Tanger-Assilah

Tangier is a fascinating Moroccan city to visit. It has many of the things that travellers love—a sense of exotic mystery, interesting history, beautiful vistas, unspoiled beaches, and friendly people. It is an interesting mix of the cultures of north Africa, Spain, and France and indeed has a very international history, and has traditionally been home to people from several different cultures. At the beginning of the 20th century, for instance, a quarter of the city's population were Europeans and another quarter Jewish.

Founded sometime in the 5th century BCE, Tangier has been part of all major empires in the region throughout history. During the last centuries major European powers have contested for the city at the southern bank of the Strait of Gibraltar in order to gain control over the traffic between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. This game even brought France and Germany to the brink of war in 1905. Deemed too important to be controlled by a single country, it was under joint international control from 1925 to 1956 (during that period known as the Tangier International Zone). During World War II and the Cold War it was also a major center for spying activities by major powers, as well as a playground for gamblers, crooks and millionaires. Also, several Western cultural personalities such as William S. Burroughs, George Orwell, Henri Matisse and the rock band Rolling Stones have spent some time in Tangier. The American author Paul Bowles lived there for most of his life.

Today the city with a little less than a million inhabitants is the third largest city in Morocco, an important port, center of industry and a popular destination for daytrippers. Frequent ferries make the short crossing from Europe each day, and many cruise ships sailing between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic often include Tangier as a port of call. The Spanish coastline, 30 km away can be seen unless there's haze or fog.

By plane:

Tangier receives flights from the largest cities in Western Europe and Morocco, most of them operated by budget carriers like RyanAir and AirArabia.

1 Tangier-Ibn Battouta Airport (TNG IATA) (12 km (7.5 mi) from the city). When leaving by plane, beware of long queues at passport controls before flights bound for the Schengen area.

Getting there/away

Alsa operates an AeroBus shuttle (#AE routes) from the airport to Tangier's Gare Ferroviare (train station), with intermediate stops at Complexe Hassani, Riad Ahlen, Ben Dibane, Riad Tetouan and Nejma. Cost: 40 dirham (as of 2025), tickets are purchased on board using card or cash. Service hours are from approximately 6:00 a.m. to midnight. Expect hourly departures despite Alsa's 10-minute schedule claims. Information desk staff can show where to board this light blue bus at the airport.

Grand taxis depart from the arrivals exit, with fixed prices per destination—price for a full taxi (so consider arranging a group to share it beforehand)... day 05:30–22:30, night 22:30–05:30 (as of 2025):

Tangier city center: 100/150 dirham; Tangier train station: 120/180 dirham; port of Tangier Med: 300/450 dirham

Asilah: 200/300 dirham

Tetouan: 350/525 dirham

Larache: 350/525 dirham

Other options:

Take a grand taxi to Asilah (20 dirham) or Gueznaia and exit when the road goes off to the airport (it's signposted). It’s a 1.8-km walk from there on a not-too-ugly road. Coming from the airport, a grand taxi running into Tanger can be easily caught at the crossing. Local buses run on the main road so it should be possible to catch one at the junction (N1-airport).

Take a petit taxi or local bus to the university in Boukhalef (Faculty Science And Technology). From there it is 2.5 km to the airport. There is no sidewalk and for a short part, no houses, but seems well transited and people walk on the sides. Petit taxis from the university to the airport are 30 dirham. Also, buses 1, 2, and 20 go to the university in Boukhalef