Surf & Yoga @ Surf Star Morocco

As soon as I heard of two friends’ plan to join a one week surf & yoga camp it was crystal clear for me that I just had to come with them.

To be honest I was a bit worried at the same time since I haven’t had hardly any yoga or surf experience so far. Remembering my one shot surf lessons in Australia and Bali, which were 4 years and 8 months ago and did not take longer than a couple of hours, brought back painful memories about associated sunburns and aching muscles. And my one and only yoga lesson took place 4 years earlier, which I attended pretty hangover with (for my taste) to esoteric yoga teacher.

But as I matured in the meantime (haha) I wanted to give both a second chance and when it turned out that Morocco is our preferred destination I did not need to think twice.

Surf Star Morocco – THE perfect surf & yoga camp

Convince yourself by checking out the camp’s homepage. Follow this Link and start dreaming 😀

The decision for the “Surf & Yoga Morocco” surf camp was an easy one, as it was one of the first search results after googling for Surf & Yoga camps in Morocco. The pretty homepage with the breathtaking pictures convinced us in an instance. The online style already transported a very warm and friendly feeling and completing the booking pushed our excitement and anticipation even more.

The camp’s location has proven to be perfect with 10 min walking distance to the beach and a private Agadir airport pick-up and drop-off drive was also organized and included in the camp’s service. When sharing my enthusiasm about the camp it is hard to decide with what start with. So make sure now to read the post right until the end. The pictures might make you even more appetite:

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The food

As in the very moment I am writing this post my tummy is still filled with delicious breakfast, I start with pointing out the outstanding taste, variation and preparation of the meals, which are all included in the price. The day at Surf Star Morocco starts (after Yoga) with a rich breakfast buffet, including different vegetables, fruits, cereal, olives, bread with butter, jam and honey. There are daily specials like Avocado, omelets or freshly made fruit juices and even rice or potatoes are available. Next to the buffet are lunch boxes waiting to be filled with as much as everyone likes to bring to the beach to strengthen during surf lessons.

There is coffee and tea available at any time of the day which is great to enjoy on the terrace right after the day spent surfing and/or relaxing on the beach.

Probably one of the most enjoyable highlights of a day is the dinner. There is always bread with garlic butter and olives ready on the table, which you should save as the main dish is always breathtaking and reaches from typical Moroccan Tagine over Italian Lasagne to grilled skewers with a huge variety of side dishes. There are always vegetarian alternatives and meals prepared for vegan guests as well and everyone can help themselves to as much as they want. Whereas starters, like soup or salad are offered every second day, dessert is served after every dinner coming with a cup of green tea. Overall every single meal tasted more than delicious, with being hungry due to the surfing being only the smallest contributor.

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Surf lessons

As mentioned earlier I was not too confident regarding my surfing skills and was in advance already sorry for the surf instructors who I assumed to need a lot of patience with me. Surprisingly enough I did not do that bad as initially expected and was able to stand up right from the beginning.

The surf lessons were a perfect balance between short but effective warm-up, pop up and thorough standing exercises on the surfboard on the beach, assistance in the water as well as trial and error by oneself. The three of us did a good job I’d say 😀

Surfing started daily at 9:30 am right after sunrise yoga and breakfast. On the first day the staff got us equipped with wetsuits, shirt and a backpack, which we had to keep and bring to surfing ourselves for the rest of the week. Every day before heading towards the beach in mini vans we could help ourselves to bottled water and beach towels as provided by the camp. In fact there was simply everything organised for us and resulting we did not have anything to take care of by ourselves.

When arriving at the beach we got the surfboards that the instructors selected for us and off we went surfing. While the instructors assisted in the water in the morning, we could decide ourselves if we wanted to go in and practice by our own after lunch time. The alternative, (which we chose the majority of afternoons^^) was to sunbath, read a book, go for or coffee or simply relax on the beach. At about 4pm we returned at the camp and had free time to join sunset yoga, have a long shower or tea or coffee on the terrace until dinner at 6:30 pm. In the evenings the surf instructors also offered photo feedback sessions, where pictures of the day (there was always a photographer with us at the beach, taking pics like published in this post) were presented and evaluated. This was very useful, funny but also a little embarrassing at the same time. The pictures were also offered for sale at 1.5 EUR per picture with your selected photos being sent via e-mail right after the end of the stay.

And what about the surf instructors you wonder, right? 😉 Well, without them the surf experience would just have been half of a success, joy and fun. Ismael and Barak did an awesome job in challenging and pushing our surfing skills as well as simply cheering us up and having a great time on the beach. They were truly the nicest, most patient und fun guys one can possibly have as surf instructors. When talking with them, like with everyone else from the camp’s crew it did never feel like forced small talk but like real friendly and interested conversations.

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Yoga

Like with surfing I did not bring that much of experience to Yoga classes either. In contrast to surfing this actually gave me quite a tough time, as the lessons were pretty challenging.

This was of course also driven by the early time, at which I am not yet in 100% functioning mode as I am no morning person at all ^^. But (except after that one wild party night out) I carried my tired self to the energizing Yoga class every morning and felt proud and strong every time afterwards. The Yoga took place at 7:30 am and 5:00 pm and lasted for one hour, relaxing phase included^^. Classes were held on the camp’s terrace with a stunning view at the sea with the sun either rising just behind or setting in front of us: an energising scenery itself that puts you in a happy mood anyways and let you forget about any pain you might feel after all that surfing.

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Extra activities

If you still doubt that the camp might not be right for you due to repeating timetables and fixed programs day by day, you should consider the huge variety of available extra activities. Reaching from relaxing massages over typical Hammam to fun beach parties. Especially two extra activities I will always remember with a big smile on my face 😀

Firstly there was the Friday “dinner out” evening. Even though the camp’s meals could hardly be topped, I would not have wanted to miss this night. The restaurant itself, to which all of the approx. 25 fellow guests of the camp was taken, was one of the most random places I have ever seen. It combined a karaoke bar, live music and dancing place with a sports bar and extra entertainment was offered by local aerobic artists. After a great dinner (and couple of drinks) we all moved on to a club where the party really started. There were hardly any other guests in the club, but we filled it anyways with dancing all over the place. It was a great and light-hearted feeling to go out with a folk of people, who have been almost strangers the day before. Suddenly we all felt like good old friends, being at the place for the same reason – just having fun.

Secondly, there was another great alternative to surfing offered via a day trip to “Paradise Valley”. It was less than an hour drive from the camp to reach the place that deserves nothing less than its beautiful name. It is kind of a canyon with a beautiful river and small bathing lakes within.

After a 20-30 min walk we turned a sunny spot to our base and relaxed there for the rest of the day. Sounds too boring? Whoever wanted to go wild could jump off the canyon cliffs from 3 – 15 m height. But even without this extra adrenalin kick this place is definitely worth a visit.

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Long story cut short: I will recommend everyone to visit Surf Star Morocco in Tamraght. It is perfect for solo travelers, couples and friends alike no matter at what age or level of surfing experience. Thanks to everyone at Surf Star Morocco! Every single one (staff and fellow guests alike) made the stay so indescribably enjoyable and saying good bye just too hard. I will surely come back some day!

PS: Please do not forget to pack long sleeved shirts and trousers or skirts covering your shoulders knees due to respect the habits of Moroccan’s culture. Enjoy reading more about it in my dedicated Morocco post.