Tarifa to Tangier ferry: times, prices and a day trip to Tangier

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Is it worth it? How long?

Yes. Tangier is the easiest way to set foot in Africa from Spain, and in our view one of the most memorable day trips in Andalusia. Fast ferries cross from Tarifa to Tanger Ville, the city port at the foot of the medina, in about one hour. You can walk off the boat and into the old town.

• Operators: Baleària and AML (Africa Morocco Link). FRS, which ran the route for 25 years, left it in May 2025.
• Crossing: about 1 hour, several sailings a day in each direction, all year.
• Price: from about €27 one way for a foot passenger, about €50–70 return. A guided day tour with ferry, guide and lunch costs about €85–110.
• Documents: a passport is required. A national ID card is not enough.
• Time difference: Morocco has been on GMT all year since September 2026, so it is one hour behind Spain in winter and two hours behind in summer. Ferry times are always local time.
• Time needed: a full day. Leave on a morning boat and come back in the late afternoon.

The ferry from Tarifa to Tangier

Operators, times and prices

The two companies sail from separate berths in Tarifa port and roughly alternate, so between them there are frequent sailings through the day in high season. Timetables change by season and day of the week. We’d check the first morning sailing if you want a full day in Tangier, because the earliest boat varies by day and season.

Buy tickets on the operators’ websites, at their offices in Tarifa port, or through a comparison site. Compare Tarifa–Tangier ferries on Omio. A ticket from one company is not valid on the other’s boats.

Check-in and the port

Tarifa’s ferry terminal (Estación Marítima) is at the port, a few minutes’ walk from the old town. Arrive 45–60 minutes before departure as a foot passenger, and 60–90 minutes with a car, longer on summer weekends. Spanish passport control happens in the terminal. Non-EU travellers, including UK citizens, now register at the Schengen exit through the EU’s Entry/Exit System.

Passport stamp on board

Moroccan police travel on the ferry. As soon as you board, join the queue for the passport stamp in the lounge: you hand over your passport and a short arrival card, and they stamp you into Morocco. On a full boat the queue can last most of the crossing, so we wouldn’t sit down for a coffee first. Keep the stamp safe: you need it to leave again.

When the wind stops the ferries

Tarifa is one of the windiest places in Europe. Strong levante (east wind) or westerly storms can close the port to fast ferries for a few hours or a few days, most often in winter and during long levante spells in summer. Operators then usually move passengers by coach to Algeciras. We’d check on the morning you travel, and wouldn’t plan Tangier for the day before a flight home.

Entry rules

• Passport: needed by everyone. UK citizens need one valid for at least three months after arrival; other nationalities should check their own rules.
• Visa: citizens of the EU, the UK, the US and many other countries can visit Morocco without a visa for up to 90 days.

Tour or on your own?

The guided day tour

Most tours from Tarifa include the return ferry, a local guide, a set lunch of Moroccan dishes such as harira soup, couscous and skewers, and mint tea. A typical day: a drive along the coast to Cap Spartel and the Caves of Hercules, a short camel ride for photos (a small extra, a couple of euros, paid on the spot), then a walk through the medina and the kasbah, with a stop at a carpet or spice shop. Expect around 8–9 hours door to door.

You don’t have to buy at the shop stops. Tangier day trip from Tarifa. Baleària also sells its own packages from Tarifa, with or without a guide.

Tours also leave from Seville and the Costa del Sol, but with 2–3 hours on the road each way; we’d sleep in Tarifa the night before.

On your own

Going alone is easy once you are off the boat, and Tangier is a manageable city. Expect to be approached at the port and in the medina by men offering to guide you, show you the way or take you to a “festival” or a shop. These unofficial guides are rarely dangerous but can be persistent. We’d walk with purpose, keep a map on your phone and say no firmly. If you want a guide, ask at your hotel or book an official one in advance.

One day in Tangier

1. Arrive at Tanger Ville. The maritime station is in the new Tanja Marina Bay, at the foot of the medina. From there it is 10–15 minutes’ walk uphill into the old town.
2. Grand Socco. The big square at the top of the medina, officially Place du 9 Avril 1947, where the old town meets the new one. The Mendoubia gardens are next to it.
3. The medina and the Petit Socco. Follow Rue es-Siaghine down to the small square that was the heart of Tangier’s international years, when writers and spies met in its cafés. Its old cafés are still a good place for a mint tea.
4. American Legation. The first property the United States owned abroad, now a museum with paintings, maps and a room on Paul Bowles. About 50 dirhams, cash only, closed Sundays.
5. The Kasbah. Climb to the top of the medina, through Bab el-Assa, to the old sultan’s palace, Dar el-Makhzen, now the Kasbah Museum of archaeology and history (a small fee). The terrace by Bab el-Bahr looks across the Strait to Spain.
6. Lunch in the medina or the kasbah: tagine, couscous or grilled sardines.
7. Café Hafa. A café of simple terraces stepping down the cliff above the sea, open since 1921, where the Rolling Stones and the Beat writers drank mint tea. About 10 minutes’ walk from the kasbah.
8. Back to the port at least an hour before your ferry.

Cap Spartel and the Caves of Hercules

Cap Spartel, where the Atlantic meets the Mediterranean, has a lighthouse and wide views. A few kilometres south, the Caves of Hercules have an opening to the sea shaped like a map of Africa (about 80 dirhams for foreign adults). Both are 25–30 minutes from the centre. Tours include them; on your own, agree the price with a taxi driver before you get in, for the round trip with waiting time. It takes about 2–3 hours, so on a day trip you have to choose between the cape and a slower afternoon in the medina.

Money, time and practical tips

• Currency: the Moroccan dirham (MAD), a closed currency, so you can’t buy it in Spain and should spend it before you leave. ATMs are easy to find around the Grand Socco and in the new town. Cards are taken in hotels and bigger restaurants; museums, cafés, taxis and small shops want cash. Some tourist shops accept euros, at a poor rate.
• The clock: with Morocco two hours behind Spain in summer, a 17:00 ferry from Tangier arrives in Tarifa at 20:00 Spanish time. Your phone will usually switch automatically, but tickets show local time at the port of departure.
• Dress and photos: covered shoulders and knees are more comfortable in the medina, and ask before photographing people.
• Mobile data: Morocco is not covered by EU or most UK roaming plans. Turn off data roaming or buy a local SIM.

Taking a car

Hire cars from Spain can almost never go to Morocco. Most rental companies forbid it, and without written permission you will be turned away at the port. Cross on foot and use taxis, or rent a car in Tangier. See our car hire guide for Spanish rentals.

With your own car you need the registration document, insurance valid in Morocco (on your green card or bought at the port) and a temporary import form. For a day in Tangier we think it is more trouble than help.

The alternative: Algeciras to Tanger Med

Bigger ferries also cross from Algeciras to Tanger Med, a large cargo and ferry port about 40 km east of Tangier. It suits drivers heading deeper into Morocco, but for a day trip it is poor: you then need about 45 minutes to an hour by road to reach the city. For Tangier itself, we’d always choose Tarifa and Tanger Ville.

Stay over instead?

A night in Tangier lets you see the medina in the evening and the kasbah before the tour groups arrive. We’d stay in or near the medina for atmosphere, or in the new town for bigger hotels. Hotels in the Tangier medina.

Most people sleep in Tarifa before and after: the port is a short walk from the old town. Hotels in Tarifa old town. Read our guide to Tarifa, and combine the trip with Gibraltar, Vejer, Zahara de los Atunes or the rest of the Costa de la Luz. From Cádiz it is about 1 hour 15 minutes by car to Tarifa. It fits well into an Andalusia road trip; for more ideas, see day trips from Seville and day trips from Málaga.

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