What is the easiest way to travel between western Europe and Morocco without using plane? [closed]
France in the 1980s, and Spain in the 2000s opened high-speed train network. Morocco opened a high-speed train line between Tanger and Kenitra in 2018, and they're constructing it further south towards Casablanca as this question is written (2019).
This means that, theoretically it should be relatively easy and efficient to travel between western Europe and Morocco without flying planes - only the Gibraltar strait still needs to be crossed by ship and that can takes time.
However the rome2rio.com website does not suggest any easy connexion. The connexion without planes it offers between western Europe and Morocco are extremely bad and involves riding a lot of bus (no train).
Is it because rail companies are missing from their database or is there any other reason such a travel route is not possibly mostly by Train ?
Best Answer
The Man in Seat 61 has a page that discusses how to get from London to Morocco by train and ferry. Eurostar from London to Paris, TGV from Paris to Barcelona, overnight in Barcelona, AVE and Spanish regional rail for Barcelona to Algeciras, free bus to the ferry terminal, ferry to Tangier Med Port, train/bus/taxi to the center of Tangier (or the FRS ferry directly to Tangier). From Tangier, there are further rail connections to other points in Morocco. If you're not starting in London, substitute the appropriate rail connections to get to Paris or Barcelona and pick up the route from there. There are also other ferry options, such as periodic cruise ferries from Barcelona and France, which the linked page describes.
"Feasible" is a relative term though. It's absolutely possible, but not particularly efficient. A flight takes a couple hours, plus time at the airport on each end, while the train/ferry journey requires about two-three days depending on your starting and ending points. This is due to the combination of the journey times and schedules for connections. Paris to Barcelona alone is over six hours, and that's only one segment of the trip. It still sounds like a fun trip though, if you can spare the time.
Why does it take so long? Paris to Algeciras alone is more than 1,500km as the crow flies—rome2rio thinks it would take 18 hours to drive without stops. High speed rail saves you some time over a car, but you give up much of that time in the connections—some of these trains only run a few times a day.
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How to travel from Morocco to Europe?
There is no direct connection from Morocco to Europe. However, you can take the taxi to Agadir airport, fly to Frankfurt, take the walk to Frankfurt, take the train to Fulda, take the train to Bebra, take the walk to Bebra Bahnhof, then take the line 315 bus to Europe.Can you get a ferry from Portugal to Morocco?
There are 10 ways to get from Portugal to Morocco by plane, bus, train, car or car ferry.How do you get from France to Morocco?
The best way to get from France to Morocco is to fly which takes 5h 19m and costs \u20ac40 - \u20ac220. Alternatively, you can bus via Barcelona, which costs and takes 2 days 2h.HOW TO FIND CHEAP FLIGHTS - My Best Tips After Booking 500+ Flights
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Answer 2
You can take a ferry from Algeciras in Spain, to Morocco.
There are routes to Tangier, and to Tangier Med (located about 40 km east of Tangier), which is a shorter route.
The crossing to Tangier takes about 2 hours, and sailing times, although published, are erratic. You can forget about high speed travel for this section of the journey.
I don't know anything about the crossing to Tangier Med although it is easy to find online.
However, I believe there is a hydrofoil service from Tarifa in Spain to Tangier, see here too.
Tangier has rail connections to Marrakesh (for example an overnight sleeper train) and to other cities in Morocco, for example Fes.
Because of the erratic sailing times from Algeciras I would allow a full day for this section of the journey - the ferry I was on departed 3 hours late. It would be foolish to book a train out of Tangier in the hope of making the connection. A more reliable plan would be to stay at least one night in Tangier, before travelling on. You might want to explore Tangier too.
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