Morocco is not far from Malaga, Spain, it is just on the other side of the Mediterranean Sea. There are many ferries, but actually getting from Malaga to Morocco is a bit more complicated than it sounds. Other Costa del Sol ports along the southern coast of Spain are better port cities to get you to Tangier or most other points in Morocco.
If you intend to go to and from Malaga and Morocco, your best bets are taking a guided tour, taking a ferry from Malaga, catching a plane, or taking a ferry from other parts of Spain.
Visiting Tangier from Malaga on a guided tour
A guided tour is one of the easiest ways to get to Morocco from Malaga. You can choose to simply visit Tangier for the day or you can opt for a longer three-day tour of Tangier.
Tangier is the main port city of Morocco and is the point where Africa almost touches Europe. It is only nine miles to cross the Strait of Gibraltar. This is the best option if you only want to touch the African soil for a day, but it is not the best gateway to take a complete tour of Morocco. The day trip is a 15 hour long day, starting at 5:30 am with tour buses and ferries. A travel company handles all transportation between ports and points of interest.
The three-day trip to Tangier helps you really get a taste of Morocco. You would stay in a hotel, visit the markets and eat at the local restaurants. Although Tangier is not the most exciting city in Morocco, it is full of culture, incredible food, sights, and energy.
Visiting the rest of Morocco from Malaga on a guided tour
If you prefer to see more of Morocco, such as Marrakech and Casablanca, then you have several robust options with multiple stops in different areas of Morocco. The four-, five-, and seven-day tours lead to one city per day. Note that the four-day tour does not visit Marrakech, so your best value for your money is the five-day tour. You won’t want to miss the markets, gardens or bathhouses of Marrakech.
- Four-day Morocco tour (Fez, Meknes, Rabat and Tangier)
- Five-day Morocco tour (Casablanca, Marrakech, Meknes, Fez and Rabat)
- Seven-day Morocco tour (Fez, Meknes, Marrakech, Casablanca, Rabat and Tangier)
Ferries from other cities in Spain
The best Spanish ports to get to Morocco are Tarifa and Algeciras, not Malaga. The trip takes about 30 minutes and costs about 25 euros. There are several trips per day from Tarifa and three per day from Algeciras.
Not only are there more ferries from Tarifa, but they dock in Tangier, rather than the new Tangier Med port outside the city that the other ferries go to. Book both Tangier and Algeciras from the local Spanish ferry company, FRS. If you prefer to leave Algeciras, those ferries would take you to Tangier Med and Ceuta with another ferry company, Trasmediterranea.
How to get to Tarifa or Algeciras
There are buses from Malaga to Tarifa and Algeciras from Malaga bus station. Tarifa does not have a train station and there are no direct trains to Algeciras. You would have to change in Antequera.
Ferries from Malaga to Morocco
The ferry from Malaga to Morocco, operated by Acciona, costs about 70 euros per person. The ferry docks in Melilla, an autonomous Spanish city on the North African coast that shares a border with Morocco.
There is a downside. There are only one or two trips a day, and the trip is long (more than seven hours). Often times, the ferry leaves you in Melilla at night, with no time to reach one of the more interesting cities (Fez or Chefchaouen would be your obvious options, but they are still quite far).
Air travel
Your fastest option of traveling to and from Malaga and Morocco is to take a plane. This option is your most expensive option. And the price varies depending on where you fly in Morocco. There are no direct flights from Malaga to Tangier. However, you can find direct flights from Malaga to Casablanca.
