Bel

I tried to search for information on this but couldn't quite craft an appropriate search.<BR>My husband and I are staying a week in Malaga in April and were wondering if a side/day trip to Morocco (we've never been to Africa!) was possible or advisible. Any thoughts?<BR>Thank you!

mhm

To go over to Tangier takes at least 2 hours +. Departures depend on the weather and the boats coming back and forth on time. We were on a tour which went to Morocco and our trip over was fairly smooth and took about the usual amount of time. On our return six days later, the first ferry we were scheduled on was cancelled, because of rough seas. We finally went about 3 1/2 hrs. late. Our TD told us that a collegue who had come over with a group a few days after us and should have arrived as we did about noon, did not arrive until evening, due to weather conditions. Those are the &quot;bad&quot; things, but if you are not doing it on the day before you are returning home, you could work around the weather problems, probably. Our trip went from Gibralter to Tangier. There may be a closer Moroccan port, from Malaga. Cetua, or something similar, comes to mind, but I can't remember where this is right now. We were in Morocco for a week and really enjoyed the opportunity to see a different culture. mhm

Nicole

I wouldn't recommend a day trip. That would only leave you the opportunity to see Tangier, which in my opinion, isn't very nice and isn't very much like the rest of Morocco. I agree that Morocco is facinating, but it's worth more than a day. We never experienced any problems with the ferries, we were there in May. We left from Algeciras, Spain and arrived in Tangier. Algeciras is about 2 hours by bus from Malaga. Have a great time--I really enjoyed the south of Spain!<BR><BR>

Kris

The day trip we took from Spain to Tangier was one of the few travel decisions that I have regretted. I asked the same question before we went but my husband really wanted to go. We signed up for one of the day tours leaving from Spain and it consumed the entire day from 5 am to 11 pm (bus broke down on the way back). If you do a tour from Malaga, it's likely that you will spend a good chunk of time picking up other passengers as you will be the furthest out.<BR><BR>From what I've heard about the rest of Morocco, Tangier is not representative of the rest of the country, more of a port city that exists to part tourists from their money. All of the tour groups followed each other to the photo op sites-the snake charmer, the camel, the rug shops.<BR><BR>There are so many wonderful places to visit in Spain. I would recommend using your time to see Granada, Seville, Cordoba, Ronda, etc. and if you really want to see Morocco, visit some other place besides Tangier.

Geoff Hamer

There are ferries from Malaga, but you'd need to travel overnight, or spend a night in north Africa - try www.ferrimaroc.com and www.trasmediterranea.es. The main Spanish port is Algeciras which has services to both Tanger and the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. Try www.euroferrys.com, www.comarit.com or www.trasmediterranea.es. <BR>I went across to Tanger once for a day trip and, though it was a fascinating experience, I was really glad to get back to Spain. Everyone says the rest of Morocco is better than Tanger.

Ellen

We absolutely loved our trip to Tangiers. You MUST use a private guide, or experience the horrors above, and more. you can do a search (I will try to find and top it) and read about my trip. Our tour guide, Aziz, was terrific. [email protected]. Your only downside is that coming from Malaga, is going to eat up a lot of time. We left from Estepona, and still had about an hour drive to meet the ferry. We took the 8 AM catamaran there (1/2 hour), met Aziz in Cuerta, drove through the Riff Mountains, Berber Market, and into Tangier. Seeing the sites with a private guide with privileges was the only way to go. We returned via Tangier at 8 PM. I would go back in a second.

Lori

We did a day trip from Malaga and had a great time (it's a long day tho, about 14 hours). It's all how you look at things, it is a different culture and most likely does not look like &quot;home&quot;. Take it for what it is and go with an open mind and you will have a good time. Go looking for all you think is &quot;bad&quot;, &quot;wrong&quot;, &quot;not like home&quot; and you will have a lousy time. It was one of the most interesting (and fun) days we've had in all our travels. Remember, just keep an open mind and don't expect it to be like the U.S. I think this is the mistake many tourists make with lots of countries, it doesn't feel &quot;comfortable&quot; because it is different. Well, different is good too!

jamie

Don't do a daytrip, you won't see the morocco. or not the nice morocco which is a truely beautiful and hospitable country. But Tangiers and tetuan are not the places to visit. spend two nights and goto chaoun (or chefchaoun) the city is a jewel. Its best accesed by entering through Ceuta, not tangiers. The whole process on your own is adventerous, but maybe you can find some type of agency to help. i just think its ashame that most people go to tetuan or tangiers for the day and come away think thats the best morocco has to offer.

Art

You can do a trip to Tetuan, but as written above, there are nicer areas. If you only have a day, the shortest trip is from Algeceria. The morning ferry leaves at 9:00 and you return around 18:00