Frequently asked questions about the Algeciras-Tanger Med ferry

The registration document, a legalised authorisation from the owner or lease company with your name, the registration number and the travel period, and insurance that covers Morocco. Which papers go with which car is under documents and customs.

After driving off the ship you follow the signs to customs, with passport, registration document, insurance and the authorisation if you have one. You receive the import document D16 ter, which you hand in when you leave; filling it in beforehand on the Moroccan customs site saves time. Step by step on the customs page.

No. Everyone in the car needs a passport valid for the whole trip, children included.

A passport for the child and a signed consent letter from the absent parent or guardian, preferably with a copy of their passport. Bring the original and a copy.

Then you buy border insurance on arrival at Tanger Med, paid per period. Check with your insurer before you leave whether MA is on the green card; that is cheaper and calmer. See documents and customs.

It differs per operator: DFDS recommends being in the port ninety minutes before departure, AML wants to see you at embarkation two and a half hours before departure with a car, with Inter Shipping you must be checked in forty-five minutes before departure at the latest, and Baleària states the time on your ticket. The times with their sources are on the check-in page.

Go straight to your operator’s desk in the port. Outside the season you can often take the next sailing for a fee; in summer the fixed ticket applies and that is not a given. See check-in.

Ask at your operator’s desk; a different registration number can be passed on beforehand online or by phone with most operators. Do not leave it to the last minute: the car must be the length and height in the booking, or boarding is not guaranteed.

Yes, say so when booking and at check-in; Baleària parks gas cars in a separate spot on the deck. Check the conditions with the other operators. See check-in.

Yes, on the sailings to Tanger Med the desk opens shortly after departure. Join the queue straight away with all the passports and the completed police form, because ninety minutes pass quickly; with the stamp you leave the ship on arrival. See documents and customs.

Outside the high season it usually moves quickly; during Operación Marhaba and around public holidays the queues grow long. Foot passengers are through faster than cars. Customs publishes no waiting times; see documents and customs.

In Algeciras your operator’s time applies, which is calculated for the crowds, and in the summer operation you drive to the waiting area first. On board you queue longer for the stamp, and at Tanger Med customs takes longer. On the way back, stamp and customs come before boarding: be there well before your operator’s time.

In summer Morocco is one hour behind Spain, in winter the clocks match; around Ramadan Morocco puts its clocks back for a few weeks. The times on tickets and in our tables are the local time of the port of departure. See the timetable.

No. Leaving Algeciras for Tanger Med is an exit from the Schengen area, registered in the Entry/Exit System for non-EU passports, and your time in Morocco does not count towards the ninety days in any 180.

Tanger Med is the port for cars and for everyone driving on: forty kilometres outside the city, right on the motorway. Tanger Ville is in the city centre and you reach it in an hour from Tarifa; that is the choice for foot passengers and day trips. See which ferry to Morocco.

Usually not: from Tanger Med it is another six to seven hours to Nador. The Almería-Nador crossing is longer but saves that drive; see our sister site almeria-nador.com.

Not as a regular service. You drive twenty minutes to Algeciras for Tanger Med, or forty minutes to Tarifa for Tanger Ville.

Almost never: most rental companies forbid Morocco, and without their written permission you do not get through customs. Leave the car in Spain and cross as a foot passenger, or drive your own car down.

No, the car deck is closed during the crossing. Take documents, medicines, a jumper and food for the children up with you.

As a foot passenger plenty, as long as you can carry it yourself; at Tanger Med a shuttle bus takes you from the terminal to the quay. With a car you strap everything down; gas bottles, jerrycans and batteries you declare to the operator beforehand.

Yes, for a surcharge and in a kennel or in the car, depending on the operator. An EU or UK pet passport or animal health certificate and a valid rabies vaccination are required; check the rules of Morocco, of your operator and of your home country for the return.

Yes, every operator has a cafeteria or bar. Food and drink are not included in the ticket, and ninety minutes is short: something to drink and to eat for the children is easier to bring yourself.

At the desks and on board you can usually pay by debit or credit card, in euros. Keep some cash to hand for small purchases; dirhams you only need in Morocco and change there, since the dirham is not sold abroad.

With the operator itself, through a known partner such as Direct Ferries, or at the official desk in the port. We advise against the sellers along the road: port staff cannot fix a mistake on such a ticket.

More than the from-price for two, because every extra passenger pays; in July and August prices rise sharply. See prices.

Outside the season sometimes, for a fee and if there is space, at your operator’s desk in the port. In summer the fixed ticket applies. Flexible fares allow changes, the cheapest often do not.

In a storm or a breakdown the operator puts you on the next sailing or refunds the ticket. From an EU port such as Algeciras the European ship passenger rights apply, whatever your nationality: on cancellation or a delay of more than ninety minutes you choose between rebooking and a refund, and after a long delay you get part of the fare back. Arrange it at the desk or with the operator’s customer service.

The times come from the operators’ timetables and are refreshed several times a day. Wind or a breakdown can still move a sailing: always check with the operator before you leave. See the timetable.