Best Solo Traveler Spots in Essaouira: Where to Eat, Drink, and Connect

Traveling alone through Essaouira feels less like moving through a city and more like entering someone's living room after they've put out the good fruit. The old stone walls carry the salt breeze, and within an afternoon you'll be on first-name terms with the man who steams the milk for your coffee. For any independent traveler, these are the best places for solo travelers in Essaouira: come hungry, leave with a sore throat from laughing in the square.

Rooftops and Coffee Houses: Solo Travel Guide Essaouira Essentials

The flat rooftops of Essaouira are where the town shows its hand. Here, the medina tumbles toward the Atlantic, and you can watch fishing boats chug past the ramparts while sipping a coffee. These spots work best if you arrive early or just before sunset.

1. Taros (Rooftop Café-Bar, 31 Avenue Abderrahmane Sebti)

I wandered up to Taros last Tuesday and found the only empty stool near the railing, the one looking straight over the port. The staff, who remember regulars by their drink order, slid an almond milk latte across the zinc table without me asking. Around five o'clock a group of German sailors motioned me over to share their plate of grilled sardines, and that is how I spent the next hour being asked, in four languages, where I buy my sandals.

Local Insider Tip: Skip the cocktail menu. Ask for a "bnin" – a local mix of almond syrup and fresh orange juice with crushed mint – and request the small table behind the spiral staircase. It has the only outlet in the building, and the waiters check on it last, so you won't be hurried.

It is not the cheapest spot in town, but the overpriced drinks are the price of admission for that view. Solo diners should come between five and seven if they want a seat without booking.

2. Café Bretagne (Place Moulay Hassan, Corner of Rue du Skaala)

This café holds down the northern corner of the main square, where the horse carriages line up and the pigeons own the cobblestones. I sat down for a mint tea and ended up in a two-hour conversation with a retired fisherman who told me how he navigates the reef before dawn. The coffee here is consistently average, but the people-watching is world-class, and no one ever tries to rush you.

Local Insider Tip: Grab the narrow table by the window on the left side of the terrace. From there you can watch the entire square, see who will be doing the faux-French poetry readings at Taros later