day trip from spain to morocco, and flight recommendations from Barcelona to in country destination.

I saw a Rick Steve's recommendation to take a day trip from spain to Morocco.

Rick has shared many, many valuable, useful and wonderful bits of insight and wisdom over the years. He has also said a few stunningly stupid things, too (he's only human, not a god - blasphemy here, I know, but still...). IMHO, his suggestion to ferry across to Morocco for a few hours is one of the worst bits of advice he has ever doled out.

Look: If someone wanted to see Mexico, would you suggest to them that they should go to Tijuana for a couple hours? That's a perfect analogy for taking a ferry to Morocco as a day trip. In both cases, all you get is a grotesque (to use Rick's term), phoney, manufactured-for-tourists experience - the worst possible way to "see" any country.

Morocco is awesome (so is Mexico, for that matter, but a different conversation). Morocco deserves more than a few hours. Best of all, you can fly to Morocco - the real Morocco, the parts you really want to see (Marrakech and/or Fes) for not much more than your day trip ferry nightmare would cost - flights on low cost airlines from Spain and other places around western Europe are dirt cheap, quick, and easy.

I've been to Morocco several times. The hardest thing is getting your head past the idea that visiting it is beyond your skills. It's not. If you can manage Rome or Barcelona on your own, you can "do" Morocco. Morocco is a major tourist destination for people across western Europe - the Mexico analogy works there, too: in so many ways, Morocco is to Europe as Mexico is to the USA: a source of labor (legal and otherwise), culture, food, and more. It's one of Europe's favorite cheap-fun-in-the-sun destinations. Yes, it feels exotic when you arrive (it is!). But it's not difficult, it's as awesome as any place in Europe (the old cities will make you feel like you have stepped out of a time machine), but most of all, it's worth more than a few hours in a "bordertown" (ferry port).

Give Morocco at least a few days, it deserves it (and so do you). Skip the ferry experience, and fly to Marrakech or Fes. You will thank your stars that you did. If you can't carve a few days out of your current trip, save it for next time. But don't take a ferry all day, spending a few hours fending off the hucksters and snake charmers, and come back feeling like you actually experienced the country.

Just my 2 Dirhams. Good luck and As-Salaam-Alaikum.

Hi. We are going in October and will be taking a day trip (with a guided tour) from Tarifa, using one of Rick's suggested guides. Getting to Tarifa is a bit tricky so far as rail doesn't serve the town, but we should be able to get there via bus with a possible transfer or two, as we'll be coming from Granada and heading to Seville when we leave. As for flight, we just booked on Vueling air from Barcelona to Granada for $31 USD a person. Of course that's with no checked baggage, preferential seating, etc. so you do have to read the fine print.

Joe

Tarifa has the best ferry schedules to Tangier, arriving into the town center port, not the new one outside the city. So I'd say that the only practical day trip requires sleeping in Tarifa (or else in Tangier). However, the larger Spanish cities have flight options to Casablanca, Marrakech, or Fes (and those cities are connected by train). Try www.skyscanner.com for the intra-European and Moroccan flights. Not all flights run every day.

We drove to Tarifa and took the ferry there to Morocco. We had a guide with a driver waiting for us upon arrival. What you see on a day trip is mostly the market and the surrounding areas. We did not enjoy this visit. I would like to stay open minded but there are too many other places I would rather visit. We did not feel safe and did not feel welcomed. Please do not take any photos at the market or you would run into trouble.

Give Morocco at least a few days, it deserves it (and so do you).

I want to agree with the poster above. We did a land tour of just Morocco. I didn't much care for Casablanca, but that could have something to do with the fact that I got lost more than once and was hungry at the same time.

I loved Fes and Marrakech. I loved crossing the Middle Atlas mountains when we traveled from Fes to Merzouga. The country is worth more than half a day if you want to experience it properly.

Regardless of what you decide, I hope you have a wonderful adventure!!!

I have been to Andalucia 3 times in recent years (each for 3 weeks). I nixed the idea of a day trip to Tangier while planning my first trip when I read that visiting Tangier to see Morocco is like visiting Tijuana to see Mexico. It's a border town. Enjoy a couple hours in the Moroccan market in Granada instead and visit the Mezquita in Cordoba. BTW Morocco is pretty high on my list of destinations, but I want to see the best of it, not the least of it.