The journal · field notes from Tangier
No top-10 listicles. Slow, opinionated dispatches from the atelier on when to come, where to go first, what to skip and how to spend your dirhams well. Read before you book — and certainly before you board the ferry.
This month's long-read
One slow, in-house piece every month. No commissioned writers, no sponsored takes — just the answers we already give our guests on WhatsApp, written down properly.
Latest field note 8 min readPractical · June 2026
The ship docks at Tanger Ville, right below the medina, so you can walk off and be in the old town in fifteen minutes. What's reachable on foot, the half-day drive to Cap Spartel and the Caves of Hercules, an honest take on Asilah and Chefchaouen, and how to plan around your all-aboard time.
The archive
Re-read every season by our team. If anything is out of date we annotate it at the top of the piece — Tangier changes slowly, but it does change.
02Culture 8 minCulture · June 2026
Warm up, get coated in black savon beldi soap, then scrubbed head to toe with a coarse kessa glove until the dead skin lifts away. What actually happens step by step, what to wear and bring, the public medina bathhouse versus a spa hammam, real prices and the etiquette that matters.
03Practical 9 minPractical · June 2026
There's no through high-speed train yet — you ride Al Boraq to Casablanca, then change for Marrakech, about 5.5–7 hours all in. A direct flight is fastest when one fits; a private car runs the autoroute door to door; the bus is the slow, cheap fallback. Real times, why there's a change, and whether the long trip south is worth it.
04Planning 10 minPlanning · June 2026
Morocco co-hosts with Spain and Portugal, and Tangier is an announced host city — but the schedule, tickets and fan-zone details aren't confirmed yet. The honest picture of what we know, how to get there by ferry, the Al Boraq high-speed train and air, when to plan, where to stay, and what to see in the city and nearby.
05Itineraries 11 minItineraries · June 2026
The one question travellers actually ask when planning the north, answered in full: whether Tangier is worth visiting, what to do in the city, the best day trips to Chefchaouen, Asilah and Tetouan with real drive times, how many days to give it, getting there from Spain, and when to go.
06Practical 8 minPractical · June 2026
The direct ONCF train runs it in 3.5 hours; a private car in three — and lets you stop in Chefchaouen, Volubilis and Meknes on the way. Real times, real costs, and which option to pick.
07Practical 8 minPractical · June 2026
A private car runs the blue city in about two hours; the CTM coach in three; a shared grand taxi via Tétouan in between. There is no train — here are the real times, costs and the smart way to do it as a day trip.
08Tangier 9 minTangier · June 2026
Most people treat Tangier as a one-day ferry stop and leave having seen nothing. Here is the three-day rhythm we recommend — the kasbah and medina, the Soccos, Cap Spartel, what to skip and where to eat.
09Practical 10 minPractical · June 2026
Foot passenger or driving over? Tangier Ville or Tanger Med? We map the crossings — times, the on-board passport routine, the time-difference catch, and when to cross the Strait.
10Day trips 9 minDay trips · April 2025
Europe to Africa in an hour. Take the Tarifa fast ferry into Tangier Ville, bring your passport, mind the time difference — and see the kasbah, medina and Café Hafa on foot. Organised tour or independent? We weigh both.
11Practical 8 minPractical · June 2026
The etiquette and mechanics of bargaining in the medina and the Grand and Petit Socco — fair prices, the phrases that help, what's fixed-price, the port set-ups to sidestep, and why walking away works.
12Practical 6 minPractical · May 2026
Guides, drivers, hotels, cafés, ferry porters — who to tip, how much, and in what currency. The honest, no-guesswork numbers we give our own guests before every trip.
13Kasbah 10 minKasbah · June 2026
Phoenician, Roman, Portuguese, then the International Zone — the old city wears its history in its lanes. The Soccos, the Kasbah Museum, the art of getting pleasantly lost, and when to hire a guide.
14Food 9 minFood · June 2026
Grilled fish off the boats, the Tangier fish tagine, Spanish-style bites and tea at Café Hafa — what to order, where, and how to eat well at the meeting of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.
15Coast 7 minCoast · June 2026
Fourteen kilometres west of Tangier, the Atlantic meets the Mediterranean at the lighthouse, and the famous Africa-shaped cave opens to the sea. What a good half day looks like — and a beach lunch to finish.
16Coast 7 minCoast · June 2026
Forty-five minutes south of Tangier, the north's most charming coastal town — Portuguese ramparts, a mural-painted medina, a working harbour and long beaches. How to spend a day or a weekend.
17Planning 9 minPlanning · June 2026
The honest, current picture — solo and women travellers, the port and medina set-ups, the day trips, health and the road. What we actually tell our own guests.
18Practical 7 minPractical · June 2026
No 'breathable convertible trousers'. A real packing list for the medina and kasbah, the windy seafront, the ferry, and day trips to Asilah, Cap Spartel and Chefchaouen.
19Planning 8 minPlanning · June 2026
Daily spend, where the money goes and the honest ways to save without missing the point — with sample budgets in USD for backpacker, comfortable and private, and real day-trip costs.
20Stay 7 minStay · June 2026
What a kasbah guesthouse actually is, which areas suit which travellers, and what to look for before you book — so you get the terrace, the sea view and the calm right.
21Itineraries 11 minItineraries · June 2026
The classic one-week northern loop, day by day — Tangier, Cap Spartel, Asilah, Chefchaouen and Tetouan — with honest drive times and what to skip.
22Practical 8 minPractical · June 2026
Road conditions to Chefchaouen and the coast, police checkpoints, the ferry option, medina parking and the real cost trade-off — and why most of our guests end up with a private driver.
23Culture 6 minCulture · June 2026
Why it's poured from a height, what 'Berber whisky' means, how it's brewed and the etiquette of a glass — plus the café culture from Café Hafa above the sea to the Petit Socco.
24Culture 8 minCulture · June 2026
Why writers and artists flocked here in the International Zone years — Paul Bowles, William Burroughs and the Beats — and how to walk the city's mid-century cultural map today.
25Tangier 9 minTangier · June 2026
Leather, Rif wool, brass, ceramics and Interzone antiques — where to find the real thing in the medina and Soccos, how to bargain without stress, and how to get it all home.
26Family 9 minFamily · June 2026
Where to go, how to pace it, the guesthouses that work for families, the Caves of Hercules, the beaches and food kids will actually eat — the practical things we tell parents.
27Day trips 7 minDay trips · June 2026
Why it's painted blue, what to actually do there, day trip versus overnight, the best photo spots and how to reach the Rif's most photogenic town in two hours from Tangier.
28Culture 8 minCulture · June 2026
From the kasbah terrace over the Strait and Café Hafa to the Caves of Hercules, the blue lanes of Chefchaouen and the white walls of Asilah — where to shoot, when the light is right, and lens etiquette.
29Day trips 8 minDay trips · June 2026
A cosmopolitan port on the Strait, or the blue mountain town in the Rif? We compare access, atmosphere, accommodation and day trips so you choose the right base — and probably do both.
30Culture 8 minCulture · June 2026
Tanjazz in September, the Asilah murals in summer, the National Film Festival, moussems and Ramadan — the northern events worth planning a trip around, month by month.
31Stay 7 minStay · June 2026
The car-free lanes, the terrace over the Strait, breakfast above the sea, the quiet nights — an honest account of staying in a guesthouse in the old heart of Tangier.
32Food 9 minFood · June 2026
The port fish grills, the Tangier fish tagine, Spanish-style bocadillos, where locals actually eat, and the café terraces worth lingering on — how to eat well where two seas meet.
33Planning 8 minPlanning · March 2025
When to come to the city on the Strait — weather, sea temperature, the famous wind, crowds and the swimming season. Why late spring and early autumn are the sweet spots, and what to pack each season.
34Practical 8 minPractical · March 2025
How to move without stress — walking the medina and kasbah, blue petits taxis and shared grands taxis, the two ferry ports, the Al Boraq high-speed train, the airport and regional day trips.
35Practical 7 minPractical · March 2025
What surprises first-timers — the cosmopolitan, European-edged port where Spanish is widely spoken, Spain visible across the Strait, the small walkable medina, the faux-guides near the Soccos and the wind.
36Planning 8 minPlanning · April 2025
Warm but tempered by the sea, lively rather than languid — the city beach and the bays toward Malabata, the Atlantic coast and Caves of Hercules, the marina and long seafront evenings. The beach-and-buzz season, honestly told.
37Itineraries 7 minItineraries · April 2025
Half a day, a full day, two days or a base for the week? The honest answer — a day for the highlights, two for the city plus the cape, and three or more to base here and day-trip to Asilah, Chefchaouen and Tetouan.
38Practical 8 minPractical · June 2026
Yes — but with caveats worth knowing. What makes the city special, who will love it and who won't, whether a day trip from Spain is enough, how it compares to Marrakech and Fès, and how many days to give it.
Letters from Tangier
No marketing. Just one field note, one kasbah guesthouse we love this season, one practical tip — written in plain English, signed by a real person.
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