Dakhla sits on a forty kilometre sand spit running south from the Atlantic coast of Western Sahara, a territory administered by Morocco whose status remains disputed and is the subject of a long running United Nations process. The town itself is modest. What brings people is the geography: the spit encloses a shallow lagoon that is flat, warm and waist deep for hundreds of metres, with a trade wind that blows across it almost every day of the year.
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That combination makes it one of the best places in the world to learn to kitesurf, and the camps along the lagoon exist almost entirely for that. It is also a long way from anywhere: roughly 1,200 kilometres south of Agadir by road, with flights from Casablanca. Pack for wind, for a sun that is stronger than the temperature suggests, and for cold water in warm air.
What Makes Dakhla Different to Pack For
The wind never stops
The trade wind blows most days from March to October and often through winter too, typically from mid morning until sunset. It is the reason the town exists as a destination and it is relentless. Loose hats leave, hair is a permanent argument, and sand moves constantly.
Anything with a chin strap. Hair ties. A buff or scarf, which does more work here than in almost any other destination.
Warm air, cold water
The Canary Current runs down this coast and the Atlantic here sits between 17°C and 22°C, while the air is 20°C to 28°C. The lagoon is warmer and shallower than the open ocean but it is still not the Mediterranean. Most people wear a shorty or a full wetsuit, and the camps rent them.
A merino wool base layer for women is genuinely useful here for the evenings, which drop sharply once the sun goes, and for the desert nights if you camp inland.
A mild desert climate with almost no rain
Temperatures are remarkably even: 20°C to 28°C most of the year, rarely above 30°C because the ocean moderates it, and rarely below 14°C at night. Rain is close to nonexistent. This is one of the few places that genuinely works as a year round destination.
Recommended Tours and Experiences
The Dakhla Packing List
Footwear
Sandals or flip flops for the camps, and closed shoes with a sole for the desert excursions. Reef shoes matter more than usual: the lagoon bottom has shell and rock in places, and the oyster beds are sharp.
If you are going inland to the white dune or the dragon islands, waterproof hiking shoes are useful mainly against sand and sharp stone rather than water.
Clothing
Layers that block wind. A windproof shell is more useful than a warm one, because the air is mild and the wind chill is not. Long sleeves for sun. Quick drying everything, since you will be wet repeatedly.
Modesty is worth thinking about. On the kite camps, swimwear and wetsuits are entirely normal. In Dakhla town, which is a conservative Moroccan administered Saharawi town, cover shoulders and knees. The two contexts are twenty minutes apart and quite different.
For the water
A wetsuit if you have one you like, though the camps rent decent kit. Rash vest, which doubles as sun protection. A dry bag. Ear plugs if you are prone to surfer's ear, since the water is cold and the wind is constant.
For sun and wind
A wide brim sun hat with a strap, or a cap that will not leave. High factor reef safe sunscreen and a zinc stick for nose and cheeks, because reflected light off water and pale sand is severe and people burn here in air that feels cool. Wrap sunglasses with a retainer cord.
Practical
Cash, since cards work in the town and often not at the camps. A power bank, because camp electricity is frequently solar and rationed. A head torch. Lip balm, because wind and salt destroy lips within two days.
What to Wear at Key Sites
The lagoon
Flat, shallow and forgiving, which is why every kite school in the region has a base here. Beginners can stand up across most of it, and the wind is steady rather than gusty.
Practically: the wind typically builds through the morning and is strongest in the afternoon, so lessons are scheduled around it and the middle of the day is the busiest water. Sun exposure on the water is the real hazard; a full length rash vest and reapplied sunscreen matter more than the wetsuit does.
The white dune and the desert
A large pale dune rising out of the lagoon shallows, reached by road and then across the flats, and the classic Dakhla photograph. Beyond it the Sahara begins in earnest.
Practically: go at low tide, which is when the crossing is easy. It is exposed, hot and completely without shade. Take water.
Imlili and the hot springs
South of the town there are natural pools at Asmaa, warm sulphurous water in the middle of desert, and the Imlili depression, a set of isolated salt pools that contain a population of fish cut off from the sea for thousands of years.
Practically: rough tracks, four wheel drive, and a guide. Not a self drive proposition in a hire car.
The oyster farms and the town
Dakhla bay produces a great deal of oysters and the farms sell them at the roadside for very little. The town has a Spanish colonial church, a small fishing port and a market, and it is unhurried.
Practically: modest dress in town. The market is the place for a scarf if the wind has defeated you.
Getting there
Flights from Casablanca and Agadir, or a very long bus journey down the coast road. Overland travellers heading to Mauritania pass through, and the border crossing south is a genuine expedition rather than a day trip.
What Not to Bring
Leave any hat without a strap, which will end up in the lagoon. Leave delicate fabrics, which sand and salt will finish. Leave the assumption that warm air means warm water on an Atlantic coast with a cold current.
Leave the expectation of nightlife, alcohol or much in the way of restaurants outside the camps and the town centre. Leave a tight connection, because the flights are few and weather occasionally cancels them.
Essential Resources for Women in Dakhla
Emergency numbers: police 19 in the town and the Royal Gendarmerie 177 outside it. Ambulance and fire 15. Response outside Dakhla itself is slow, and the coast road south is very sparsely populated.
Tourist support: there is no dedicated tourist police brigade in Dakhla; the nearest are in Agadir and Marrakech. Reports are filed with the local police or the Gendarmerie. A stolen passport needs a report before the consulate can issue a replacement, and the nearest consular office is a very long way away, so keep a copy separately.
US Embassy and consulate: the embassy is in Rabat at Km 5.7 Avenue Mohammed VI, Souissi, telephone +212 537 637 200, at ma.usembassy.gov, with the US Consulate General in Casablanca at 8 Boulevard Moulay Youssef. Both are a flight away. Enrol in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program at step.state.gov before you travel, which matters more here than in most places because of the remoteness and the territory's status.
Main hospital or clinic: the Hassan II Regional Hospital in Dakhla is the only significant facility, and serious cases are flown to Casablanca or Agadir. There is no decompression chamber and no specialist trauma care. Travel insurance that explicitly covers kitesurfing and air evacuation is essential, since standard policies frequently exclude wind sports.
Official health authority: the Moroccan Ministry of Health at sante.gov.ma.
US State Department travel advisory for Morocco: current advisory level and detail. Read it directly rather than relying on this page, and read the Western Sahara section specifically, since some governments issue separate advice for the territory and some insurance policies exclude it.
UK FCDO travel advice for Morocco: entry requirements, safety and health guidance, which carries a distinct section on Western Sahara including unexploded ordnance away from the main roads.
Official tourism authority: the Moroccan National Tourist Office at visitmorocco.com.
Solo women safety assessment: Dakhla is a straightforward and safe place for a woman travelling alone, and the kitesurfing camps in particular are relaxed, international and used to solo travellers of both sexes. Crime against visitors is very low, the town is quiet, and the harassment that women report in the northern Moroccan cities is largely absent. Camps are small communities where people look out for each other, and travelling alone here is common rather than unusual. The town is conservative, so dress covered there and save the beachwear for the lagoon, which is the only real cultural note. The significant risks are environmental and logistical. The water is the main one: the wind is strong, the lagoon has a current at the mouth, offshore wind conditions can carry an inexperienced kiter away from shore, and rescue capability is limited to what the camps run themselves. Take lessons from a certified school, use the radio or buddy systems they operate, and do not go out in conditions beyond your level because the wind looks good. Sun and dehydration cause more trouble than anything else, because the constant wind disguises how hot you are getting. Away from the town, this is genuinely remote desert: do not drive off the main roads without a guide, both because getting lost is easy and because there is unexploded ordnance in parts of the territory, which is documented in the FCDO advice. Finally, the political status of Western Sahara means there are checkpoints on the road, you will be asked for passport details repeatedly, and photography near military installations is a bad idea. This is routine rather than threatening, but carry your passport and expect the stops.
Reading On
Dakhla is the most remote destination Roman Trail covers in Morocco and the only one people travel to for a single activity. The Morocco travel guide for women is the parent for the whole country and covers the regions, the seasons and the transport, and the Morocco packing list for women covers a full country itinerary. Up the Atlantic coast, the Taghazout packing list for women and the Agadir packing list for women cover the surf coast that most visitors reach first, and the Essaouira travel guide for women covers the other great windy Moroccan port. Inland, the Merzouga packing list for women and the Dades Valley packing list for women cover the desert circuit. The travel packing guide for women is the parent for all destinations. For why merino is the layer you want after a day in cold Atlantic water and constant wind, the best merino wool base layers for women explains the fibre, and the Roman Trail collection is where the tops themselves live.
If the outer journey is calling you, the inner one usually is too. Explore SoulMap at romantrail.com/blogs/soulmap.
