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While spending a week in Southern Spain, I knew I wanted to make sure to get down to Morocco. Luckily, there are ferries that go from one continent to the other every day. Coming from Estepona, I drove my rental car to Tarifa, Spain – a little more than an hour drive – and hopped on the ferry there. One thing to keep in mind, the day of rest for Muslims in Morocco is Friday. Try to avoid a day trip on Fridays or you will miss out on a lot.

Being as I was traveling solo on this trip, I decided to book a group tour so I wouldn’t be completely on my own. Plus I knew I would see more of the city on a tour versus figuring things out on my own. I did a lot of research and talked to a few instagramers about safety as a solo female traveler in Morocco. Although they all said they traveled solo and felt completely safe, and I did find the city to be very safe, I am glad that I did a tour. I booked my tour here, and this is how it went.

The Ferry

The ferry building was easy to find, however you have to pay to park your car unless you find a spot on the street. I found street parking after driving around for a few minutes and walked the 5 minutes to the ferry terminal. There, I met someone with the tour agency. He gave me my tickets for the ferry (going and return) and a sticker with the tour name on it so I would be easy to find by the tour guide in Tanger. I also had to fill out a form for customs.

After going through getting my passport and ticket checked, there was a waiting area to sit in until we were able to board the ferry. Once aboard, you could sit wherever you like. There is a service stand where you can get food and drinks, as well as a small duty free shop. We had to stand in line to have our passports checked and stamped on the ferry as well, but then I was able to relax for the rest of the 1 hour ride across the Mediterranean to Morocco.

If you are prone to motion sickness, you may want to consider taking something. I have been sea sick before and was fine on this quick journey, but there was quite a bit of movement for those more sensitive. If you don’t book a tour, you can get tickets for the ferry at the terminal or here.

Arriving in Tanger

When you disembark, there will be quite a few people outside the terminal trying to get you to go on one of their tours or give you a ride into the Medina. This was partly why I decided to book a tour beforehand, so I didn’t have to deal with this and also so I knew what I would be doing while there. No one bothered me too much, but I had the sticker on my shirt. This also helped our guide find me!

Bus Tour

It was just me and 2 other women, which was great! Our guide, Taha, was amazing. A true local; born, raised, and currently living in Tanger, he had so much knowledge on the history of the city. The tour started in a large van, which took us all around Tanger. This was one of my favorite things, because I knew if I hadn’t booked a tour, I likely wouldn’t have seen much (or any) of what we got to see.

The bus took us on the panoramic side of the city, where you can see the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean meet. We had such a beautiful day, you could see for miles. On the way up there, we drove past the King’s summer castle. He summers in Tanger, but resides the rest of the year elsewhere. Morocco is a monarchy, but also has a Parliament to help make decisions. Parliament is voted on, but Taha said ultimately, the King has the last word. The current king is beloved by most of the Moroccan people.

In 1400 BC, like many places, the Romans ruled what is now known as Tanger. Because of this, there are a few myths, legends, and locations that speak to that time. Hercules cave is one of those places. It is said that Hercules slept in that cave before one of his 12 labors. I don’t know much about it to be honest, and I could have definitely skipped going there. It was full of tourist traps; people selling trinkets, playing music for money, and even a guy with 2 parrots for a photo op. It was a bit overwhelming.

Of course, we passed by quite a few mosques on our tour through the city. The architecture is not the same as it is in Türkiye, where I’ve seen other grand mosques. They are beautiful, but square shaped instead of domed. Despite the Ottoman Empire never ruling Morocco, the mosques sometimes have the Turkish flag flying with a quarter moon instead of the Moroccan flag with the 5-point star.

Walking Tour

Once the van dropped us off in the old Medina (old town), we went to a place for lunch. I didn’t write down the name of the restaurant because it was one of the biggest tourist traps I’ve ever seen. The only people inside were from tour groups. Even our guide said it wasn’t a great option for really good Moroccan food. Despite that, the food was good enough (I was starving). They served chicken skewers, couscous, and traditional Moroccan bread. For dessert, we had some kind of almond cookie along with green tea with sugar and mint. The tea was my favorite thing about the meal if I’m being honest.

After eating, Taha showed us all around the old Medina. He knew everyone and everyone knew him. When I asked him about it, he said it’s because he grew up there. It reminded me of growing up in my small hometown. He told us about how Tanger was an international city for a very long time. You can tell by the architecture, the hodgepodge of cultures and languages heard, and the food. Tanger became a part of Morocco in 1956. Not very long ago! Another fun fact, America’s first embassy was in Tanger (of course with it being an international city). It opened in 1777.

As we continued walking, he took us to a Jewish synagogue, which normally you can’t enter, but it is now a museum to show the history of the Jews in Tanger. Morocco used to have a huge Jewish population. The people were happy and treated well. Tanger is a very accepting city Taha said. But as we now know, many Jewish people left Morocco and went to Palestine.

The Kasbah

We walked up and up and up to the highest point in the Medina called the Kasbah. The views are beautiful, and up around there is also the oldest mosque in the Medina. And as we walked back down, we stopped in a shop where they make fabrics of all sorts (scarves, blankets, towels). I bought a cashmere and camel wool scarf for 30 Euros. It is so soft, and the pattern on the scarf is so unique. It is something I will cherish.

Of course, there are tons of shops all over the Medina, basically anything you could ever need is there. For part of the tour, we stopped into a pharmacy to learn about and try some of the natural skin care, makeup, and teas/herbs of Morocco. It was interesting, but also something I probably could have skipped. Afterwards, Taha took us to one of his favorite restaurants, where we ordered some traditional Moroccan desserts and more tea. If you go to Tanger, be sure to order the Dada, a crepe-like dessert.

Leaving Tanger

After we had a little bit of free time to wander around, we headed back to port to catch our ferry to Tarifa. The sun was setting, so it was a beautiful spot for photos as we left. Since we already had our return tickets, all we had to do was go through customs. This time on the ferry we didn’t have to wait in line on board to have our passports stamped for Spain. We just had customs again when we disembarked, and then I walked to my car and drove the hour back to Estepona.

Overall, I think this trip was well worth it. I am so glad I went, and I hope this inspires others to do it! I truly can’t wait to return to Morocco to see more of the country. Have you been to Tanger or Morocco? Give me all the recommendations in the comments!

If you like to take day trips, check out more of my day trip adventures here!