Hello. I'm planning a trip to Spain for this summer with some friends. We're planning on going to Malaga, Granada, and then on to Madrid where we will hop onto a tour. While in Malaga, we were thinking about taking a day trip into Morocco. Has anyone done this? How was it? Would you suggest doing this?

When we were in Spain last year my wife wanted to go over from La Linea on the ferry. We were informed that due to the current political situation that it would not be a good idea for an American to go to Morroco. I had tried to tell my wife that but until she heard it from two different people in Spain she did not want to take my word for it. Due to the current political situation now is not a good time for an American to go roaming around in any of those Muslim/Arab countries. Use your own best judgment and have a safe trip.

For the second time we agree, Desert Dweller

Seriously, I think Desert Dweller's comments should be taken seriously - why be worried during your holiday - there is more than enough to see and enjoy in Spain. Leave Morocco for another holiday ...

You could be right you two, although I've not heard of any problems suffered by tourists. My biggest concern would be visiting Morocco for the day, specifically Tangiers, as this isn't the best way to get an idea of life over the water. Many people who have been for the day have returned feeling a bit let down and tired after fighting off the beggars and touts and those that enlisted the aid of a decent guide saw not much more than a few of his uncle's carpet shops and trinket stores!

Try and take a few days over there to see places such as Marrakesh, Fez and so on. Of course the world being as it is I can understand Americans being wary. This is being reflected in other places too. I received my weekly bulletin of offers for holidays from Spain by a company called Iltrida (It's worth signing up for their weekly mailshot as there are some great bargains to be had for hotels and flights within Spain) and one of the holidays was for 4 days full board on a Nile cruiser in Egypt followed by 3 days in a 4 * hotel b&b, visits to the temples etc and flights to and from Madrid, all for the amazing amount of 149 € plus taxes!!!

Americans stand out, and anyone in the world can spot us no matter how hard we try to blend in.We walk different, we dress different, we act different, we are different.Given the current political situation with the Muslim/Arab world and the US it does not take a genius to reason that it is not in the interest of an Ameircan to go roaming about in such a country.

Point taken, desert dweller. I should have said something along the lines of "When the world situation improves.... Try and take a few days etc etc"

Sad state of affairs though .......

I am from morocco and i can tell you honestly that one day trip from malaga is not worth it. As someone said it before, you can only see Tangiers and if you re lucky a little bit the surrounding areas. The other way is to take a ferry to ceuta and from ceuta go to M'diq, tetouan which are also nice cities to visit and that will give you a small idea about moroccan way of life , but still, you won t see many things in one day.
For amercians worrying about the situation now, Even if i haven't been in morocco for the last one & half year, I don t think that you can seriously be affected because of the current political situation. 1st, people are not that experts to guess that you're american just from the way you dress , so people won t know it unless you tell them, and still, moroccans are very welcoming and friendly to foreigners and westerners, and i can assure you that they leave political issues aside, u just need to avoid some areas which i m sure will not be planned anyhow in your itinerary as a tourist. I i have a recomendation, i would say that morocco needs to be visitted in at least 5 days , so that you can go to the south , visit the atlas and if you wish so, some big cities such as casablanca. Take care..

I am working here at the NATO base in Madrid and I know that Morocco is off limits to us and the embassy personnel, your best bet is to get into the Web site of the embassy in Spain and they will tell you. As for your vacation down south, I just came back from driving my car down there and found Granada awesome, you will love it there. But as for Malaga, we were originally planning on driving there but others here at work did not recommend it. Instead, we went to Gibraltar and it was a good place to visit, comes highly recommended. Seville is a great place to visit, the catedal is one of the best we have seen yet, and seeing the tomb of C. Columbus is something you will always remember.

First of all, I would definitely NOT recommend Malaga. I was there on New Years Eve back in Dec of 2000 and I was honestly bored with the city, especially at that time of year where the weather is a touch too cold for beach activites. Also, aside from the Cathedral and the square where Picasso was born, there's not much else to entertain in Malaga.

Secondly, I would definitely recommend a day trip to Morocco but here's how I would do it. I would find my way to Algeciras and from there take the ferry to Ceuta, instead of Tangiers. Ceuta is actually a Spanish territory in the middle of Northern Africa. This has a few advantages. First, the ferry ride to Ceuta from Algeciras is shorter, about half an hour or so. Second, in Tangiers, you will be mobbed by hawkers, tour guides, con artists and the like as soon as you get off the ferry. You will avoid all this by landing in Ceuta where you can get day trips via bus that cross the border to Morocco. The tour I took went to Tetouan and Tangiers. Also, being in a tour group may provide safety in numbers.

Having said all that, I would recommend turning it into an overnight trip and staying the night in Ceuta. It's a quaint little town and being a free port, there's some pretty good tax-free shopping as evidenced by the literally hundreds of Moroccans who cross the border to Ceuta to shop everyday. I found some really good deals on gold jewelry, for example, that were almost 1/3 the price I found in Madrid.

I've never been in Malaga during the Christmas / New Year holidays - but I will differ with the last poster - Malaga has a lot to offer - no it isn't Madrid - but nor is Sevilla - nor is Cordoba - nor Cadiz - All are completely different; and all have unique, interesting and fun aspects ....

Try doing a search for some further info on Malaga - if you don't find anything here google for some links to Malaga. I'll post some later if I have a moment .....