Devil’s Rock is where a lot of surfing starts. It is a beach break south of Taghazout, near Tamraght, with a sandy bottom and the kind of forgiving whitewater that lets a complete beginner stand up on day one and fall off without consequences. A regular lesson spot on this coast, it is where many of our guests catch their first wave. For the points, see Anchor Point and Killer Point.
What the wave is
A beach break breaks over sand rather than rock, which is why Devil’s Rock suits beginners. Sand is soft, and a beginner falls a great deal. The waves here stand up, break and turn into whitewater that rolls towards the beach, and it is that whitewater, not the green face behind it, that a first lesson uses. It pushes the board, it is predictable, and it is close to shore, so a coach can stand beside you and talk you through the pop-up.
Devil’s Rock scores 2/10 for difficulty on the scale we use in the Taghazout surf guide, the same scale that gives Killer Point 9/10. The scale measures how hard the wave is, so a 2 is exactly what a first week needs.
Only the name is fierce. The wave is not.
Who it suits
Complete beginners, first and foremost. If you have never stood on a surfboard, this is where you will do it. It also suits returning beginners who had a lesson years ago and want to start again without an audience, and improving beginners working on their first small green waves rather than whitewater.
It does not suit surfers looking for a challenge, and we would not pretend otherwise. An intermediate who can already paddle out and trim along a face will get more from Anchor Point, and that is where our intermediate groups go when the chart allows. Even so, intermediates sometimes ask for a morning back here to work on one specific thing; a forgiving wave is a good classroom at any level.
Best conditions
| Wind | NE offshore |
| Tide | Mid to high |
| Season | Year-round |
| Level | Beginner |
| Difficulty | 2/10 |
| Wetsuit | 3/2mm most of the year; some go lighter in the warmest weeks |
Because it is a beach break with a sandy bottom, Devil’s Rock does not need the big northwest swell that the points wait for. It works all year round, so a beginner can book any month and surf every day. Tide is mid to high, and the wind follows the usual Moroccan rule: offshore from the northeast in the morning, onshore sea breeze in the afternoon, which is why lessons happen early even for beginners.
The calmer, warmer months from May to September are, if anything, the easiest time to learn here: smaller waves, water at the top of the 17.5 to 21°C range, and, in the warmest weeks, the option of going lighter than the 3/2mm we use most of the year. The October to April season still works for beginners, because the whitewater keeps rolling whatever the points are doing; the coaches simply pick the tide and the stretch of beach with more care. Our guide to the best time to surf Taghazout weighs the seasons for every level.
How a session with us works there
The day starts at 6am with the coaches reading the swell chart and deciding which break each group is surfing. For a beginner group the question is rarely whether there is enough swell and usually where the cleanest, most manageable whitewater is, and the answer is often Devil’s Rock. It sits at the Tamraght end of the bay, so the van does the work: boards on, wetsuits on, everyone in.
On the beach the session follows a pattern that works: a warm-up, the pop-up practised on sand until it is boring, then whitewater rides with the coach standing in the water beside you, correcting one thing at a time. Groups are a maximum of six per coach, and all three coaches at our Taghazout surf camp are certified by the International Surfing Association, so the person pushing you into your first wave is qualified to be there. Every package includes the board and the wetsuit, so nobody has to buy anything before the first lesson.
Sessions end when the sea breeze comes up, the tide leaves the window, or the group is tired enough to smile at the thought of lunch. Full board means lunch comes to the beach.
The rest of the day
A first week of surfing is tiring. After lunch there is a coached afternoon session, then free time to practise or simply rest. The house is five minutes from Panorama beach, so a walk on the sand is always an option. For everything else, things to do in Taghazout beyond surfing covers the valley, the souk and the sunsets, and the Taghazout weather guide explains what to pack, because beginners are outside a lot and the evenings cool quickly. If you are ready to book, the Morocco surf holidays page has what every stay includes: full board, board and wetsuit, transfers from Agadir–Al Massira airport, any length from 3 nights, and payment online by card.
Devil’s Rock: your questions
Yes. It is a sandy beach break with forgiving whitewater at the Tamraght end of the bay, and it is one of the regular first-lesson spots on this coast.
Yes. It works all year round, and May to September is calmer and warmer, with water at the top of the 17.5 to 21°C range. We use a 3/2 most of the year, and in the warmest months some people go lighter.
Our difficulty scale describes the wave itself. A forgiving whitewater beach break is exactly what a beginner needs, and the same scale gives Killer Point 9/10, a wave we do not take beginners to.
Never more than six per coach. All three of our coaches are ISA-certified, and the board and wetsuit are included in every package.