larlar

My wife and I will be on a 12 day Spain tour in Sept. and one of the optional side trips is a day trip to Tangier. Any advise would be appreciated and helpful. Also, what your experiences, both negative and positive, may have been.

larlar

From another link, I've had nothing but negative comments on Tangier. With that said, I think we will skip any side trip to this city. I would still like to hear any comments you might have, however. Thanks.

thit_cho

While its not the most interesting city in Morocco, it is not unappealing. The medina is worth seeing, as is Malcolm Forbes home/museum. Its very exotic relative to Spain, and its an interesting day trip. I don't regret my visit to Tangier.

jenmaroc

I tend to disagree. I dont think Tangier is a good day-trip destination. I've heard from so of my guests and friends who have done a day trip there that it was exhausting and so hectic that it wasnt a good experience.

Tangier really comes into its own if you've got the time and pateince to explore it and get to know it. I don't think its a good ambassador for Morocco, though. It would be like taking a day-trip to New York City to get a feel for America.

thit_cho

If I was transiting in JFK, and my only option to visit the US was to spend one-day in NY, I would definitely do it. No one is suggesting that Tangier is representative of all of Morocco, or even near the top of Morocco's most interesting cities, but if its the only option, its worth pursuing. The boat ride is relaxing and I don't remember the trip as being exhausting -- it certainly is hectic, but so is much of Morocco.

valtor

We visited it as a day trip from Costa del Sol, and we did not like it at all.

sebti

Tit_cho, you must have had good luck with your crossing, on a windy day the 35 minutes can seem like an eternity and though it doesn't happen often, I've seen a lot of people lose their lunch....hardly a way to be spending your holiday!

As someone who has spent some time in Tangier and really appreciates the city, I think that the majority of people that do the day trip to Tangier come back disappointed...I certainly couldn't in good faith recommend someone to do it, like jenmaroc says, you need a few days there just to get your head around it.

sca9

I took a day trip to Tangier and loved it. It was hectic and exhausting and worth it all.

I was living in Salamanca, Spain at the time. I took an overnight train to Algeciras and hopped an early morning ferry to Tangier. The water can get choppy, so take a motion sickness pill beforehand if you're susceptible to that.

Arriving in Tangier, you are confronted with dozens of tour guides offering their services. Following the advice in my guidebook, I chose a guide with a Moroccan tour guide badge. (Not that I know what a real Moroccan tour guide badge looks like. But I took that chance.) The tour guide spoke perfect English, Spanish, French, German, and Arabic, and politely asked which language we would like to converse in. We told the tour guide that we had a ticket on the last return ferry of the night and that we needed to get back to the docks in time to catch our ferry. Until then, we wanted to explore the city.

Our tour guide was ok. He was knowledgeable about the history of the city and walked us through all parts of the city, including the market. He DID drop us off in a carpet store for awhile-- we didn't mind too much because we needed the rest (it was HOT in August!) and they didn't pressure us too much to buy anything. He took us to a restaurant to have dinner-- it was probably overpriced but not too much-- well within a student's budget and still nice.

After the day was over, he took us back to the docks to catch our ferry. This is the one thing that I did NOT like about the trip-- he took our tickets to get them "stamped" by the right ferry company... so he said. What he really did was trade in our tickets for a Spanish-owned ferry for cheaper tickets on a Moroccan-owned ferry. The Moroccan ferry was not nearly as nice as the Spanish ferry. After the hot and exhausting day we had in Tangier, it was hard to spend the next couple of hours on a crowded and not-so-comfortable Moroccan ferry. Make sure you keep hold of your own ferry tickets!

It was a hot, exhausting, and chaotic day, but well worth it. I don't feel as though I saw "the real Morocco", but then, I didn't expect to.

It IS very hot, so bring lots of sunscreen and water. Also remember to dress modestly-- I wore khaki pants and a collared polo shirt-- no legs or shoulders bare.

Oh-- the train station in Algeciras, Spain has lockers. I put almost all of my things in the locker and only took my money belt to Tangier. I picked up my things again at night when I caught the train back to Salamanca.

waruilewi

We returned from Morocco 3 weeks ago and entered the country at Tangier via the Comarit ferry in Algeciras. I also do not think going to Tangier is worth it on a day trip. It was something like $35 for the 2-3 hour ferry and around $65-70 for the fast 1 hour ferry. And that's for a oe-way ticket. Then you wait 30-45 minutes while on the boat after it docks to receive your official stamp, and let's not forget the gauntlet of touts and unofficial guides waiting to pounce on you upon arrival. Personally I'd do it only if only going to other parts of Morocco (highly recommended) if had plans to stay at least 1 night. Everyone in Tanger accepts Euros, some even dollars. Hope this helps. Cheers.