Rabat itself doesn't really have a swimming beach — the Bou Regreg river mouth is too busy with boats and tidal currents to be useful for a casual swim — and Temara Plage is what fills the gap. Twenty minutes south of the capital along the Atlantic coast road, a string of coves and longer sandy stretches lines the cliffs: Plage de Contrebandiers, Plage des Sables d'Or, Plage Val d'Or. The collective name covers the whole strip, but locals distinguish between the coves by name and pick by what they want from the day.

Beach clubs at Sables d'Or and Val d'Or rent loungers and umbrellas from May to September for around 50–80 MAD; seafood shacks scattered along the road grill sardines, calamari and prawns year-round, plates running roughly 80–150 MAD including salad and bread. The swell is honest enough that surf schools cluster at the southern end and run beginner lessons from Sables d'Or — about 300 MAD for two hours with board and wetsuit, ideal on the small summer-morning waves.

Atlantic currents are serious, so swim where the lifeguards are. Sables d'Or and Val d'Or have the best-staffed posts in summer; the more isolated Plage de Contrebandiers is good for solitude and tide-pools but has no lifeguard, so avoid it on heavy-surf days unless you are a strong swimmer. June through September gives warm water (20–22°C) and full club facilities; May and October are quieter and cooler; winter the coast becomes a surfers' and walkers' beach — beautiful but cold. Without a car, regular grands taxis leave from Bab Chellah in Rabat and drop at Temara Plage for around 25 MAD per seat; returning late is harder, so arrange a ride back in advance.