We (four adults) are spending a week on the Costa del Sol in May and plan on taking a day trip to Tangier. Has anyone done this ? Any comments or recommendation? Thanks.

Where are you staying on the Costa del Sol and how do you plan to get to Algeciras to take the ferry?

There are buses that let you off right at the port and all you have to do is buy your ticket and board. The ferries are frequent.

I spent a month in Morocco last year and really loved it, though Tangier was a let down for me. Also, I loved my visit so much that I can't see how a day trip does the country justice. However, it will be an adventure for sure. Just hold on to your wallets and get some shopping done, as things there are cheap and really very beautiful.

We plan to take the hydrofoil from Tarifa to Tangier; unfortunately, our timing does not allow for more tnan a day trip.

I adore Morocco, but I'd never take a daytrip to Tangier - it's not even remotely representative of the rest of the country, and it's possible you'd be so put off you'd never want to go back there, which would be a shame.

Couldn't agree more: Tangier isn't a day trip kind of town. Don't do it.

Our family of 4 went on a day trip to Tangier last month. We knew we weren't going to get to know Morocco that way but just wanted to see it. The tour was organized...a bus picked us up at our hotel, we went to Tarifa and got the fast ferry, got on a bus on the other side. Part of the tour was driving around and part was walking. It was very interesting to all of us, including teenage kids, and we're glad we did it and would recommend it to others if they just want to have a look over there and have a limited appetite for adventure. The only bad thing was being "fed to the shops" in the afternoon...I would definitely check out a tour's itinerary very carefully in that regard. A private tour would be great, not the group herd thing. Also the begging individuals were overwhelming in quantity, but they weren't scary or anything.

I spent a week in Morocco and Tangier was the worst. Morocco is wonderful and Tangier just doesn't represent it. It's like visiting Tijuana, Baja California and thinking Mexico looks like this! I really would spend my time elsewhere for the day in Spain. St Cirq said it well.

Morocco is a facinating country that I had the opportunity to visit for a few days but I certainly did not like Tangier. I mean no disrespect to Mexico but Tangier bore a strong resemblance to all that is bad about a "border town." Rabat and Fez, on the other hand, were awe inspiring experiences with a world otherwise only to be seen in a National Geographic special. If your time allows, see if a tour can be arranged to take you out of Tangier. Even if you only had time for a hour to walk around the old city (medina is I believe the term applicable) in one of the other cities or tour some of Roman ruins you will be much more impressed with the country. If not and if you can schedule Morocco for another time I would suggest the day might be better spent touring Gibralter.

I have cancelled the planned one day excursion to Algiers. I know I would have been disappointed, having visited the "real" Morocco (Casablanca) some years ago.
Many thanks to all who responded!

Even Casablanca is not a true representation of traditional Morocco. Casablanca is everybit a modern city with high rises and traffic jams as you'll find in western cities. It does have the old medina section and the large mosque on the shore, but compared to Fez, Marrakesh, Rabat, and Meknes, it just doesn't give you a true feeling for Morocco.

Eating homemade bread and drinking mint tea in the mud hut of a Berber family in the Ourika Valley of the High Atlas Mountains, now that is getting a taste of the real Morocco

Keith