Need to determine the best/most cost effective way to travel from Madrid south to Seville, Cordoba and then on to Tangier. Trying to determine if it is easier to: 1) lease a car and drive south, leaving the car in Spain (where?) before walking on a ferry to cross the strait of Gibraltar to spend a couple days in Tangier or 2) Better to fly from Madrid to Tangier, then walk on ferry to cross the strait back to Spain to lease a car to head north to Seville, Cordoba and then back to Madrid. or
3) Alternative suggestions from those who have done something different that was relatively easy/successful? Thanks much!
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23267 posts
Sevilla, Cordoba, and Marid are extremely easy to do via train since they all sit on the AVE line. So a car, especially with parking issues, would make little sense for those cities.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA ☔️
6788 posts
Why do you want to go to Tangier? If you're willing to give Morocco more than a few hours (and it's worth more than a few hours), it's better to bypass all the hassles of the ferry and the touts waiting for your when you get off, and just fly. AFAIK there are no flights to Tangier, but that's OK, since tangier is the Moroccan equivalent of Tijuana (just my opinion, no offense to those who like it). If you're willing to spend a couple days in Morocco (Rick does advise to "plunge deep"), then consider flying from Madrid to Marrakesh. It's ridiculously cheap (as long as you avoid the typical discount airline pitfalls), and you'll have a much more meaningful experience there, than if you just ferry in to Tangier for a few hours. Flying is easy, cheap and convenient. As for getting around southern Spain, the only place I'd want a car is for touring the Pueblos Blancos. Otherwise, you're usually better off on the train. Madrid and Sevilla are very nicely linked by high speed rail, and Cordoba is right on that line. It's easy to see the best stuff in Cordoba by making it a half-day stop between Madrid and Sevilla.