WorldMorocco › Rabat - Salé - Zemmour - Zaer › Contrebandier

Contrebandier 82.3

#808 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇲🇦 Morocco · Rabat - Salé - Zemmour - Zaer · near Rabat

Works almost every day, no off season.

Works all yearIntermediate
Contrebandier, Morocco
Photo: aannaque · CC BY 3.0 · source
Surf score82.3 /100
Surfable days98% of the year
Clean days46% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell52% period 11 s+
Typical size1.4 m 4.5 ft median
Water20°C a 2 mm shorty

Best time to surf Contrebandier

The best time to surf Contrebandier is February, March, November. The season runs Sep to Apr. In February the water sits around 17°C, so pack a 3/2 wetsuit, and the typical wave is 2.0 m. The nearest airport is NNA (54 km) and the nearest town is Rabat (16 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan99%67%1.6 m17°C3/2
Feb99%78%2.0 m17°C3/2
Mar97%69%1.8 m17°C3/2
Apr99%54%1.6 m18°C3/2
May100%28%1.2 m20°C2mm
Jun98%13%1.0 m22°C2mm
Jul95%8%0.9 m23°Cvest
Aug96%5%0.9 m24°Cvest
Sep98%40%1.0 m22°C2mm
Oct98%46%1.3 m22°C2mm
Nov99%73%1.9 m20°C2mm
Dec98%67%1.9 m18°C3/2

What is under Contrebandier

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor sits over 35 m. Alongside the bank the survey finds a channel, 48 m against 35 m, deep enough to bend swell onto one peak instead of spreading it along the beach.

Depth 8 km out35 m
Depth 4 km out26 m
Channel beside it48 m

Measured, not estimated: NOAA ETOPO 2022 global relief at 15 arc-seconds, about 460 m per cell, sampled along this spot’s own swell window. At that scale the survey sees passes and channels; it cannot see a reef ledge, so nothing here is said about how the wave breaks.

Why 82.3

Seven parts, each normalised 0 to 1 and multiplied by its weight; the sum is scaled so the best spot in the world scores 100. Wave quality and what the spot does on its best days carry more than half of it, which is what separates this from a ranking of where the water is warm.

Wave quality 34.7%
17.9
Best days 22.4%
13.8
Clean days 18.4%
18.4
Consistency 10.2%
10.2
Season spread 4.1%
4.1
Water comfort 6.1%
3.0
Access 4.1%
3.9

The detail

Faces 320° with 42% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 89% of days. Mean peak period 11.1 s. Days over 3 m: 4%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 2.5 m, with a peak period of 14 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 41%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates 33.922, -6.961 (OpenStreetMap).

What it costs to be here

Living here
€1,100/ month
typically €969 – €1,230
Rent, one bedroom€578
Groceries€232
Eating out€130
Getting around€76
Phone + internet€81
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€2,140/ month
typically €1,880 – €2,400
Somewhere to stay€1,260
Eating out€448
Car, transfers, fuel€292
Data + extras€135
Short stays, eating out, a car or transfers.
48% cheaper if you live here instead of visiting

Airport and town on the doorstep, so the local estimate is 8% above the country average. Estimate: World Bank PPP price level for Morocco (2025, United States = 1.00) applied to a fixed surfer basket, then adjusted for how remote the spot is. Your own number moves with the season and how you live.

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Spots nearby

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