emtravel

Hello,
I will be in Cannes on business trip Dec and will finish Dec 8. We are thinking to go to Morocco after that. I am trying to find to most economical solution to do this. We have time.. So I've been thinking to drive to Tarifa or Alcerias (sp? ) to take ferry rather than flying Nice-Paris-Casablanca. We will rent a car in Cannes and will go towards Tarifa. Can stop somewhere on the way for few nights. First night probably Barcelona, with stop in Girona and Figueres on the way. Then 1 day in Barcelona , looking for comfortable 4-5* hotel with parking maybe outside with easy access to the center.
Then conitnue to Tarifa - where do you suggest to stop? Probably not Malaga .

Looking for charactersitic lovely properties like Paradors, maybe stop in Gibraltar, Marbella or Puerto Banus.. I will need to figure out place to drop off the car before boarding ferry to Tangier.

Any advice - does it sound a good idea to do it in December? Cold, short days? Just thought would take a drive on the coast... Has anyone done that?

THanks!!

stanmeihaus

I have stayed at several nice hotels in Barcelona. Skip the Majestic, very expensive for poor service. Neri is nice, also Jardin. Be careful of hotels in the Barri Gotic--rough neighborhood in spots. Re: the drive, I went north from Valencia to Girona a few years ago, but is was more summertime. It is not as scenic as it might seem on the map, only a few views of the Med. I definitely recommend a day in the Old Town of Valencia, it is maybe my favorite place in Spain. If you like wines, the local whites around Girona are very good, and in Barcelona the red blends from DO Priorat or Monstant are excellent. Eat shellfish in Barcelona and paella in Valencia. Enjoy!

StCirq

Any savings you might achieve by driving will be (maybe more than) offset by the huge fee you'll pay to drop the car off in a country different from the one you picked it up in.

That assumes this is a rental car.

Also, it's not all that scenic a route. Parts of it are. Lots of parts of it are not. Also not a great time of year for scenic drives.

emtravel

you are right. dropoff fee is 400 euro. I guess this kills scenice drive.
Now I need to figure out less expensive way to get to Morocco and back to Paris.
thanks!

StCirq

Last time I went to Morocco I flew out of Marseille...either Air France or Royal Air Maaroc, not sure which.

StCirq

Maroc, not Maaroc.

emtravel

This sounds good. I will check it out. Planning to get to Nice on DL/AF and back from Paris. So I need to add flights to Morocco. I found Transavia which has flights from Orly to Marakech for under 100 eur one way..

StCirq

But you don't want to go all the way back to Paris to catch a flight to Morocco! I'm assuming what you want is a flight from Marseille or Nice to Morocco and then a flight from Morocco back to Paris.

emtravel

Right. I would like to avoid going North where I might get stuck in snowstorm (last year my collegaues did).
However, I 've been looking from flights to Morocco (reasonable) and so far only see routes NCE-ORY OR NCE-AMS and then to morocco. I do not see any flights from South of France or I am willing to drive somewhere reasonable distance to fly from Morocco.

emtravel

FOUND!!! mARSEILLES - Casablanca nonstop for $114! on Royal Air Maroc thnaks!

Michael

Or if you prefer Ryanair will take you to Marrakesh:

http://www.flylc.com/directall-en.asp

kimhe

Málaga city would be a very good idea for a stop. Fabulous sights, cafés, tapas bars, restaurants, shopping right in the center of the city, within some 400 meters. Genuine Andalusian atmosphere, probably the most easy-going people in all of the region. The tourists usually head directly to the beach resorts and miss out on this joy of a city.
"Málaga: Authentic charm of an overlooked treasure": http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/ci...-treasure.html
http://www.andalucia.com/cities/malaga/home.htm

Take a look at the magnificent Parador: http://www.booking.com/hotel/es/para...-us.html?dva=0

or perhaps Molina Lario right the middle of everything: http://www.booking.com/hotel/es/moli...-gb.html?dva=0

kimhe

No need to expect cold, short days in Andalucía/the South of Spain in December. Normally some 65-70F and five-six hours sun pr. day. Even have had some great, cold swims down here at this time of year.

Go from Granada to the Med along the spectacular A-4050 road known as the Moor's Sigh. The name comes from the legenedary sigh of Boabdil, the last emir of Granada, when he at the mountain pass known as Puerto del Suspiro del Moro, for a last time had a look back upon the now lost city. His mother shall then have said: "You cry like a woman over a city you couldn't defend as a man".
http://www.holavalencia.net/2010/02/...and-almunecar/

StCirq

kimhe, it's already been established that driving to Spain makes no sense. It will cost her 400 euro to leave the car there.

The flight from Marseille to Casablanca is a very good deal. I would move on to Marrakesh and other places fairly quickly, though. Casablanca isn't the best of Morocco.

emtravel

Thank you for all suggestions. Moroccan itinerary is 10 nights and being worked on now. Yes driving is not the most economical option. I will leave south of Spain for next time,

Re: Ryan air, thank you for website. Good search tool. But it does not have flight on my date. I am flying to Casablanca and back from Marakech on Transavia to Orly.