, though there can be a crumbly A-frame wave that works in the middle of the bay on bigger days and a pushing tide. Rips can be a worry though, so don’t go alone!
Plage Tamhrouchte
Plage Tamhrouchte is watched over by the muscular shoulder of Tabelkoukt Point on its northern side. That hooks N-NW swells perfectly and sends marching lines into the dusty bay that can be 100-200 meters easy. Of course, they’re all rights (the joke is that there’s no good lefts in MirLEFT).
To be honest, Plage Tamhrouchte is far and away the highest quality wave in the Mirleft area. But it’s fickle. You need some good size to get it rolling and then even more size to get it pumping. When it’s on then crews from Agadir and Taghazout and beyond will make the pilgrimage, so it’s unlikely to be empty.
As the tide pushes in, a cliff in the middle of the beach here will start working like a classic Moroccan point and can give off some very nice long, sectiony rights that pitch and then mellow, pitch and mellow.
The drive here from Mirleft town is about 10 minutes.
El Wafi
Lovely El Wafi beach is another few minutes south of Plage Tamhrouchte. A bit more sheltered and with a bit of a softer shelf, it’s kinda like Tamhrouchte in easy mode. You still get right walls coming off the rocks at the north end, but they’re typically a full 2-3 feet smaller here and softer all round. Good for brining some extra volume and – on smaller days – for learners and groms.
Legzira
If Legzira was a bit more accessible and a bit more developed (and don’t get us wrong, we’re glad it’s not), we think it could be a surf town to match Taghazout.
It’s got a wave for all levels, beginning with a very cool reef right hander that peels across a sort of isthmus right by the entrance to the beach. It can offer long, playful rides that invite hotdogging and all sorts.
There’s also a super-easy and inviting beach break that’s great for learners as you head to the main beach going south, which is a very nice place to surf since you can look up and see the rugged rock arch and the cliffs. Pretty cool, huh?
>>Read our complete guide to the surfing in Legzira right here
Sidi Ifni
Sidi Ifni has loads of breaks. Mainly, there’s a beefy right that’s very similar to Anchor Point only a little faster and more barrely on bigger days. Past the harbor is a more protected beach that has A-frames and lefts off some patches of rock.
And there’s the harbor wall, which can do bounceback sets to create nice left handers (a rare sight in Morocco!).
>>We have a complete guide to surfing in Sidi Ifni right here
When to surf in Mirleft?
The European winter is the time to surf in Morocco.
Basically, there’s swell all year here but the best time is Nov-March, when the NW channels start firing and – most importantly of all – the wind stops blowing quite so hard. That means the sets clean up nicely and the points can hold extra size, so you’ll see the biggest, most rippable walls flying into Sidi Ifni and Tamhrouchte.
Summer does have potential. Thanks to the high cliffs in this southern corner of Morocco, there is protection on offer at some key spots. Just don’t rely on it. We’ve been in August and the whole coast from Ifni to Essaouria was a blowout for the complete month.
Where to stay in Mirleft?
There are some seriously lovely places to stay in Mirleft. Some cool, some oozing old-school Berber charm. We have our favorite, but also some other suggestions…
- Kasbah Tabelkoukt – To be close to the iconic right-hand point at Plage Tamhrouchte and to get a fix of proper Moroccan luxury, pick this stunning hotel. It’s got a pool surrounded by date palms, rooms fit for a sultan, and seriously incredible views. We told ya we had our fav! (remember that this one isn’t in the town of Mirleft itself, but on a nearby beach, so it’s not the one to go for if you want to stay in the village proper)
- The Line Up – New to the, erm, line up in Mirleft, this hotel-hostel-surf camp mashup is very, very nice indeed. They have curated dorms and doubles and it’s all very chilled. What’s great is it’s aimed squarely at surfers, which means you should find it easy to plan lift shares and whatnot to nearby breaks.
- Aftas Trip – A quirky hotel with a whiff of the Californian motel about it, Aftas is just north out of town but comes with a pool and lovely gardens, plus the rooms each have outdoor terraces for surf storage.
We might use affiliate links in this post. Basically, you click em’ and we get a little something from your booking or purchase. They help us keep offering more and more in-depth surf guides to awesome places all around the globe. So, thanks for that!
There are now direct buses running to Mirleft Legzeira and Sidi Ifni from Taghazout, Tamraght and Agadir
They go three times per week during the surf season, and you can book them here: http://www.souktosurf.com
The price is €20 and it takes just under 3 hours