Agadir and Souk El Had: the biggest market in Morocco, with a guide

Souk El Had means the Sunday market, and it began as one, in the Talborjt quarter, before the earthquake of 29 February 1960 flattened the old city and the market was rebuilt behind high walls in the Sidi Youssef quarter, where it still stands. Today it covers around thirteen hectares with somewhere between three and six thousand stalls, depending on who counts, behind a dozen numbered gates. It opens every day except Monday, roughly from nine in the morning to half past eight at night, and Sunday is still the big day.

It is not a tourist souk. Families from Agadir do their weekly shopping here, which is why the prices are honest and the produce is extraordinary: pyramids of oranges and clementines from the Souss plain, olives in twenty varieties, dates, almonds, the spice merchants with their cones of ras el hanout, and whole alleys of mint. Then the crafts: argan oil and amlou, leather babouches, Berber carpets from the Anti-Atlas, lanterns, pottery from Safi, silver from Tiznit. Each gate opens onto a different zone, and a guide saves you the hour of being lost.

• 9:30 Pick-up at the house, 25 to 35 minutes to Agadir.
• 10:00 Souk El Had with the guide: the food halls first, while it is cool, then the crafts. Two hours is the minimum; three is better. Lunch is grilled sardines or a tagine at one of the stalls inside, or a café on the avenue outside.
• 13:30 The kasbah of Agadir Oufella, on the hill above the port. The Saadian fortress was built in the sixteenth century and destroyed in 1960; its walls were restored and since 2022 a cable car runs up from the Tildi bridge in about fifteen minutes, with the whole bay below you. Tickets are paid on the spot.
• 15:00 The marina at the foot of the hill, a walk on the beach promenade, or the Vallée des Oiseaux garden in the centre if you have children with you.
• 16:30 Back to the house before the sunset.

How to bargain, briefly

Food has a price and you pay it. Crafts do not: smile, ask the price, offer about half, meet somewhere in the middle, and walk away politely if it does not feel right. Pay in cash (there are cash machines near the gates), carry small notes, and keep your bag in front of you in the crowded alleys. Note the number of the gate you came in by.

What to bring home

Argan oil from a cooperative rather than a stall if you can (the guide knows one), amlou, saffron from Taliouine, olives and preserved lemons for the kitchen, a pair of babouches, and spices in sealed bags for the flight. Carpets are a serious purchase: take your time or come back another day with the car.

Switch on the Agadir tour in the builder: 300 MAD per person with the guide and the transport from your house, on Saturdays and Sundays. The cable car (around 100 MAD return), lunch and your shopping are paid on the spot. The tour is part of our Coast Drive plan, which also comes with a Renault Clio 5 for the whole stay. If you would rather go on your own on another day, the Souk El Had guide in our journal has everything you need, and Hilal Luxury Cars explains how to get there by car and where to park.