Low tide confuses a lot of people on this coast. The beach breaks that were fun at breakfast turn into shore-dump, the village break starts showing its rocks, and everyone stands on the headland wondering where the waves went. They didn't go anywhere. At low tide the good surf simply moves to the points.
Tides here swing a long way, close to three metres on a big spring tide, so the difference between low and high isn't a detail. Check the tide before you choose a spot. It matters as much as the swell.
Where to go at low
Banana Point (Aourir)
The easy answer, and the one most people pick. Banana Point is a long, forgiving right that likes low tide more than any other spot around here. It's also tucked away from the northerly wind that blows most afternoons, so it often stays clean when everything else gets messy. The downside is that everyone else knows this too. And skip it for a day or two after rain: the river comes out right next to it, and so does everything the river carries.
Anchor Point
Anchor is usually at its best from low to mid. On a proper swell, low tide is when the three sections line up into one long ride. It's still Anchor: rocky entry, a strong current, a crowd, and not somewhere to learn.
Panoramas
At the south end of Taghazout village, Panoramas gets faster and more sectiony at low, which makes it more fun for good surfers and less fun for learners. At high tide it's softer.
Killer Point and Boilers
Both work at low to mid and both are for experienced surfers only. Killer Point is a long paddle out, with serious current once there's size. Boilers, up by the Cap Ghir lighthouse, is shallow reef with urchins and a jump off the rocks to get in. Boilers has one big advantage, though: the mountains funnel the wind offshore, so it's rarely blown out.
Tamri
If the points are too crowded or too much, Tamri is the beach break north of Boilers, and it picks up more swell than the spots further south, and it's happy from low to mid. It's wide open, so there's room to spread out.
What to avoid at low
- Crocro and Devil's Rock (Tamraght). These are mid-to-high-tide beach breaks. At low they tend to dump straight onto the sand. Surf schools time their lessons around this, and you should too.
- Hash Point (Taghazout village). Rocks start poking out when the tide drops right down. Wait for it to come back in.
- La Source and Mysteries. These want the tide higher. At low, most of the time, there isn't much there.
Low tide plus afternoon wind
The classic bad combination: the tide is out and the northerly has come up. Go to Banana Point. It's the most sheltered option at that tide. If you're a strong surfer and there's real swell, Boilers is the other answer.
If you're a beginner
Low tide is not your friend. The water is shallower, the waves break harder, and on the reefs there's rock not far under you. Take the low tide off, have a long breakfast, and go back to the beach once the tide has come up a couple of hours. Your instructor will tell you the same thing.
Today's tides and the score for each spot, hour by hour, are on the forecast page.