Mirleft & Legzira Beach in Morocco

I’ve been in Taghazout for more than a week when I really felt I would want to take my backpack and discover something new south to Taghazout.  All I knew that that I wanted get to Legzira Beach somehow. I was there once a few years back and I loved it. I hit the road without any plan feeling the adrenaline of spontaneity flooding my entire body. I figured things out on the fly as usual. Come with me and see how this weekend went in the south of Morocco. 

Table of content

Nothing can stop me
How I got from Taghazout to Mirleft
Accommodation in Mirleft
How I got from Mirleft to Legzia Beach
Getting back to Taghazout from Mirleft
Overall experience
Budget summary
Legzira is 2013

Nothing can stop me

From Taghazout to Mirleft

So things with the people in the hostel just weren’t going well. On the top of that, I got sick from something, something I might have eaten, or who knows… :) Actually, the situation was no joke! :( Nevertheless, I’m tough enough to travel even when I’m sick. Even if a sickness makes me cry, it cannot stop me from traveling. Hmm, let me be very honest. When I attempted to leave Taghazout first, I felt like I almost fainted. So I went back and took a short rest. But I tried again and didn’t stop until I reached Mirleft. One of the things that backpacking made me is being determined and persistent with everything I want to accomplish. My plan was to leave for the weekend. So, that’s what will happen.

How I got from Taghazout to Mirleft

Taghazout – Agadir – Inezgane – Mirleft 

If you don’t know me yet, I travel like the locals. I love figuring out how to get from A to B with public transport. The only thing I knew is that it was better to take a grand taxi for Mirleft from Inezgane instead of Agadir. I took three different grand taxis to get to Mirleft from Taghazout. This way one travels from grand taxi station to grand taxi station. In each grand taxi station, when I get out of the taxi, the first thing I do is to ask where the grand taxi is for my next destination. This way, I’m quickly directed to the next station and I’m in the next taxi shortly. For example: Fin taxi collective l’Mirleft? (Where is the grand taxi for Agadir?)

Look, it’s super cheap as well! :-)

Taghazout – Agadir with grand taxi: 10 dirhams (1 €)
Agadir – Inezgane with grand taxi: 5 dirhams (0,50 €)
Inezgane – Mirleft with grand taxi: 60 dirhams (6 €)

7,5€ for 162 km!

I really enjoyed jumping from taxi to another even though I was sick as hell. My body was almost passing out. I wanted to eat or drink something.  But it was Ramadan and I was sitting in the car with people who are fasting. So I just kept my mind strong to survive this ride. I knew that I was up for some great adventure. :-)

The main street of Mirleft

If you are not interested in the accommodation, scroll down to the next section and continue reading about the adventures of this spontaneous trip.

Accommodation

You can use either Booking.com or Hostelworld for booking your accommodation. I was only interested in accommodation which had a review score at least over 9 points. This way you have only 5 places filtered.

Hostel

Mirleft Soul Hostel
On the way to Mirleft, I booked here. It was the cheapest accommodation on Booking.com with a review score of 9.4 and breakfast included.  It’s located in the center of Mirleft. I loved it so much. The hostel is super clean and quiet. It has a super sweet terrace with a spectacular view where you can have your breakfast. I was 100% satisfied with the place. I was the only guest in the hostel. Being the only guest in hostels and hotels was not unusual for me as I travel a lot in places at times when no-one travels. The couple working there are so kind. They even shared with me their iftar (meal for breaking the fast during Ramadan).

If you don’t like cheap stuff, you can also go for fancier or even luxury hotels. After my researches, I can recommend these two places. I would also stay in these places if I were not so dirt cheap with accommodation. :D

Budget hotel

Inna guest house
This hotel has the highest review score on Booking which is 10 points out of 10. This could be your choice if you don’t want to spend a lot but you don’t want to stay in a hostel.  Here each room has a patio, shower and coffee machine as well. It’s also situated in the center of Mirleft.

Luxury 

Kasbah Tabelkoukt
This place gets sold out pretty quickly. It has the highest customer review score in the luxury category. The hotel overlooks the Atlantic Ocean and the beach. You can enjoy the view from the infinity pool of the hotel or spend time on the private beaches that you are entitled to enter as a guest of the hotel. The rooms here have even their own terrace and fireplace. Moreover, you can spoil yourself in their traditional hammam or train in their fitness center.

How I got to the Legzira Beach from Mirleft

I felt happy in the hostel and I decided to spend the second night there as well. After breakfast I went out to the main road I was coming from the day before.

I saw a bus stop and I walked there. :-) I like asking around and this is what I did at the bus stop as well.

– Ana brit nemshi l’Legzira. Wash kein tobis min hena? (I want to go to Legzira. Is there a bus from here?)
– Ah. (Yes.)
– Imta? (When?)
– 12:30. – The guy showed the time on his mobile.

Cool, only 30 minutes. I sat down waiting for the bus and a few minutes later I saw a foreigner riding a bike. “Ohlallaa, ASAP get a damn bike!” – Got the instruction from my brain and jumped up straight away from my seat.

When I travel solo, my mind never rests. I keep observing the world around me and assessing new possibilities and opportunities. When I see an interesting new possibility, I go for it right away and quickly. I don’t even hesitate one second. Trying any new idea that comes into your mind immediately in the moment! It’s so exciting. Especially, on the roads. It makes me really feel alive! By the way,

I quickly went to the quad rental shop and I asked where I could rent a bike. The guy there said it was not possible.

– Bsah? (Really?)
– Walakin neqder naatik pikala diali! (But I can give you my bike!) – told me smiling.
– Bsah? (Really?)
– Blati nemshi l’dar njibha lik! (Wait, I’ll go home and bring it!)
– Wau, Shokran bazf! (Wau, thanks a lot!)

I trusted the guy right away. I normally don’t trust people easily when I travel. But people in Mirleft earned my trust from the very beginning.

Listen! I can say, you can trust most people in the world. But you can never know and therefore I don’t gift trust to anyone on the way. My trust is to be earned. As a solo female traveler, I believe, you gotta be smart when you travel. :-) And trusting right away everyone on your way is not the smartest thing to do.

I have a lot of travel experience from all around the world and I met hundreds of people from all walks of life. Learning who you can trust on the way as a woman comes with experience.

I got the bike! I was on cloud nine, eyyy! The way to the beach was full of ups and downs. On the way, I saw a damn big dead snake already flattened by cars. Imagine meeting such a snake on the way, but not dead but alive!!! Without wanting it my mind visualized that sticky reptile crawling, wriggling and hissing on the road in front of me. The road was empty and for kilometers there was only the road, the bushes and the ocean. Hahhaa! How could I actually protect myself from such a snake. Oh, there are apps for everything! There might be a snake scaring app! :D There isn’t… But in case of emergency, try a mosquito repellant app. :D So back to serious!

I was riding 23 km with my sick body. I’m damn good, I must say! This are the moments when I say I can do anything I want. These are the things that give me my damn confidence and makes me so persistent in everything in life. It was worth it for sure! By car or bus would not have been so interesting!

Just remembered one of my favorite quotes from Casey Neistat. Here it is: “Do what you can’t!” My body was seriously not ready for this ride! But my mind was all there to drive my body!

When I got to the beach I left my bike in the parking lot without being locked. There was an old guy listening Despacitos. He was taking care of the cars in the parking lot. He looked like a funny guy!

Me: Selam! Pikaladieli hena. Safi?
Parking guard: Ah! Mnin jiti? (Where were you coming from?) – He answered me Darija.
Me: Mirleft! – said with pride and confidence.
Parking guard: Bravo! – flashing a smile.
Me: Shokran. – grinning from ear to ear.

We talked a bit more about different stuff. The guy made me laugh so much. He had a funny attitude. Then, off I went to explore the beach. To get some energy for riding back 23 km, I forced some vegetable tajine (popular Moroccan meal) into myself :D. And I grabbed the opportunity to practice my Darija (Moroccan Arabic) with the waiter working in the restaurant. This is basically how I practice languages. Moroccans really enjoy talking with me in their own dialect as it’s very rare that foreigners speak it.

On the way back, about 8 kms from Mirleft, we were close to sunset. I thought if a taxi or truck comes, I try my chance with my bike. I wanted to ride more, but I had no light on the bike and the road had no lamps either. Man! Imagine meeting those damn snakes in the darkness… It was Ramadan. Therefore, there were hardly any vehichles on the road during the day. And there was almost zero chance there for a taxi or truck after sunset as that time everyone is home breaking the fast. A collective taxi was approaching and I stopped it. It was a funny situation with the taxi driver. I kept asking him for the price but he just kept showing coins. I knew he didn’t want to say the price in front of the others.  But I made him say the price out loud. “You don’t fool me, sweetheart! I know what’s on your mind! I can read it from your eyes” – told him using telepathy. :-) I agreed with the taxi driver that I was gonna pay 10 dirhams (1€). In the end, I paid 20 dirhams. He said it was because of the bike. It makes sense as my bike took a lot of space. Nevertheless, I didn’t like it as we agreed on the 10 dirhams. When other passengers were there, he gave me the correct price. Then, when we got the bike out of the car, they were not there anymore. It was a good chance for him to trick me. I was too tired to care.  Anyways, lesson learned. I learned that next time I’ll be more clear with my questions. It’s a general rule I apply: first I get clear with the price and then I take the service. We live to learn! Let’s keep it always in our mind! :-)

When I got back to the quad rental shop, the guy was not there anymore. I went back to my hostel, had a shower and decided to find the guy before iftar. I knew the guy’s name was Yusuf and that he works in the quad rental shop. Let’s find him! I went to a souvenir shop with this limited info to ask where he lived. I got the instructions and his family name and off I went. I felt I was kind of where he lives.

“Smehliya! Fin dar diel Yusuf? Aandee pikala diel Yusuf.” (Excuse me! Where does Yusuf live? I have his bike.) – asked an older man.”

It turned out that it was his father. He told me that Yusuf was playing football until iftar. Yes, during Ramadan it’s common that boys play football before breaking the fast. I told him I was going to come later in that case to return his bike. But he just asked me where I lived so that Yusuf could just simply pick up his bike. Later that night when I was just to leave for his place, he came himself to pick up his bike. We chatted a bit. He is a very smart guy. Good to meet good people on the road.  People who meant to meet, they meet! People who meant to find each other, find each other.

Getting back to Taghazout from Mirleft

Mirleft – Legzira – Sidi Ifni – Inezgane – Agadir – Taghazout

From Mirleft to Sidi Ifni you can just take a bus or grand taxi. I still had some time and thought I’d walk around once more on the Legzira beach. I wished less clouds and falling tides so that I can walk to the archs on the beach. I was going to take a bus but just before the departure, a grand taxi parked the car right in front of the bus and picked all of us up. Cool!

Then, in the afternoon all I could do was to hitchhike to Sidi Ifni. On a side note, I don’t really hitchike, but in some places in the middle of nowhere where public transport is rear, it’s quite normal to do it in Morocco. There was another guy waiting close to me to get a ride. I saw a small car coming. In the car, there was an old guy. I thought as there was only one seat he would only take the guy. The fact is that the guy was their earlier, so it was his turn. So I was just standing there doing nothing. :-) The guy shouted to me: Hello! And showed me to come!

“Safi! Ana aji! Shokran bazf” (OK. I’m coming! Thanks a lot!)

The fisherman took both of us even though he had only one seat. I’m totally used to such arrangements. I felt happy that things turned out so well. It was still cloudy and the tide was so high, but I just felt super happy.

Getting back didn’t break the bank either. Got back almost the same way like I came.

Mirleft –  Lagzira with grand taxi: 13 dirhams (1,3€)
Legzira – Sidi Ifni: free
Sidi ifni – Inezgane: 60 dirhams (6€)
Inezgane – Agadir: 5 dirhams (0,50€)
Agadir – Taghazout with grand taxi: 10 dirhams (1€)

I met no foreigner traveling in any of the grand taxis. But I think it’s really the easiest and quickest way to travel if you don’t have your own car. I highly recommend it. Traveling this way makes me feel I know the country well and that makes me super confident traveling around on my own.

Overall experience

I traveled to Mirleft from Taghazout through Agadir, and from Mirleft I biked to the Legzira beach and then back. The entire journey of this weekend was literally perfect. The people I met were kind, generous and helpful. Public transport was easy to arrange on the fly and the accommodation that I booked was awesome. The nature was breathtaking and Mirleft is one of the cutest small towns I’ve seen in Morocco. It was an awesome escape from Taghazout. I got back in shape and I felt mentally stronger. Little I knew about that the complications were growing in Taghazout. But that’s another story! :-)

Budget summary

Public transport with grand taxi

~ 162 km: 75 dirhams (7,5 €)
~ 194 km: 88 dirhams (8,80 €)

Total: ~ 356 km: 16,30 €

Accommodation
hostel: 5€ / night (low season)

Legzira in 2013

For the first time in my life, I discovered Legzira in July and August in 2013.  This time I was there in May. The way there and the beach looked totally different. Let me share a few pictures with you.  These pictures were my ever favorite photos from Morocco from 2013. First, the red dirt road is gone. That was so disappointing!  But now now the road is covered with ugly grey asphalt.  Then, as you see, it makes a lot of difference if it’s sunny and the tide is low. I could not even go to the archs this time. I’ve seen one of them from the distance. Whether the other archs are still there, remains a mystery for me. I wanted to attempt to approach them but the ocean was way too violent. The news say that three of the archs collapsed in 2016 but in Instagram, there are still post about the archs. I’ll need to further investigate on that!