Three day trips from Agadir by car: Paradise Valley, Legzira, Tafraout

Few Moroccan cities suit a car as well as Agadir. In under three hours of driving you go from beach to mountain, from palm grove to cliff. These are the three outings we recommend most often at the desk, with what the brochures leave out: the real driving time, the state of the road and the car that fits.

Paradise Valley: the closest and the easiest

About sixty kilometres north-east of Agadir, through Aourir and then the Imouzzer road. Allow 1 h 15 of driving, the last half hour on hairpins in the Tamraght valley. The road is paved all the way to the car park, so a city car does the job. From there, a twenty to thirty minute walk takes you to the natural pools carved into the rock.

The right time is spring, when the river still runs. By late summer several pools are dry, worth knowing before you bring children expecting a swim. Leave early: after 11 am the car park fills up and so do the pools. You can carry on to Imouzzer des Ida-Outanane for lunch, the road climbs further and the view over the valley is worth the detour.

Legzira: the red arches and Sidi Ifni

Head south, 150 kilometres, on the N1 to Tiznit then the coast road to Sidi Ifni. About 2 h 30 of driving on a good, quiet road. Legzira beach is known for its red sandstone arches. The largest collapsed in 2016, one remains and can be visited at low tide. Check the tide times before leaving, at high tide there is no way through.

The perfect pairing is Legzira in the morning and Sidi Ifni in the afternoon. The former Spanish enclave has kept its art deco buildings and its quiet. You are back in Agadir for dinner. The day is 300 kilometres there and back, around twenty euros of fuel in a city car.

Tafraout: the painted rocks and the Ameln valley

The longest of the three, and the most spectacular. About 180 kilometres via Aït Baha, 3 hours of driving, half of it in the mountains on a decent but winding road. Tafraout sits in a bowl of pink granite. A few kilometres away are the rocks painted blue by Jean Vérame in 1984, and the Ameln valley with its stone villages.

If you go for the day, leave Agadir at 7 am and plan to be back before dark, the mountain road is not one to drive at night. A night on site is better still: February, when the almond trees are in blossom, is the busiest time. A city car goes everywhere on tarmac; for the tracks in the valley, the Duster at €45 a day is more comfortable, though not essential.

Which car for these three trips

• •Paradise Valley and Legzira: any city car, a Clio 5 or a Logan at €29 a day is more than enough.
• •Tafraout: the same on tarmac. If you want to explore the Ameln tracks, take the Duster.
• •Four of you with cool boxes and towels: the Logan and its big boot, or the 7-seat Jogger at €45 a day.
• •Either way, mileage is unlimited at tripn'Go, so those 300 kilometres cost only the fuel.

The details that change the day

Fill up before you leave, petrol stations are scarce after Tiznit and absent in the Tamraght valley. Take water and cash, village cafés do not take cards. On the Tafraout road, let lorries go in the bends rather than overtaking. And on the way there and back, sunrise and sunset over the Anti-Atlas are part of the trip, so plan the stops.