Tánger Med to Algeciras Ferry

The crossing from Tanger Med to Algeciras is the workhorse of the Strait of Gibraltar and the single busiest car-ferry link between Morocco and Spain. Tanger Med is a large modern cargo-and-passenger port roughly 40 km east of Tangier city, while Algeciras sits on the Spanish side of the bay, close to Gibraltar. Because the two harbours face each other across the narrowest practical shipping lane, sailings run around the clock and depart far more frequently than on any other Morocco-Spain route.

Operators and frequency

Several companies share the crossing, so there is almost always a ship within an hour or two. Baleària, FRS (now trading as FRS Iberia / DFDS) and AML (Africa Morocco Link) all operate large ro-pax vessels here, and Naviera Armas has also served the lane. Between them they run well over 100 departures a week, with first sailings around midnight and the last leaving late in the evening.

Journey time and vehicles

The conventional ferries take roughly 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes port to port, making this a genuine day-trip or quick vehicle transfer rather than an overnight voyage. All operators carry cars, motorhomes, motorcycles and freight, and the route is heavily used by Moroccan families during the summer Operation Marhaba return migration, when queues and traffic peak sharply.

Documents

Morocco is outside the Schengen Area, so this is an international crossing. Every passenger needs a valid passport, and drivers should carry vehicle registration and insurance documents. Moroccan exit and Spanish entry stamps are processed at the port, so allow extra time for passport control on top of the sailing itself.