Temara Beach — Rabat

Temara Plage is the closest swimming-and-surfing beach to Rabat, a 20-minute drive south along the Atlantic. A series of coves and longer sandy stretches — Plage de Contrebandiers, Plage des Sables d'Or, Plage Val d'Or — line the coast. Beach clubs rent loungers and umbrellas from May to September; seafood shacks sell grilled sardines and calamari year-round. The swell is honest, so a handful of surf schools run beginner lessons out of the Sables d'Or end.