Anchor Point is a long right-hand point break over a rock shelf at the north end of Taghazout bay, Morocco, and on a solid northwest swell it can run for hundreds of metres. It works best from October to April, on a mid to high tide with an east or northeast offshore wind, and it suits confident intermediate to advanced surfers. Taghazout Surf Trip rates it 7/10 for a coached guest on an average day, and this page covers what it is, when it works, who it is for and what a morning there looks like.
What the wave is
The wave breaks along a shelf of rock, and that is what gives it its shape: the swell wraps around the point and peels along the shelf, so a single wave can keep going for a very long way. On the right day, with a solid northwest swell running, the rides of hundreds of metres are what the place is famous for.
The name comes from the old anchor works that once stood on the point. You are surfing over rock, so it is not a place to fall carelessly. Reef boots are optional at the points; some guests like them, some never bother.
You ride along a wall here rather than dropping down a peak and straightening out. Intermediates who have started to trim and turn get the time and length to link things together, and a late take-off costs more than it would at a beach break.
Who it suits
Confident intermediate to advanced surfers. On an average day we rate it 7/10 on the scale we use in the Taghazout surf guide, and the level column there reads intermediate to advanced. If you are catching green waves on your own, paddling out through whitewater without drama and starting to turn, Anchor Point is a wave you can grow into over a week with us. If you have never surfed, it is not where you start: your first sessions will be at the sandy beach breaks, most likely Devil’s Rock.
On bigger days the rating stops mattering, because the wave becomes advanced only. Our coaches make that call on the morning, and when they say the point is too big for the group, the group surfs somewhere else.
If you want the heavier, faster option further along the point, that is Killer Point, which has its own page and which we do not take beginners or intermediates to at all.
Best conditions
| Wind | E/NE offshore |
| Tide | Mid to high |
| Season | October to April |
| Level | Intermediate to advanced |
| Our rating | 7/10 |
| Wetsuit | 3/2 mm from October to May, reef boots optional |
The wind is the detail most people underestimate. Taghazout runs on the classic Moroccan pattern: offshore from the east and northeast in the morning, then an onshore sea breeze that builds through the afternoon. Anchor Point wants that morning offshore, which is why our sessions start early. Tide matters too: mid to high is the window, and the shelf is less friendly below it.
October to April is when the North Atlantic sends the swell that makes the point work, with December to early March the most powerful stretch. May to September is calmer and warmer, and the point is more often small than not. The water sits between 17.5 and 21 °C across the year, so a 3/2 mm wetsuit covers October to May and boardshorts or a 2 mm do the summer. Our guide to the best time to surf Taghazout goes month by month if you are choosing dates around this wave.
How a session with us works there
Every morning at 6am our coaches read the swell chart and decide which break the day belongs to. That is the whole system, and it is the reason we never promise a specific spot in advance. When the chart shows northwest swell, a morning offshore and a tide rising into the mid-to-high window, Anchor Point is the call for the intermediate groups.
From there the routine is simple. Boards and wetsuits are already sorted, because every package includes them, so you eat, load up and go. We move as a group, by van from the house or on foot when the spot is close enough that driving would be silly; the coach decides that at the same time as the break. In the water you are in a group of no more than six per coach, and all three coaches are certified by the International Surfing Association. On a point break that ratio matters: the coach is watching the sets and calling people onto waves, which is hard to do well with a crowd.
A typical session runs on the morning offshore and ends when the sea breeze arrives, the tide slips out of the window, or the group runs out of arms, whichever comes first. Then breakfast, or lunch, depending on how early the tide was.
The rest of the day
A dawn session at Anchor Point usually ends between 10am and 11am, when the sea breeze arrives or the tide leaves the mid-to-high window. That leaves most of the day free, and the house is a five-minute walk from Panorama beach. For the flat days and the non-surfing hours, our guide to things to do in Taghazout covers the valley, the souk and the sunsets, and Taghazout weather month by month tells you what to pack for evenings that cool down faster than the days suggest. If you are still choosing a stay, the packages page lists what every booking includes: full board, board and wetsuit, transfers from Agadir Al Massira airport, and any length from 3 nights, booked online by card.
Anchor Point: your questions
Not with us, and we would not recommend it on your own either. It is an intermediate to advanced wave over a rock shelf, and on bigger days it is advanced only. Beginners at our camp learn at the sandy beach breaks, such as Devil’s Rock.
Mid to high tide, with a morning E/NE offshore wind. Our coaches check both on the swell chart at 6am before choosing the day’s break.
October to April, when northwest swell lines the point up. December to early March is usually the most powerful stretch, and it is also when the wave is most likely to be advanced only.
They are optional. The take-off is over rock, so some guests like the reassurance; plenty surf it without. A 3/2 mm wetsuit is the standard from October to May, and both board and wetsuit are included in every package.
