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Spain to Morocco by ferry

March 10, 2009 By James Clark 1 Comment

I travelled to Morocco from London from which there are many low cost airline flights. I wanted to arrive in Morocco via the classic ferry to Tangier so I opted for a flight to the South of Spain instead. There are numerous airports in Andalucia that you could possibly fly to from London. I chose Gibraltar because not only do you get a great view of the rock when you fly in, non EU residents get a cool passport stamp as well.

Gibraltar Passport Stamp
[Gibraltar Passport Stamp]

I have visited Gibraltar before so I walked across the border to La Linea and got the bus to Tarifa.

To get to Tangier from Spain there are ferries from Algeciras and Tarifa. There is supposedely one from Gibraltar that leaves once a week (you wouldn’t want to miss that connection), but the ferry website doesn’t offer any further information.

Algeciras has the most amount of ferries operating, but Tarifa is more interesting for the traveller. It takes about 2 hours to get to Tarifa from Gibraltar, via 2 local buses.

Tarifa is the at the Southern tip of Spain in the Straight of Gibraltar, where the Atlantic meets the Mediterranean. It is the windsurfing capital of Spain due the regular windy days. The town itself has a walled old town with a castle and picturesque whitewashed houses, and the town is filled with surf shops.

Sign proclaiming
Tarifa the southest town of Europe]

I spent the night in Tarifa and it was hard to leave Spain so soon. I reasoned that one day in Spain is better than no day in Spain.

Tarifa to Tangier Ferry
The ferry from Tarifa to Tangier is run by FRS and takes just under one hour.

Tarifa jet, the Tarifa to Tangier, Morocco ferry at Puerto De La Rada, Tarifa - Spain.
[Tarifa Jet]

Spanish passport control is in the ferry terminal and there is a Moroccan passport control onboard, which is a good time saving idea.

Passport Control
[Passport Control]

As it is only a short trip there is not much in the way of onboard facilities other than a food store and duty free shop.

Tarifa Jet Decks
[Tarifa Jet Decks]

Prayer Mats
[Prayer Mats]

Made in Australia
I couldn’t help but feel a bit of pride in knowing I was on a ship made in Australia. Here I was on a ship made in Tasmanina, registered in Cyprus, sailing between Spain and Morocco.

Lifecraft Systems Australia
[Lifecraft Systems Australia]

Sicilia Jet
[Sicilia Jet]

From Europe to Africa

Sailing out of the port in Tarifa Jesus greets ships coming and going.

Statue of Jesus at the port entrance, Tarifa - Spain.
[Jesus Statue – Tarifa Port]

Arriving at the Tangier port you are greeted with a Mosque minaret.

Tangier Port Mosque
[Tangier Port Mosque]

Welcome to Africa!

Filed Under: Travel Blog Tagged With: aussies abroad, ferry, morocco, spain, tangier, tarifa

Comments

  1. Zoé says

    February 2, 2017 at 10:56 am

    Good Article, Hope you had a great time in Tangier.

    Reply

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Welcome to Nomadic Notes

James Clark from Nomadic Notes

Hi, I’m James Clark, and I've been travelling the world since 2003 while running a location independent travel business. Nomadic Notes is a travel blog featuring travel guides and notes from my travels.

I’m currently based in Vietnam, writing about transport and infrastructure in Southeast Asia.

More about me and Nomadic Notes.

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