Read enough camp reviews and the same three complaints repeat — and none of them are about the surf. Here is what to ask before you pay a deposit.
We read a lot of reviews of other people's surf camps. Not out of nosiness — because it is the fastest way to learn what actually disappoints guests, and it is almost never the thing the photos are selling.
The waves are rarely the problem. Morocco delivers waves. What comes up again and again, across camps and across years, is three things:
- Shared bathrooms that were not as clean as expected
- Noise — from the road, the terrace, the room next door, the call to prayer, the other guests
- Breakfast that never changed across a whole week
Nobody flies to Morocco for the breakfast. But those three are what people remember, because they are the things you meet twenty times a day when you are tired and salty.
So here is the checklist we would use if we were booking someone else's camp.
1. Ask what "shared" means
A shared bathroom between four people is fine. A shared bathroom between fourteen is a queue at seven in the morning when everyone is trying to get to a dawn session.
Ask: how many people per bathroom, and is there hot water at the times surfers actually shower — early morning and late afternoon, not midday.
2. Ask where the noise comes from
Every camp is quiet in the photographs. Ask specifically: is the camp on a main road, is there a bar or terrace that runs late, and are the walls solid or plasterboard. A camp with a lively social terrace is a feature if you want one and a problem if you have a 6 am alarm.
3. Ask what breakfast is on day five
Not day one — day one is always good. A week of identical bread, jam and coffee wears people down more than they expect. It is a small, cheap thing for a camp to get right, which is why it says something when they do not.
4. Count the students per instructor
This is the number that most affects whether you improve. Four students to one coach is a normal group lesson and works fine. Eight to one is crowd control, not coaching.
Ask for the maximum, not the average. Averages hide August.
5. Ask who is actually teaching
Certification matters — ISA or equivalent for surf, IKO for kitesurf — but so does whether the person in the water with you is the qualified coach or an assistant. Both are legitimate; you just want to know.
6. Get the inclusions in writing, especially the exclusions
"All inclusive" means very different things at different camps. The specific questions worth asking:
- Is the airport transfer included, both ways?
- Which meals? Breakfast only, half board, full board?
- Is equipment included for the whole week, or per lesson?
- Are spot transfers included when the camp drives to a different beach?
- What happens on a flat day — do you get a lesson credit, an alternative, or nothing?
We publish our exclusions on every camp page for exactly this reason. Our Essaouira camps include your riad room and daily breakfast and do not include lunch, dinner or room service — it is better that you know that now than at 8 pm on day two.
7. Check the season against your goal
A camp in the wrong month is a good camp having a bad week. Morocco's surf season on this coast runs roughly September to April; summer is smaller and windier. If you are booking Essaouira specifically, the wind makes this even sharper — we wrote the month-by-month version here.
8. Read the recent reviews, not the best ones
Sort by newest. Camps change hands, staff turn over, and a glowing review from three years ago describes a place that may no longer exist. Look for whether the same complaint appears more than twice.
One good filter: does the camp tell you anything negative anywhere on its site? A business willing to say "this is not for you if…" is usually being straight with you about the rest as well.
The questions we would send as a message
Copy these into WhatsApp and send them to any camp, including us:
- How many people share a bathroom?
- What is the maximum number of students per instructor in August?
- Is the airport transfer included both ways?
- Which meals are included, and what is breakfast like?
- What happens if there are no waves for my level on a given day?
- Can you send a photo of the actual room I would be in?
The answers will tell you more than any gallery. So will how quickly and how straightforwardly they reply.
And if you want ours
We run camps in Taghazout, Tamraght, Essaouira and Dakhla. Every price on the site is per person, the inclusions and exclusions are listed on each page, and a 30% deposit holds your spot with free cancellation up to 14 days before.
Ask us the six questions. We would rather answer them now than have you find out later.