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Malaga -> Gibraltar -> Ceuta? Tarifa? Tangier? Ronda?

Posted by on

I'm traveling to southern Spain for a conference in Granada and have a little over 24 hours to explore the area. I land in Malaga on a Thursday at 4PM and need to be back in Granada on Friday night (can be late).

I'm kind of a crazy traveler and am willing to do whatever it takes to see the most things. So I'm looking for recommendations on what is actually possible given my time constraints. I'm interested in seeing the Rock of Gibraltar due to its historical significance (I know some have said to pass on this), but would like to try to see something else as well. My options are:

  1. Ceuta: Rick doesn't recommend Ceuta (has a frowny face on his map), but is it really that bad? I think it would be worth taking a ferry across the strait of Gibraltar and stepping foot in Africa, but don't really want to be in a tourist trap and experience nothing "African" or "Moroccan".
  2. Tarifa: It comes highly recommended from the guidebook, but is it that much different from the rest of southern Spain to warrant a trip (especially if I can't use it as a jumping off point to Morocco? see below).
  3. Tangier: I'd love to go to Morocco for a day but realize that's crazy and there's no way I could make it back in time (right?).
  4. Ronda: The pictures of Ronda are just gorgeous. It seems to be on a route back from Gibraltar to Granada, but is it worth a day trip? Will I get trapped there if I stay too late?
  5. Anything else? Is there some other place I should check out? Nerja has been mentioned, but it might be easy to get there from Granada later (I'll be there all week).

Thanks for any help you can give! I'm traveling solo, also, if that influences your recommendations.

Posted by
7887 posts

Are you renting a car? What month of the year? Have you been to Spain before?

Posted by
2 posts

Oh my. Thanks for the links!

I'm traveling at the end of this month, so winter-ish. Wasn't planning on renting a car to save money, but if it's necessary I can do it. I have been to Spain before (Madrid, Toledo, Granada, Sevilla, Córdoba) and am planning to go to Barcelona after my conference.

Posted by
16895 posts

Ceuta is part of Spain, though on the African continent (and Gibraltar is of course part of the UK). During my time in Morocco, I did not go to Ceuta, and also would not recommend the effort it takes to get there during such a short visit. Looks like Rick gave it a flat-face, meaning "tolerable," which is not high praise. There are more chances for delay when you change continents. You can see Morocco from Gibraltar; I have used that as an excuse to say that, "it's so close that you have to go," but not for half a day during a short trip. I enjoy Tarifa's old town, but it is in Rick's book primarily to serve as an overnight base before or after Morocco.

Buses from Malaga center to La Linea de Concepcion/Gibraltar take 3 hours and only run 4 - 5x/day; see this week's Portillo schedule. Buses from Gibraltar to Ronda only run once daily, with connection at Algeciras, according to the book, so that is not likely to work. You would have better bus connections to go directly from Malaga to Ronda (about 10x/day Mon-Fri and less on weekends by Los Amarillos or Portillo/Avanza.)

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