Morocco Yoga, Meditation & Culture Retreat in Taghazout

Mornings usually start with a yoga class, often vinyasa or a slower flow, held on the rooftop or in the garden depending on the weather. Elena, the resident teacher, adapts sessions to whoever is in the room — one guest with a concussion had her practice modified for a beginner level all week, another did her first headstand here. There are also yin and restorative classes in the evenings, and acroyoga shows up on the acro weeks. If you're completely new to yoga, that's normal here; if you already teach, you won't be bored.

On cooking weeks, Mubarak takes guests through tagine, couscous, and Moroccan pancakes in hands-on sessions. He's been doing this a long time and guests tend to mention him by name. All the other meals come out of the same kitchen — breakfasts of msemen, amlou, fresh fruit and eggs, and dinners of slow-cooked vegetables, salads and grilled fish or chicken. The kitchen handles gluten and dairy issues with separate dishes if you tell them in advance.

Afternoons are loose. You can walk into Taghazout, take a surf lesson down the coast, or stay put and swim in the pool. The team organises trips to the Timlaline dunes, Paradise Valley, the souk in Agadir, and Taghazout village itself — Valerie, a guest from Germany, listed all of these as things she did during her week. Airport transfers from Agadir are arranged for you.

The house is the other half of the appeal. It's a riad, so there are courtyards, a rooftop and a pool, plus a lot of small corners where you can sit alone with a book or join whoever's around. Guests consistently describe the view — sea on one side, mountains on the other — and the quiet at night. If you're coming from a city and want somewhere genuinely still, this is that.

What separates this from a generic yoga week is that the whole operation is small and personal. Elena and Meike answer questions before you arrive, coordinate every transfer, and adapt the schedule to what people in the group actually want to do. It shows up in the reviews: people mention the staff joining them for meals, the organisation of day trips, and the fact that solo travellers end up part of the group rather than on the edges of it.

What's included

- 7 nights accommodation at the La Vida Surf riad (shared or private room) - Daily Moroccan breakfast, lunch and dinner - Daily yoga classes (vinyasa, yin, restorative, depending on the week) - Guided meditation and pranayama sessions - Yoga mats and props - Airport transfers to and from Agadir - Organised day trips (dunes, Paradise Valley, Taghazout village, souk El Had) - Cooking workshops and classes on the cooking retreat weeks - Use of the pool, gardens and rooftop common areas - Wifi at the riad

What's not included

- International flights - Travel insurance - Optional surf lessons - Optional spa and massage treatments - Alcoholic drinks - Personal expenses and souvenirs - Meals on excursion days that occur outside the riad - Tips for staff