Spain to Tangiers

Ferry from Tarifa to Tangier.

I have been researching this a lot as we are doing this in September. There are two options, Tarifa to Tangier Ville, or Algeciras to Tangier Med. There are several companies on each route, but not much difference between companies.

The Tarifa ferry:
- You have to get to Tarifa first, which is a couple of hours including connections from Gibraltar.
- If you want to leave early, this may also imply an overnight in Tarifa.
- The Tarifa ferry is a fast ferry (60 minutes).
- Because of the speed, and design of the ferry, no sitting on the deck.
- The Tarifa ferry is more apt to be cancelled as it is more open ocean (and because of the smaller fast boats).
- This ferry drops you right in the heart of Tangier.

The Algeciras ferry:
- the Algeciras terminal is an easy and short (30 min) taxi ride from the border.
- route is 90 minutes.
- this is a traditional car ferry, slower paced, lots of deck space.
- This ferry goes to Tanger Med, which is an industrial port about 45 minutes east of Tangier. To get to Tangier there is an occasional train, but most seem to take a relatively cheap taxi.

People often say to take the Tarifa ferry as it drops you right downtown instead of 45 minutes out of town. Which is great if you happen to already be in Tarifa. If not, the 45 minute saving on the Moroccan side is more than lost by the extra time it takes to get to Tarifa.

For us, it was a no-brainer to take the Algeciras ferry as we are not going to Tangier, but to Chefchaouen. If Tangier is your destination, or if you are taking a train from Tangier, you have a decision to make based on the above factors. If you are going anywhere else in Morocco, the Algeciras ferry is the way to go.

I am looking into this too, and a little confused. Here is my understanding.

One thing is that the Algeciras ferry is 90 minutes rather than the 60 minute Tarifa ferry because it's probably twice as far from Tangiers. Just look at a map.

I believe you can take a train to and from Algeciras, but you need to take a bus to and from Tarifa.

I think that there is a shuttle bus that is synced with the Algeciras ferry in the outskirts of Tangiers. I saw YT videos, of a bus waiting for the passengers as they get off the ferry - probably a small fee involved.

With the various hassles, it seems hard to make a simple day trip to Tangiers. Perhaps spend the night in Tangiers or possibly 2 nights in Tarifa (the night before, then on return late). So this is more of a 2-3 day adventure anyway you cut it. Am I wrong?

I really like Moroccan food and want to experience a whole new culture - but not sure a day to Tangiers will be worth it.

There are flights to far better Moroccan destinations than Tangier (places like Fes and Marrakech) from many cities in Europe, so it's not hard to make a real visit to Morocco, perhaps on a later trip. It's not necessary to squeeze in a quick visit to Tangier (far from Morocco's best city) just because you happen to be in Spain this year.

Thanks. That sounds like good advice. Sometimes a simple flight is the solution to a travel problem.

By the. way, I found that there might be ferries to Morocco from other Spanish cities too.

In the RS Spain book it notes that there are 2 ferry lines from Tarifa to Tangiers. It appears that there is just one now—FRS. Was able to book tickets a few days in advance (granted this is still the low season) online.

There are a few direct buses from La Linea to Tarifa daily. The COMES website says purchase tickets on bus only (no online sales for this route). Was able to purchase tickets at window in bus station morning of departure.

We stayed in Tarifa and took the 9am ferry to Tangiers and the 6 pm ferry back.

There are a few direct buses from La Linea to Tarifa daily.

If you do decide on the Tarifa ferry, you can use public transport, of course; but FRS operates a free bus from Algeciras Port to Tarifa Port, timed to arrive in time for their ferry. You can find this on the FRS website.