Morocco, Ferries Dec & Jan

[markG300td]

In the process of planning a trip to Morocco for the Christmas / New year break.. Ideally we would like to get the Spain / Morocco ferry on 22 or 23 December and return on 3 / 4 of Jan. Have timetable and fares for Almeria > Nador crossing but would prefer to do any of the shorter crossings.
FRS have a Dec crossing but no Schedule for January sailings as yet, and it appears many of the ferries do not run at this time of year.

Any, and all advice greatly appreciated.

[Tim Cullis]

The ferries between Algeciras-Ceuta and Tarifa-Tanger work all year round. It would be like stopping the Dover-Calais ferries for these to stop running.

Tim

[Smokin' Lizard]

You could take the fast ferry from Algericas, approximately 30 minutes to Ceuta (a Spanish enclave) and an hour to Tanger.

The ferries run from about 7am to 8pm daily, tickets can be purchased at the port or at the service stations on the AP-7 (motorway) on route to the port.

Hope this helps.

[markG300td]

Thanks very much for the info guys. Is it cheaper to buy a ticket at the port or service station, rather then pre book over here? There will be 3 4x4's on the trip.

Originally Posted by Tim Cullis

The ferries between Algeciras-Ceuta and Tarifa-Tanger work all year round. It would be like stopping the Dover-Calais ferries for these to stop running.

Tim

I thought as much, just thought it was strange when the online booking systems won't let me select a January return date :confused1: .

Thanks once again.

[Tony P]

I was in Tarifa earlier this week and saw billboard adverts "Tarifa - Tangier, 35 minutes". They use a large Sea Cat which presumably carries vehicles.

Generally, don't get hung up on timetables. This is a very British thing. Elsewhere people and ferries generally work on a "Turn up and Go" basis but the British love the security of a booking and feel incapable of moving without one.

[markG300td]

Thanks Tony. "Turn up and go" suits me fine.

[syncroand101]

We did a turn up and go at the end of December last year (3 4x4s), got the best deal by shopping around in the ticket hall, think we saved over 150+ euros each, also just got on whatever was the next ferry not the company that matched our ticket!

[markG300td]

Thanks, all sounds good, turn up and go it is. Always had a soft spot for the Syncro, a very capable truck indeed. Those clever people in Graz know how to turn out some decent vehicles.

[syncroand101]

Originally Posted by markG300td

Always had a soft spot for the Syncro, a very capable truck indeed. Those clever people in Graz know how to turn out some decent vehicles.

Aye, far more capable than most people imagine, decent rubber, a bit of lift and a TDi engine and you have, in my eyes (praps a little biased), a superb offroad travelling truck.

Have a good trip

[greenbug]

We took a Land Rover Discovery with a roof tent crossing from Algeciras to Ceuta and for the two adults and a child the ticket cost us wait for it ......
60 euros. We did our crossing in August 2007. The carrier, not sure of the name but they were the only ones wearing uniforms at the desk, had a special "last minute offer" for the early crossings - 5-6am and you can only buy 30 mins before departure.
On our return trip we paid even less in Ceuta - bought our ticket from the portacabin by the ticket check kiosks.

As always it pays to search around as the price differentials can be several hundred euros on a single crossing.

[greenbug]

Had one. They are great but only one problem -low rear mounted engine which is fragile.
Would not recomend it for Africa as no- one will know what to do with a VW boxer engine - air or water cooled.
I know I spent 3 weeks in Dakar, finding out and Senegalese mechanics are renown across West Africa and they had problems.