Photos: Essaouira by Manel Cusido, Pexels License; Galle by Francisco Anzola, CC BY 2.0, cropped.
Essaouira or Galle?
Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.
Choose Essaouira for
- getting around
- live music and the arts
- shopping
What lies behind each score is written up on Essaouira’s own page.
Choose Galle for
- beaches
- day trips
- nature and the outdoors
What lies behind each score is written up on Galle’s own page.
Scoreboard
Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.
What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Essaouira and Galle.
Your match
Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.
Wins on getting around and live music and the arts with your weighting.
Wins on beaches and day trips with your weighting.
What matters to you?
When should you go?
Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.
Essaouira in July
Galle in July
Daytime high, °C
Rainfall in the month, mm
Where the figures come from
Essaouira has no rain gauge within 25 km of the centre, so its rainfall comes from a gridded climate dataset read at the city rather than from a gauge further away.
Galle has no weather station within reach, so its figures come from a gridded climate model rather than a measured record, and read a broad area rather than the city itself.
Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Essaouira: 1991-2020 normals, Essaouira (1.4 km from centre). Galle: 2001-2020 normals, NASA POWER reanalysis grid, no weather station within 90 km.
Before you go
| Measure | Essaouira | Galle |
|---|---|---|
| Official language | Arabic, Standard Moroccan Tamazight | Tamil, Sinhala |
| Currency | Moroccan Dirham (MAD) | Sri Lanka Rupee (LKR) |
| Sockets | CE50 Hz | GM230 V, 50 Hz |
| Driving side | Right | Left |
| Time zone | UTC+1 | UTC+5:30 |
| Emergency number | Police 19/112, ambulance 15, fire 15 | Police 119, ambulance 110, fire 110 |
| Elevation | 11 m | 0 m |
| Main airport | Essaouira-Mogador Airport (ESU)15 km from centre13 non-stop destinations | Bandaranaike International Colombo Airport (CMB)133 km from centre56 non-stop destinations |
| Public holidays this year | 11 days | - |
By the numbers
| Measure | Essaouira | Galle |
|---|---|---|
| City population | 82,962 | 93,118 |
| People per km² | 16,592 | - |
| Museums within 10 km | 2 | 2 |
| UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km | 1 | 2 |
| Swim season, months above 21 °C | None | 12 months |
Where else could you go?
Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Essaouira or Galle somewhere new.