Ronda as Headquarters for day trips to Gibraltar and Morocco?

Tarifa and Gibraltar are 2 hours by car from Ronda. That would make for long day trips if using public transportation.

Thank you. It may be better to relocate to Tarifa and use that for a base for two or three days.

The first train of the day from Ronda to Algeciras (for Gibraltar) is at 1120, and the first bus to Marbella (for direct bus to the Gibraltar border- overall journey time 3 hours) is at 1215 so a day trip to Gibraltar from Ronda is not really viable.

Thus, Tarifa for Morocco is not effectively viable either. unfortunately.

Thank you, Lake District writer. I think it best to relocate to Tarifa for a few days. Do you have a favorite hotel there or a favorite guide for Morocco?

We were wowed by the Riad Tarifa.

https://theriadtarifa.com/

We took a bus from Ronda and arrived at La Linea in the afternoon. Early the next morning, we walked across the border "Frontier" into Gibraltar and spent just about the whole day exploring the rock and tunnels. Stayed that night in La Linea then took a bus to Tarifa. Early the next morning we took the ferry to Tangiers (the ferry from Tarifa takes you to the port really close to the old part of Tangiers) and explored Tangiers had an awesome lunch and didn't get sick. Returned to Tarifa that evening and the next morning took a bus to our next destination, Seville.

Couldn't really find decent train service from Ronda to La Linea or Tarifa. Also couldn't find a bus company that went from Ronda to La Linea either. With much effort I was able to get DAMAS/Avanza bus tickets from Ronda to San Pedro de Alcantara (this turned out to be a long curb where buses stopped and not a bus station) and following a layover took a TGComes bus from San Pedro de Alcantara to La Linea. To go from La Linea to Tarifa we purchased TGComes tickets at the La Linea station.

When we went in May, we wanted to see a lot of different places, so we ended up staying in Valencia for a few days (connect with an offspring), stayed in Granada for 3 nights, Ronda for 2 nights, La Linea 2 nights, Tarifa 2 nights, Seville 3 nights, then flew back to Valencia again for 2 nights then train to Barcelona for 4 nights. We did AirBnBs and did laundry in almost every place we stayed--for the trips between the Valencia stays, we just had a rolling carryon bag and a personal bag a piece. Didn't seem a hassle moving every few days.

Thank you, West Coast. Very helpful info.

Basing in Tarifa (Ronda as others have said is a bit remote) for Morocco is the best option. That ferry actually docks in the city of Tangier, as opposed to the port outside the city.

For Gibraltar, as others have said bus schedules (trains do not go to Tarifa, or along that part of the coast) can be difficult to find with the various companies and changing schedules (Summer vs Winter). You could try Google Maps to get an idea of what companies and what buses are running right now, and try to work that into what might be running closer to your trip.

For example, right now Google Maps lists a bus run by CTMCG that leaves at 7:49 AM (from Tarifa), changes at Estacion San Bernardo in Algeciras, then another bus to la Linea de la Concepcion, arriving near the border at 9:00AM. Avanza also runs that route, but more infrequently. Alsa goes that direction but uses different stops along the A-7 on the way to Malaga, where you could connect to la Linea.

A second option would be renting a car for the day, maybe more expense, but gives you much more flexibility.

Thank you, Paul Very helpful. We will be staying in Tarifa, not Ronda.