Rick mentioned using Ronda, Spain as headquarters for trips around the hill towns, but I was thinking of using it as HQ for Gibraltar (one day), returning to Ronda and then another day going to Tarifa for the ferry to Morocco. We (three of us - wife, 18-year old granddaughter and me) will be using public transportation - train preferred. I have the 2019 version of Rick's Spain book and I'm tempted to update because he may have answered these questions. What do you think of that idea? I want to limit the number of places we stay and Ronda sounded like a great central spot. Would it work for these two side trips? Many thanks. We are not going until June 2025.
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
7057 posts
Tarifa and Gibraltar are 2 hours by car from Ronda. That would make for long day trips if using public transportation.
Posted by
OP
6 posts
Thank you. It may be better to relocate to Tarifa and use that for a base for two or three days.
Posted by
Lake District, England
7458 posts
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.
Posted by
OP
6 posts
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?
Posted by
NC
362 posts
We were wowed by the Riad Tarifa.
Posted by
West Coast
71 posts
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.
Posted by
OP
6 posts
Thank you, West Coast. Very helpful info.