Agadir Transportation

I have myself been travelling many times to Agadir and during busy periods
like half term and the holiday seasons I could be waiting around at Agadir airport
queuing for a taxi in the red hot sun for an hour with my family and luggage,
Taxi drivers at Agadir airport are notorious for overcharging so you will need to sharpen up on
your haggling skills or pay what you are asked.
Since July, a local company started a shuttle service cheaper than a taxi.
What' a break through saving a load of people a lot of stress.

The new freeway up over the mountains to Marrakech opened a few months ago and its an excellent improvement - the 'old' road is still a scenic route to take and still open of course for those who dont want to pay tolls or are travelling to the many villages that along that way - we saw a number of trucks using the the old road while we were on the freeway making our way to Marrakech in July

Up until the opening of the freeway this was the main access road from the north to Agadir - so it was always a very busy road - with many large freight trucks and buses - with only several passing lanes provided along the route and many twists and turns and crests in the road - so not only an improvement in reducing the time that it takes to travel but also a big improvement in reducing the risk of driving that road - especially when combined with increment weather.

The freeway route cost 66 dirham in tolls from Agadir to Marrakech and reduced the travelling by at least an hour, perhaps an hour and a half!!

It is recommended though to stick to the speed limit - there are signs advising the 100km/h speed limit sections and those that are 120km/h - and also to be mindful of the signs that warn of low flying birds in some places.

During our trip in July there was only one service station open throughout our whole journey on the freeway - several more still in the process of being built - so dont set off without adequate fuel in your tank or relying on finding a toilet too soon! (unless youre coming from the Marrakech direction as its the Marrakech side of the Chichaoua turn off so not so far as when coming from Agadir). There are still service stations and cafe rest-stops along the old route.

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Most of the areas in Agadir I visited are close enough to each other to walk. So I walked most of the time from the corniche to the central market or Nouveau Tarborjt. Within 5 -15 minutes I could reach all places I wanted to visit.

If you dont like to walk or have to go to places at a longer distance there are petits taxis and buses. You can also hire mopeds or motorbikes. To explore the rural areas and towns outside of Agadir you can hire a car, take a long-distance taxi or bus or book a tour by minibus or landrover by one of the many tour agencies in the hotels or along the streets.

Walking in the streets, I saw also some other special means of transportation. At the Place al Wadha (opposite the Valley of the Birds at the Boulevard du 20 Aout) you can hire a fourwheelbike. It's just for fun, you can only make small rounds at the Place itself (picture 1 & 2). In the tourist area (Boulevard du 20 Aout) I saw also a tourist train at the road. It's called the Noddy Train. You can make a ride for about half an hour (picture 3 & 4).

If yoyu prefer to make a camelride, I saw camels at the kasbahhill (picture 5) and at the southern part of the beach.

There are Petite Taxis every where, getting around Agadir before 8pm your not expected to pay any more than 15 moroccan dirmas (approx £1.00).

Negotiate a price before the start of your journey if your not sure.

Agadir was on my zig-zag itinerary from Poland to Western Sachara. I drove by own car over 16,000 km / 10,000 mi during 6 weeks. I spent exactly 30 days in Morocco incl. 12 nights in Agadir.

Generally the main Moroccan roads are of good quality, the traffic is light or very light except in larger cities. There are no serious parking problems except in Casablanca. At night I was forced to use guarded parking lots, read my last warning and dangers tip. When I couldn't find any guarded parking close to my economic hotel (with no parking lot) I paid $1-2 to a guy at the nearest petrol/gas station to guard my car at night.


RENT A CAR
If you want to see more than a beach and city of Agadir rent a car (expensive!) and visit amazing surroundings by own or ask for bus tours at your hotel lobby or any tourist office.

The car hire was a little bit less expensive than in other parts of Morocco (Rabat for example). As I remember I saw an offer (in a hotel by a company called Afric Cars) of renting a small car (like Fiat Panda) for 2500 - 3000 dirham a week (all included except gas/petrol).


BY BUS/SHARED TAXI
I stayed close to CTM bus station in Agadir. I noticed that Moroccans travel to Agadir mostly by bus. It had to be quite cheap. I noticed that some buses were completely full. There were more natives than a bus could get onboard. Notice that probably all buses going southwards drive via this bus station.

So, if you want to travel cheap, not very fast and together with natives a bus or better a shared taxi (fixed rates to fixed destinations) maybe a good choice. I was told that it's better and cheaper is to get one from Inezgane (10 km = 6 mi south of Agadir). I saw a lot of them there, on the square left to the main highway. The maximum number of people in Moroccan taxi is six. If you take a hired (normal) taxi from your hotel you will pay more.

Supratours has one bus to Dakhla.

Tickets are around 330 dirhams.

Journey time is about 21 hours.

Please use this as a rough guide only.

Supratours has one bus to Tiznit.

Journey to Tiznit is about 4 hours.

Tickets are around 30 dirhams plus 5 dirhams for luggage.

Please use this as a rough guide only.

Supratours has one bus to Laayoune.

Tickets are around 200 dirhams.

Journey time is 11 hours.

Please use this as a rough guide only.