How cold does the water get in Morocco?
The Atlantic off Imsouane is cool rather than cold. Water sits at around 17-20 °C through the winter and 20-23 °C in summer, a swing of only a few degrees across the whole year. That narrow range is the most useful thing to know before you pack, because it means one suit does nearly all the work.
Surfers arriving from northern Europe usually find a Moroccan winter mild. Surfers arriving from the tropics usually find it cooler than they expected. Both end up in the same 3/2.
The sea also lags the air by several weeks. The coldest water tends to come at the tail end of winter rather than at midwinter, and the warmest water arrives in late summer and holds on into early autumn, after the hottest air has already gone.
What wetsuit should I wear, month by month?
| Months | Typical water | What most people wear | Is a shorty enough? | What else is going on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December-February | Around 17-20 °C, at the cooler end | 3/2 full suit | No | Biggest and busiest swell of the year |
| March-April | Around 17-20 °C, warming late | 3/2 full suit | Rarely | Swell still consistent, line-ups thinning |
| May-June | Around 19-21 °C and climbing | 3/2 full suit | Only for short midday sessions | Smallest waves, best time to learn |
| July-August | Around 20-23 °C, warmest of the year | Shorty or 3/2 | Yes, most days | Small, warm, sunny |
| September-October | Around 20-23 °C, still warm | Shorty early, 3/2 by mid-autumn | Often in September | North-west swell returns |
| November | Around 19-20 °C and falling | 3/2 full suit | No | Consistent swell, quieter water |
Treat these as typical rather than guaranteed. A run of hard offshore wind can pull colder water up the coast for a few days in any month.
What do 3/2 and 4/3 actually mean?
The first number is the neoprene thickness in millimetres over your core; the second is the thickness through the arms and legs, where you need to bend. A 3/2 is 3 mm on the chest and back, 2 mm on the limbs.
| Suit | Water it is built for | Where it fits in Imsouane | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Board shorts or rash vest | Above about 24 °C | Rarely warm enough for a full session | Short summer paddles only |
| 2 mm shorty | Around 21-24 °C | July to September, middle of the day | Surfers who run warm, shorter sessions |
| 3/2 full suit | Around 17-22 °C | Every month of the year | Almost everyone, almost always |
| 4/3 full suit | Around 14-18 °C | Winter dawns and long sessions | Anyone who genuinely feels the cold |
Fit matters as much as thickness. A baggy 3/2 that flushes cold water through the neck and ankles on every duck-dive will be colder than a snug shorty. If you are borrowing a suit, spend the extra minute getting the size right.
When is a shorty enough?
A shorty (short arms, short legs, usually 2 mm) is genuinely enough here when several things line up at once: the water is near the top of its summer range, the sun is out, the wind has not turned onshore yet, and you are surfing rather than sitting.
In practice that means July, August and September, in the middle of the day, for an hour or two.
It stops being enough faster than people expect:
- Dawn sessions. The cleanest hours here are early, before the onshore fills in, and that is also when the air is coolest.
- Long sessions. You lose heat steadily. Three hours in a shorty in June is a different proposition from ninety minutes.
- Beginner sessions. In a lesson you spend a lot of time standing in waist-deep whitewater, waiting and wading back out. You generate far less heat than someone paddling on the point, and you get cold sooner. For a two-hour lesson, a full suit is the better call in almost any month.
- If you run cold. Some people simply do, and it has nothing to do with fitness.
Why wind matters more than the thermometer
Mornings in Imsouane are usually the cleanest part of the day, with onshore wind building after midday. That wind also decides how warm you feel.
A wet body in moving air loses heat quickly, so a windy 22 °C afternoon in a shorty can feel colder than a still 19 °C morning in a full suit. Same sea, different experience. When you are torn between two options, choose for the wind rather than the water temperature.
Do I need boots, gloves or a hood?
Almost certainly not. At 17 °C and above, most surfers here go barefoot and bare-handed straight through the winter. Hoods and gloves belong to colder coasts.
Boots are the one exception, and that is about the bottom rather than the temperature. Magic Bay peels over sand for much of its length, so it is a barefoot wave. Cathedral Point, on the exposed side of the headland, is more powerful and breaks over rock, where thin boots come down to personal preference.
Should I bring my own wetsuit to Morocco?
You do not have to. Boards and wetsuits are included in lessons and in our surf-week packages, and our rental suits come in 3/2 and 4/3 in every size, so you can travel light and still surf every day.
Two reasons you might pack one anyway. If you specifically want a shorty for a summer trip, bring it, because our rental suits are full suits. And if you own a suit you love the fit of, wear that: guests are always welcome to bring their own equipment.
One last thing that catches people out. With around 340 days of sun a year, the sun is a bigger problem here than the cold, and a shorty leaves your arms and shoulders exposed for a whole session. Plan for that before you plan for the neoprene.
If you would rather not think about any of this, you do not have to: our lessons and surf weeks include the board and the suit, and we hand you the right thickness on the morning. If you are surfing on your own schedule, rental covers boards, wetsuits and surf-skates by the day or the week, and there is usually something else going on for windy afternoons over on activities. Anything we have not covered here, message us on WhatsApp or by email when you book and we will confirm it the same day.