best route to morroco

[macca]

Hi, we have been notified that our apartment is ready. We would be very, very grateful for information from anyone who has already been out there with regards to best travel routes and places to stay.We will be travelling from Manchester. There does not seem to be any direct flights to Tangier and the trip through Spain looks a little challenging. Many thanks Macca.

[kenz]

Hi Macca,

from manchester you can get monarch flights to gibraltar quite cheap, from gibraltar its 15min in a cab to Algeciras, then the ferry which runs at least every hour to Ceuta (they say its 35mins but is always 55mins), ferry is quite expensive though at about 60 euros return. Just get single tickets each way as price is about the same & keeps options open coming back.
From Ceuta its 5mins in a taxi to Frontera.
Takes about 20mins to get across frontera on foot. (If you are not that able or have lots of luggage then maybe pay rental agency to arrange you to get picked up from Ceuta & get car across.)
From Morocco side of frontera its about 10mins in taxi to Alcudia.

I have used Vista rent in the past for apartments, cant remember number, just google them, although if you go direct to someone or find another rental then please let us know.

Last year there were flights from stansted to tangiers with air arabia that were cheap - does anyone know if they will start again this summer - there website/customer services is rubbish & i cant find out.

[macca]

Thanks Kez mate,thats really helpful.Will do the Gibralter route,sounds fairly straight forward.Will let you know how we get on and if there is anything of interest to post.

[GoldenSandsAP2]

From my previous post:

I stayed in the Jawhara development opposite the Sofitel and 2 minutes walk from the marina. I would recommend staying there or in AP1 for three reasons. One, a couple of cups of coffee cost 80 dirhams in the Sofitel and it doesn't get particularly good online reviews. Two, you can see what your apartment will look like in a few years time if you decide to rent it out (wear and tear). Three, it gives you an idea what sort of furniture is suitable if you are renting. It cost 50 euro a night to rent a 2 bed apartment. I have photos of Jawhara is anyone wants to see them.

There is a very nice guy who speaks perfect English who can pick you up from the ferry port, take you to the Spanish supermarket in Ceuta to get your provisions, drive you through the border (and take care of the passport stamping) and drive you to Jawhara. You can book Jawhara through him and you can also hire him as a guide. Alternatively he can arrange car rental (don't forget your licence). His name is Hatim and his website is:

http://www.medlanticproperties.com

To anyone arriving / departing via Ceuta, allow extra time to make the border crossing. I crossed into Ceuta at 4.30am thinking it would be quiet - not so! I only just made the 7.30am ferry (5.30am Morrocan time)