Planning a Trip to Malaga-Gibraltar (Morocco?)
Apr 27, 2016, 5:39 pm
#1
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Planning a Trip to Malaga-Gibraltar (Morocco?)
I hope i'm posting this in the right place according to the rules. 
Planning a trip week of May 8.
Sunday- Thursday.
originating in TLV. Tentative flight in: FCO-AGP Sunday Landing 12:40 pm
flight out: AGP-FCO Thursday 6:00 pm.
(another possibility is flying BA into/and/or leave from GIB itself.)
So I have Sunday afternoon until Thursday afternoon.
I'd like to rent a car (I usually rent Hertz, but have seen reports of bad experiences posted? but that could happen anywhere...? and prices seem to vary VERY widely?)
Also, my wife is more of a "relax" person while I like to see things
so i want to see what I can but not try to cram in too much non- stop...
Sunday:
Visit Ronda? stumbled across this and looks very interesting and not far out of the way?
Alhambra (night tour, seems day tours are fully booked up?)
Sleep in Malaga area, or possibly drive at night to GIB? I assume i'll be tired from the flight and touring...
Monday morning:
Drive to GIB
rock, monkeys, lazy morning...? cable car, siege tunnels..?
Tuesday: trip to morocco by ferry for the day? (never been to Africa!)
if i need to do this from Spain (Tarifa, Marbella, etc.) then perhaps do this Wednesday?
Wednesday: Punta Paloma / Tarifa? or do I want to do something else here?
Obviously, unless i leave from GIB, i'd need to be back in AGP thursday afternoon sometime. And if I do one way AGP and one way GIB, there's a one way car rental issue...
Thank you so much for sharing your experiences and insights!!
Planning a trip week of May 8.
Sunday- Thursday.
originating in TLV. Tentative flight in: FCO-AGP Sunday Landing 12:40 pm
flight out: AGP-FCO Thursday 6:00 pm.
(another possibility is flying BA into/and/or leave from GIB itself.)
So I have Sunday afternoon until Thursday afternoon.
I'd like to rent a car (I usually rent Hertz, but have seen reports of bad experiences posted? but that could happen anywhere...? and prices seem to vary VERY widely?)
Also, my wife is more of a "relax" person while I like to see things
so i want to see what I can but not try to cram in too much non- stop...Sunday:
Visit Ronda? stumbled across this and looks very interesting and not far out of the way?
Alhambra (night tour, seems day tours are fully booked up?)
Sleep in Malaga area, or possibly drive at night to GIB? I assume i'll be tired from the flight and touring...
Monday morning:
Drive to GIB
rock, monkeys, lazy morning...? cable car, siege tunnels..?
Tuesday: trip to morocco by ferry for the day? (never been to Africa!)
if i need to do this from Spain (Tarifa, Marbella, etc.) then perhaps do this Wednesday?
Wednesday: Punta Paloma / Tarifa? or do I want to do something else here?
Obviously, unless i leave from GIB, i'd need to be back in AGP thursday afternoon sometime. And if I do one way AGP and one way GIB, there's a one way car rental issue...
Thank you so much for sharing your experiences and insights!!
Apr 30, 2016, 11:58 am
#2
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: PEK
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Posts: 8,954
Ronda is definitely worth a visit as are other towns nearby
Don't bother doing a one-way car rental as that will complicate things, especially not across the Spanish-Gib border.
If you want to go to Tanger for the day, I would suggest taking a ferry from Tarifa (check the timetable beforehand) as it goes into the city, and not into Tanger-Med (which is 1-1.5 hrs away from Tanger). Tanger-Med ferries leave from Algeciras, across from Gibraltar. There are some ferries from Gibraltar, but they're not daily.
If you want to overnight in Morocco, you can take one of the shortest flights in the world GIB-TNG, but it's 1x/day, but could be an interesting experience flying into/out of GIB.
If you're taking the ferry, you should spend a few minutes at the southernmost point of continental Europe, just to say you've been there.
There's also Ceuta on the African side, but I would probably skip it given your time constraints.
Gibraltar - you probably want to stay in La Línea, because prices are cheaper. I've driven into Gib and although parking is a bit difficult, it's doable. Once everything closes for tourists, you're unofficially free to drive up to the top of the mountain, even though the signs say otherwise.
It's about a 2hr drive from Málaga to Gibraltar, and it's pretty scenic. You can break it up by stopping for a meal somewhere in the middle.
Don't bother doing a one-way car rental as that will complicate things, especially not across the Spanish-Gib border.
If you want to go to Tanger for the day, I would suggest taking a ferry from Tarifa (check the timetable beforehand) as it goes into the city, and not into Tanger-Med (which is 1-1.5 hrs away from Tanger). Tanger-Med ferries leave from Algeciras, across from Gibraltar. There are some ferries from Gibraltar, but they're not daily.
If you want to overnight in Morocco, you can take one of the shortest flights in the world GIB-TNG, but it's 1x/day, but could be an interesting experience flying into/out of GIB.
If you're taking the ferry, you should spend a few minutes at the southernmost point of continental Europe, just to say you've been there.
There's also Ceuta on the African side, but I would probably skip it given your time constraints.
Gibraltar - you probably want to stay in La Línea, because prices are cheaper. I've driven into Gib and although parking is a bit difficult, it's doable. Once everything closes for tourists, you're unofficially free to drive up to the top of the mountain, even though the signs say otherwise.
It's about a 2hr drive from Málaga to Gibraltar, and it's pretty scenic. You can break it up by stopping for a meal somewhere in the middle.
May 1, 2016, 8:42 am
#3
Join Date: Jan 2006
Programs: MUCCI
Posts: 5,706
If you want to go to Tanger for the day, I would suggest taking a ferry from Tarifa (check the timetable beforehand) as it goes into the city, and not into Tanger-Med (which is 1-1.5 hrs away from Tanger). Tanger-Med ferries leave from Algeciras, across from Gibraltar. There are some ferries from Gibraltar, but they're not daily.
If you want to overnight in Morocco, you can take one of the shortest flights in the world GIB-TNG, but it's 1x/day, but could be an interesting experience flying into/out of GIB.
Gibraltar
Once everything closes for tourists, you're unofficially free to drive up to the top of the mountain, even though the signs say otherwise.
Once everything closes for tourists, you're unofficially free to drive up to the top of the mountain, even though the signs say otherwise.
However, very recently (last couple of weeks) they have been closing it to private cars due to congestion (but thepolicy is still being fleshed out).
May 1, 2016, 4:09 pm
#4
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Not really. As Gibraltar is very compact, almost all cars supplied from Gibraltar airport are actually for collection on the spanish side of the border (on the assumption that people want them for Spain, not for Gibraltar). So, it doesn't really cause cross border issues for a one-way. - Just make sure you use a company that operates at both ends.
Nice to see that access is now a tad easier
May 1, 2016, 5:12 pm
#5
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: NYC
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Tarifa is fantastic, and well worth a visit. There are a lot of cool beach towns along that stretch of coastline (Caños de Meca, Bolonia, Zahara de los Atunes). You can do a fast ferry to Morocco from Tarifa. There was a recent NYT article about 36 hours in Tangiers (http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2...occo.html?_r=0)
The Alhambra is incredible.
I didn't find Gibraltar that interesting, but I'm not much of an anglophile 3 hours or so was enough time for me to hike up to the top of the rock and get some fish and chips.
The Alhambra is incredible.
I didn't find Gibraltar that interesting, but I'm not much of an anglophile
3 hours or so was enough time for me to hike up to the top of the rock and get some fish and chips.