Travel to Gibraltar

Travel Guide • How to visit Morocco from Spain
(Travel and tourist guide with the best transportation info)

Travel • From Spain to Morocco



◉ Basic Information about this trip to Morocco:

• The best way to cross the Strait is from Tarifa to Tanger Ville, because it is the shorter route and it reaches Tangier directly.
• Citizens from these countries don’t require a visa to enter Morocco, only a valid passport.
• If you speak French you will be very comfortable to communicate in Morocco.
• Morocco is 1 hour forward from Spain.
• Euros or dollars aren't easy to use in Morocco. You;ll have to exchange your money to get Moroccan Dirhams.
• Morocco is a safe country, as safe Spain or another European country can be. Just remember that every time you are traveling or wondering around - anywhere - you should (at least) use common sense to stay safer.




Lily's tips:

Did you know that:
The best suggested way to do that is by air.
And I mean by traveling on an airplane to Morocco from a big airport in Spain.
Yeah! Sure.
Of course you knew.
But you didn't click an my page to tell you that.
So, let's skip to the interesting part:



1.✔ Visit Morocco from Madrid, Spain:

• First thing you have to do - while you reach Madrid - is to travel to the small town of Tarifa (from where there are boats to get you to the other side).
You can do that either by the Spanish public transport either by renting a car:

If you choose to rent a car and drive all the way, after Madrid your first stop would be at Seville (about 3-4 hours).
From Seville you drive to Cadiz (1 hour); from Cadiz drive to Bolonia (45 mins) and from Bolonia you drive a little more, until Tarifa (45 mins).
The total road trip from Madrid to Tarifa will last about 6 hours.

In Tarifa they're are two ferry lines and they offer tour packages (some including Marrakesh or Fez or) just a single ticket to Tanger.




2.✔ Visit Morocco from Andalusia, Spain:

• The best way to cross the Strait is from Tarifa (located to Cadiz, Spain) to Tanger Ville, because it is the shorter route and it reaches Tangier directly.
But reaching the Spanish Tarifa isn't easy if you don’t have a car.
There are not any train or buses to the port.
And as long as Tarifa has no train station, you'll need to hire a car or travel by a direct bus from Cadiz which takes 1.30h-2hours.
Frequent buses to Tarifa's port you can only find - apart from Cadiz - from Algeciras, Sevilla and Malaga.

• The distance between Málaga and Tarifa is 132 km.
The road distance is 161.9 km.
From Malaga there is also a Ferry traveling to Morocco through the Beni Ensar border crossing and from Algeciras there is a ferry entering Morocco through the Tarajal border crossing and it docks in the new Tangier-Med port which is an hour outside of the city (and that's why I don't strongly recommend).

• If you are planning to visit Morocco from Seville:
1) There is a ferry, but the journey is long.
2) A better idea is to first visit Malaga and take a guided tour from there. Many offers tours giving participants a full Morocco experience by including the major Moroccan imperial cities such as Casablanca, Marrakech, Meknes, Fez & Rabat.
3) A bus by TG Comes run from Seville to Tarifa and then on to Algeciras half an hour later. The bus from Seville to Tarifa port takes three hours, and an extra 30 minutes to Algeciras port.


• Visiting Morocco from Granada:

Many buses and a direct train (about 4 hours) travel to the port of Algeciras from Granada every day.
There are numerous ferries from Algeciras to either Spanish Ceuta or Tangier throughout the day.
I suggest from Granada to go first to Malaga (at least a 3-4 hour trip plus the time on the ferry, etc).




3.✔ How to cross the Strait of Gibraltar:

• By ferry:
The most common way of travelling to Morocco is going by ferry to Tangier.
There are two regular routes:
Algeciras – Tanger-Med Port (one hour and a half by boat).
This port is in Alcazarseguir, 50 kilometres away from Tangier and 30 from Ceuta.
You can reach Tangier by bus or by taxi.
The buses are cheap but they change their schedules very often and they are not very modern. It is easier to take a shared taxi.
Tarifa – Tanger Ville Port (an hour by boat). This one is better located, in the city of Tangier.

Keep in mind:
The two main companies for crossing the Strait are Inter Shipping and FRS. You can find their schedules and book in advance on their websites (or by clicking on the links above).
The ferry trip from Tarifa – Tanger Ville Port lasts 1 hour (60 minutes). and one way ticket costs about €45/passenger (the ticket for the round trip costs €45 per person).
Keep in mind that the state of the sea can disrupt the schedules and the trip duration.

• And, when planning your trip, don’t forget that in Morocco it’s one hour earlier than in Spain.

Read more information here




4.✔ What do we know about Tangier?

Tangier is a city in northwestern Morocco.
It is on the Maghreb coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel.

Guarding the Strait of Gibraltar, Tangier has for centuries been Europe's gateway to Africa.

Tangier has long been romanticized by artists, poets, and writers who have arrived at its busy shores seeking adventure.

With the Mediterranean to the east and the Atlantic to the west, Tangier is one of the world’s great beach towns.
Buy you shouldn't swim in a beach close to the town as they are considered to be dirty (like the Tangier beach).
Instead you should visit beaches more than 15 kilometers away - like the (Atlantic's coast) Plage de Sidi Kacem (about 20 kilometers west of town, beyond the Cap Spartel lighthouse).
Also note that below the cape are the Caves of Hercules - open to the public and accessible from the (quite windy) Robinson Plage.




4.✔ Which cities should I visit in Morocco?

• It's upon your personal taste but I definitely recommend on visiting Chefchaouen, Rabat, Casablanca, Mequinez and Fez.
Also - for the experience - you should try to sleep at least for one night in a “Riad” (means “garden” in Arabic) and spend a night in the desert, in a nomad tent under the stars.

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