Photo I took from the Kasbah

Nearby Spain

>> TARIFA
Tarifa makes a beautiful start of your time in Spain. This wonderful and laidback town is Europe's capital of windsurf and kitesurf, and in the months of July and August a loungy and hip town, with very nice restaurants and bars but still very relaxing.> Read more


You can also take a ferry to Algeciras, but this ferry takes longer, and even inhabitants of Algeciras itself often say there is nothing to see in their city. You would need another drive/bus/train to get anywhere.


WHERE TO GO FROM TARIFA?
You can not do much wrong. This is the southernmost tip of a continent, so you can only take two directions : take the west coast or the east coast. Costa del Sol or Costa de la Luz ? What do you like, calm or busy?


The east coast (direction Algeciras-Marbella-Malaga) first follows the Gibraltar Strait, and then becomes the hyper touristic Costa del Sol. The internet is literally saturated with information about this hyper touristic coast, so we will stick to the more unknown coast...The Costa de la Luz.

THE COSTA DE LA LUZ
This beautiful coast already starts in Tarifa itself. Just a 5 minute walk from Tarifa Ferry Port, which is in the centre of this small town, and you are on the first of the never ending beaches. This is the Atlantic Coast, which means very windy outside of the summer season, and consequently avoided by mass tourism.

You are talking fabulous beaches, dunes, nature, nature lovers and the largest surf crowd to be found in Europe, resulting in cosy spots, hip campings and beach bars ("chirinquitos"), vegetarian food, tiny hotels and white villages.

You take this direction if what you are looking for is : tranquil days on the beach, surf, walks, relaxing, or visiting villages and the most Cuban of all Spanish cities: Cadiz.

 

 

To visit in the region

ASILAH
The white town of Asilah is a nice stop if you are heading towards the south.


Most trains from Tangier towards Rabat-Casablanca or Meknes-Fés arrive at the train station of Asilah after half an hour.

As a small and tranquil fortress town, with tiny alleys and a nice beach, it has become a home town for artists.

For full and complete information on Asilah, visit the website of Hotel Al Alba.

But if you book through us... a 5% discount.

CAVES OF HERCULES
These caves at not even half an hour taxi drive from Tangier might not be spectacular in themselves... In fact, they are not spectacular at all.

And to be completely honest, anyone ever having seen just a photo from an entertainment park without having his glasses on, will find these caves utterly boring.

Which is great, so now there are no longer any entertainment park people around you, and you can just have a lovely hour learning a whole new meaning of the expression "a whisky on the rocks". You'll see.

The trip by Grand Taxi gives you the possibility to get a glimpse of an other, more rural Morocco - as well as parts of Tangier that you otherwise would have missed.

Did Hercules really sleep in this cave? Who can tell. Where is the snow of last year?

MIDDLE OF NOWHERE
Obviously, being located so near to the Spanish costas, there are no more "off the beaten tracks" here.

However, there are the outskirts of Tangier with their West Side Story look, and tiny villages soon after that, so why not take a taxi and let you drop off just anywhere?

Not organising a trip can make all the difference between just another city trip and a true experience.

info@tangierdreamer.com


Gibraltar Straight



The one and only true highlight in the nearby region.

It is said this is the only point in the world where, at the same time, you can see two continents, two seas and two "colonies" (Gibraltar as British enclave in Spain, and Ceuta as Spanish enclave on mainland Morocco).

Also the expression "Nec Plus Ultra" stems from this region, as well as the myth of Hercules Pillars.

Manu Chao, oil-, drug- human traffic, terrorism surveillance... a thriller for lovers of history.

> Read More

Meknes

If we can call 3,5 hours by train still 'region', which we can, since we make up the rules ourselves, then, if you can... stop in Meknes.

Never ever skip it on your way to somewhere else...

This grand and imperial city provides the traveller with a true Moroccan experience and a touch of 'Arabia'.

Meknes is the last major city of Morocco that is truly untouched by mass tourism.

Fes

And just one half hour further, there is The One and Only Top Highlight Of Morocco, Fes.

You guessed it. In the eternal football game between Marrakech-fans and Fes-aficionados, we are the latter.

It's McDonalds versus refined cuisine. Sorry Marrakchi!