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Don't know what to do in Tangier?


SquishTheWhale
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Just booked our first cruise and the first port stop is Tangier. I'm looking forward to all the other ports on our trip but not this one! I read the port guide on here and it sounds like we shouldn't try and explore on our own, however I don't fancy any of the excursions on offer. They all seem to involve long coach trips, un-interesting sounding museums or visiting carpet shops. As it's our first cruise and first port I feel like we should get off the ship and see something though!

 

Any ideas? Should we join a tour that we don't really fancy and see if we end up enjoying it? Or just sack it off and stay on the ship? I've been to Morocco before so don't need to 'tick it off the list'.

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Best to have a guide in Tangier. I thought it was more interesting than Casablanca but that was probably because we had a smaller group and a better guide. With a small group, you can leave the carpet stores, etc. faster. It seems like they are all required to take you to certain stores and restaurants. Still there are guides who aim to please.

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Hi Squishthewhale, we too have been wondering which is the best shore excursion in Tangier. We have the choice of doing Tangier or Tetouan - does anyone know which is the better option?

 

The Tetouan excursion through the ship is a lot more expensive. In fact, they are all quite expensive- makes me think I'd rather stay on board and spend my money in the spa or something!

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The Tetouan excursion through the ship is a lot more expensive. In fact, they are all quite expensive- makes me think I'd rather stay on board and spend my money in the spa or something!

 

In which case, just get off the ship & go take a walk round the souk (market). It's a labyrinth of alleyways just to your right as you exit the port gate. Very interesting - the only snag, and it's a big one, is that you can get hounded to buy. Shop/stall holders aren't too bad - you can just walk away - but street peddlers will follow & hound you for a while. And don't get into conversation with anyone who offers to help or guide you in the souk, cos they'll stick to you like limpets. Sometimes you have to be brutally rude - and that doesn't always work either :D

 

The rest of the city isn't anything like as bad. But it isn't anything like as interesting either.

 

Euros are very widely accepted, including the souk, taxis, bars.

 

I've only visited by ferry, but there were always guides at the port. It's worth hiring one, they charge very little. They'll guide & inform you, but more importantly since you have that guide you'll not get strangers coming up & offering to guide you ;). You'll still get hounded by peddlers but your guide can help fend them off or take you into a shop or bar, where they can't follow. There's also at least one western hotel accessed from the souk, you can dive in there for an un-molested beer or a coffee.

 

Your guide will be cheap because he makes commission on things you buy (he won't make notes, but he'll go back for his commission later) and he'll try to point you into shops that reward him. If you don't buy, bear that in mind with a decent tip at the end.

There are definitely plenty of bargains. If you want to buy, the selling price will be about half the asking price so start even lower & ignore "you take the bread from my mouth" etc. If you can't agree a price & walk away and the seller gives up, you'll know his bottom price.

Your guide may suggest a taxi tour around city sights or coastal caves - agree a price before you get in. Your guide will choose the taxi - probably his second cousin's ;) - but that's OK.

 

Don't accept roadside flowers picked by kids - they'll want money too.

And don't take photos of people, camels etc cos they won't like or will want money.

(edit - its the camel-drivers that will want money - not the camels themselves, they're not so mercenary :D)

The whole hounding business is very off-putting & counter-productive, especially if you show an interest in something that appeals because you can't just put it down & walk away. But that's the way it is, same as Egypt & other places.

 

But if you've not visited such places before, don't let me put you off. It's worth the experience & you can always dive back to the ship early.

 

Staying on the ship is a waste of an opportunity to experience the place.

 

JB :)

Edited by John Bull
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In which case, just get off the ship & go take a walk round the souk (market). It's a labyrinth of alleyways just to your right as you exit the port gate. Very interesting - the only snag, and it's a big one, is that you can get hounded to buy. Shop/stall holders aren't too bad - you can just walk away - but street peddlers will follow & hound you for a while. And don't get into conversation with anyone who offers to help or guide you in the souk, cos they'll stick to you like limpets. Sometimes you have to be brutally rude - and that doesn't always work either :D

 

The rest of the city isn't anything like as bad. But it isn't anything like as interesting either.

 

Euros are very widely accepted, including the souk, taxis, bars.

 

I've only visited by ferry, but there were always guides at the port. It's worth hiring one, they charge very little. They'll guide & inform you, but more importantly since you have that guide you'll not get strangers coming up & offering to guide you ;). You'll still get hounded by peddlers but your guide can help fend them off or take you into a shop or bar, where they can't follow. There's also at least one western hotel accessed from the souk, you can dive in there for an un-molested beer or a coffee.

 

Your guide will be cheap because he makes commission on things you buy (he won't make notes, but he'll go back for his commission later) and he'll try to point you into shops that reward him. If you don't buy, bear that in mind with a decent tip at the end.

There are definitely plenty of bargains. If you want to buy, the selling price will be about half the asking price so start even lower & ignore "you take the bread from my mouth" etc. If you can't agree a price & walk away and the seller gives up, you'll know his bottom price.

Your guide may suggest a taxi tour around city sights or coastal caves - agree a price before you get in. Your guide will choose the taxi - probably his second cousin's ;) - but that's OK.

 

Don't accept roadside flowers picked by kids - they'll want money too.

And don't take photos of people, camels etc cos they won't like or will want money.

(edit - its the camel-drivers that will want money - not the camels themselves, they're not so mercenary :D)

The whole hounding business is very off-putting & counter-productive, especially if you show an interest in something that appeals because you can't just put it down & walk away. But that's the way it is, same as Egypt & other places.

 

But if you've not visited such places before, don't let me put you off. It's worth the experience & you can always dive back to the ship early.

 

Staying on the ship is a waste of an opportunity to experience the place.

 

JB :)

 

I've been to Agadir in Morocco and Tunisia so have experience of the hassle you get in these type of places! You remind me of the time when my sister and I decided to walk to the souk in Agadir (terrible idea, really far and hot and over big roads), and on finally reaching it were accosted by a man who insisted on being our 'guide' on took us further and further into the souk to 'his brothers stall'. Eventually we just kind of slipped away and lost him... hehe. If I had anything to add to what you've said, it would be 'don't try anything on!' Once you have some clothing or shoes on, they won't let you take it off and you end up buying it. Happened to my sister with some kind of ridiculous traditional moroccan costume that she really didn't want to buy, but got elaboratley wrapped in and couldn't escape lol. We also experienced the flowers thing a lot in Tunisia.

 

I agree it seems a shame not to get off the ship, but I have to admit that I booked the cruise for the canaries ports rather than a burning desire to go to Tangier! If we get off and just kind of wander on our own is there anything to see in the port area without being hassled?

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I've been to Agadir in Morocco and Tunisia so have experience of the hassle you get in these type of places! You remind me of the time when my sister and I decided to walk to the souk in Agadir (terrible idea, really far and hot and over big roads), and on finally reaching it were accosted by a man who insisted on being our 'guide' on took us further and further into the souk to 'his brothers stall'. Eventually we just kind of slipped away and lost him... hehe. If I had anything to add to what you've said, it would be 'don't try anything on!' Once you have some clothing or shoes on, they won't let you take it off and you end up buying it. Happened to my sister with some kind of ridiculous traditional moroccan costume that she really didn't want to buy, but got elaboratley wrapped in and couldn't escape lol. We also experienced the flowers thing a lot in Tunisia.

 

I agree it seems a shame not to get off the ship, but I have to admit that I booked the cruise for the canaries ports rather than a burning desire to go to Tangier! If we get off and just kind of wander on our own is there anything to see in the port area without being hassled?

 

Yes the hassle factor is much the same, but it's likely to entirely disappear as you head away from the port & souk.

On your left after exiting the port there's a bit of a beach & waterfront boulevard with a few bars, but pretty desolate.

The centre is about a 20-minute walk & I suspect you'll be unimpressed by it.

 

I think the hotel accessible from the souk is the Hotel Continental, if you want to find the area on the map.

 

If you buy anything in Tangier & folk on the ship want to know what you paid, it's standard practice to lie though your teeth :D

 

JB :)

Edited by John Bull
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Yes the hassle factor is much the same, but it's likely to entirely disappear as you head away from the port & souk.

On your left after exiting the port there's a bit of a beach & waterfront boulevard with a few bars, but pretty desolate.

The centre is about a 20-minute walk & I suspect you'll be unimpressed by it.

 

I think the hotel accessible from the souk is the Hotel Continental, if you want to find the area on the map.

 

If you buy anything in Tangier & folk on the ship want to know what you paid, it's standard practice to lie though your teeth :D

 

JB :)

 

Thanks- maybe we'll go for a little stroll along that bit of beach and then head back to the ship if we're unimpressed! Lol I'm rubbish at haggling so I'll definatley have to lie ;)

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Love hearing your experiences about the souks, I expect it will be much the same as Tunis and that was interesting. We will probably take the Tangier City & Caves Tour as we are not so keen on going about on our own. The Tetouan tour on our ship is much the same price and the info sounds OK but we're not sure it is worth the extra travel there.

Have fun Squishthewhale!

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Just booked our first cruise and the first port stop is Tangier. I'm looking forward to all the other ports on our trip but not this one! I read the port guide on here and it sounds like we shouldn't try and explore on our own, however I don't fancy any of the excursions on offer. They all seem to involve long coach trips, un-interesting sounding museums or visiting carpet shops. As it's our first cruise and first port I feel like we should get off the ship and see something though!

 

Any ideas? Should we join a tour that we don't really fancy and see if we end up enjoying it? Or just sack it off and stay on the ship? I've been to Morocco before so don't need to 'tick it off the list'.

 

I am booked on Epic for the 19th December sailing and as a solo traveller do not want to venture out alone and am not interested in joining the ship's expensive shore excursion and being herded on to coaches with some 50 others.

 

Have you tried to join a roll call for your sailing? I have linked up with other people via the roll call for 19th December and one of the posters has kindly organised a private tour in Tangiers with a local guide and I have signed up for this. If you want to check out the details contact info@tangierprivateguide.com and try to get Aziz Benami to send you some details. I am sure you will find others on a roll call who would be willing to join you. The cost for the tour we are taking is 35 Euros which seems like excellent value from the description of the tour.

 

Good Luck with your plans.

 

Suzanne

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I am booked on Epic for the 19th December sailing and as a solo traveller do not want to venture out alone and am not interested in joining the ship's expensive shore excursion and being herded on to coaches with some 50 others.

 

Have you tried to join a roll call for your sailing? I have linked up with other people via the roll call for 19th December and one of the posters has kindly organised a private tour in Tangiers with a local guide and I have signed up for this. If you want to check out the details contact info@tangierprivateguide.com and try to get Aziz Benami to send you some details. I am sure you will find others on a roll call who would be willing to join you. The cost for the tour we are taking is 35 Euros which seems like excellent value from the description of the tour.

 

Good Luck with your plans.

 

Suzanne

 

Thanks Suzanne! I've joined my roll call but it's a little quiet at the moment. I'd be open to the idea of a private tour but can't actually see anywhere I fancy going around Tangier! As I said not really interested in the souk etc. Is there anywhere else you can suggest or any good sites to see?

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Thanks Suzanne! I've joined my roll call but it's a little quiet at the moment. I'd be open to the idea of a private tour but can't actually see anywhere I fancy going around Tangier! As I said not really interested in the souk etc. Is there anywhere else you can suggest or any good sites to see?

 

Cannot come up with any other suggestions for Tangiers hence my reason for choosing the private excursion which has been organised by one of the roll call members. Hope you manage to get some plans arranged.

 

Suzanne

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Cannot come up with any other suggestions for Tangiers hence my reason for choosing the private excursion which has been organised by one of the roll call members. Hope you manage to get some plans arranged.

 

Suzanne

 

I will definitely second that notion--we were in a group of 8 and had a great time. We were in a minibus, and saw some sights around the outskirts, then did a walking tour of the old city, and had lunch in a very nice Moroccan restaurant--a great day. It made such a difference with only eight of us.

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I'm the one who set-up the tour that Suron is mentioning. In the US there is an author of European guide books, Rick Steves, who has been traveling and guiding throughout Europe for decades. He also has shows on the US public television. Rick Steves recommended as a guide for Tangier Aziz Benami in his Spain guide book. The web site for Aziz is: www.tangierprivateguide.com

 

We are doing the VIP Day Trip. The price listed is if you took the ferry over from Spain, but as Suron has mentioned we are being charged 35 Euro p/p coming from the port. I'll not be able to report back about our experience, since we will be just getting off the Epic as you are ready to board.

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I'm the one who set-up the tour that Suron is mentioning. In the US there is an author of European guide books, Rick Steves, who has been traveling and guiding throughout Europe for decades. He also has shows on the US public television. Rick Steves recommended as a guide for Tangier Aziz Benami in his Spain guide book. The web site for Aziz is: www.tangierprivateguide.com

 

We are doing the VIP Day Trip. The price listed is if you took the ferry over from Spain, but as Suron has mentioned we are being charged 35 Euro p/p coming from the port. I'll not be able to report back about our experience, since we will be just getting off the Epic as you are ready to board.

 

Thanks, I'll check that link out. Funny that you are getting off right as I get on! I've been chatting in my roll call and seems other people are feeling that same about Tangier and maybe planning to stay on board.

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In which case, just get off the ship & go take a walk round the souk (market). It's a labyrinth of alleyways just to your right as you exit the port gate. Very interesting - the only snag, and it's a big one, is that you can get hounded to buy. Shop/stall holders aren't too bad - you can just walk away - but street peddlers will follow & hound you for a while. And don't get into conversation with anyone who offers to help or guide you in the souk, cos they'll stick to you like limpets. Sometimes you have to be brutally rude - and that doesn't always work either :D

 

The rest of the city isn't anything like as bad. But it isn't anything like as interesting either.

 

Euros are very widely accepted, including the souk, taxis, bars.

 

I've only visited by ferry, but there were always guides at the port. It's worth hiring one, they charge very little. They'll guide & inform you, but more importantly since you have that guide you'll not get strangers coming up & offering to guide you ;). You'll still get hounded by peddlers but your guide can help fend them off or take you into a shop or bar, where they can't follow. There's also at least one western hotel accessed from the souk, you can dive in there for an un-molested beer or a coffee.

 

Your guide will be cheap because he makes commission on things you buy (he won't make notes, but he'll go back for his commission later) and he'll try to point you into shops that reward him. If you don't buy, bear that in mind with a decent tip at the end.

There are definitely plenty of bargains. If you want to buy, the selling price will be about half the asking price so start even lower & ignore "you take the bread from my mouth" etc. If you can't agree a price & walk away and the seller gives up, you'll know his bottom price.

Your guide may suggest a taxi tour around city sights or coastal caves - agree a price before you get in. Your guide will choose the taxi - probably his second cousin's ;) - but that's OK.

 

Don't accept roadside flowers picked by kids - they'll want money too.

And don't take photos of people, camels etc cos they won't like or will want money.

(edit - its the camel-drivers that will want money - not the camels themselves, they're not so mercenary :D)

The whole hounding business is very off-putting & counter-productive, especially if you show an interest in something that appeals because you can't just put it down & walk away. But that's the way it is, same as Egypt & other places.

 

But if you've not visited such places before, don't let me put you off. It's worth the experience & you can always dive back to the ship early.

 

Staying on the ship is a waste of an opportunity to experience the place.

 

JB :)

 

Thank you so much for sharing your experience! I'll be on this itinerary in March and originally I wasn't excited about Tangier, but now that I've read the description and looked at pictures and the tour another posted mentioned, I'm really looking forward t it. I agree that staying on the ship would be a wasted opportunity--I always get off even if it's just to walk around the port.

 

I'm the one who set-up the tour that Suron is mentioning. In the US there is an author of European guide books, Rick Steves, who has been traveling and guiding throughout Europe for decades. He also has shows on the US public television. Rick Steves recommended as a guide for Tangier Aziz Benami in his Spain guide book. The web site for Aziz is: www.tangierprivateguide.com

 

We are doing the VIP Day Trip. The price listed is if you took the ferry over from Spain, but as Suron has mentioned we are being charged 35 Euro p/p coming from the port. I'll not be able to report back about our experience, since we will be just getting off the Epic as you are ready to board.

 

I hope you'll share your experience for the rest of us! I saw this tour guide on another site and his offerings look good. A member of our roll call has offered to look into private tours for us. My last cruise I traveled solo and joined with roll call members at most ports, and I'll be traveling solo this time as well. So, I'll hire private guides or join with roll call members in most of the ports. Will you be writing a review? :D

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  • 1 month later...
Thank you so much for sharing your experience! I'll be on this itinerary in March and originally I wasn't excited about Tangier, but now that I've read the description and looked at pictures and the tour another posted mentioned, I'm really looking forward t it. I agree that staying on the ship would be a wasted opportunity--I always get off even if it's just to walk around the port.

 

 

 

I hope you'll share your experience for the rest of us! I saw this tour guide on another site and his offerings look good. A member of our roll call has offered to look into private tours for us. My last cruise I traveled solo and joined with roll call members at most ports, and I'll be traveling solo this time as well. So, I'll hire private guides or join with roll call members in most of the ports. Will you be writing a review? :D

Not sure when you were traveling to Tangier but if you have gone already, did you end up booking the private tour with Aziz above? Or did you stay on ship? We are going next month and I am not sure what to do. The one cruise excursion I was interested in is sold out.

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  • 2 weeks later...
I'm the one who set-up the tour that Suron is mentioning. In the US there is an author of European guide books, Rick Steves, who has been traveling and guiding throughout Europe for decades. He also has shows on the US public television. Rick Steves recommended as a guide for Tangier Aziz Benami in his Spain guide book. The web site for Aziz is: www.tangierprivateguide.com

 

We are doing the VIP Day Trip. The price listed is if you took the ferry over from Spain, but as Suron has mentioned we are being charged 35 Euro p/p coming from the port. I'll not be able to report back about our experience, since we will be just getting off the Epic as you are ready to board.

 

Ok so we don't need to do the one with a ferry since we will already be at the port we just need to book the 35 euro one

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My husband and I along with our 2 dear friends were in Tangiers last year via a cruise ship. We have traveled in the Middle East in the past and around the world extensively, however after this experience I wish we had stayed on the ship.

 

We decided to explore on our own and were quickly "adopted" by a young boy about 10 years old who acted as tour guide. As hard as we tried we could not get rid of him and finally thought, "what's the harm?". Before we knew it, he led us to a carpet store in the souk where several men hussled us upstairs to show us rugs. The room was small with one window and I was feeling trapped. We were told to sit on a sofa and were shown rugs. We made pleasantries and numerous excuses for not buying a rug, but after an hour my husband and his friend stood up and grabbed us and we made our way down the staircase. The men in the store were yelling at us in arabic and the young boy followed us back to ship. We gave him a couple euros and he demanded more money, but security atthe ship stopped him and we boarded.

 

If you go out on your own, go in a group and ingore EVERYONE! These vendors give the Middle East a bad reputation.

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My husband and I along with our 2 dear friends were in Tangiers last year via a cruise ship. We have traveled in the Middle East in the past and around the world extensively, however after this experience I wish we had stayed on the ship.

 

We decided to explore on our own and were quickly "adopted" by a young boy about 10 years old who acted as tour guide. As hard as we tried we could not get rid of him and finally thought, "what's the harm?". Before we knew it, he led us to a carpet store in the souk where several men hussled us upstairs to show us rugs. The room was small with one window and I was feeling trapped. We were told to sit on a sofa and were shown rugs. We made pleasantries and numerous excuses for not buying a rug, but after an hour my husband and his friend stood up and grabbed us and we made our way down the staircase. The men in the store were yelling at us in arabic and the young boy followed us back to ship. We gave him a couple euros and he demanded more money, but security atthe ship stopped him and we boarded.

 

If you go out on your own, go in a group and ingore EVERYONE! These vendors give the Middle East a bad reputation.

 

Thank you for telling us about your experience! I like to think I'm fairly wise to stuff like this, having visited Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey, but so were you and you still had a bad experience!

 

At the moment my partner is voting that we don't get off the ship. I wouldn't mind getting off for a wander but won't be upset if he says we shouldn't.

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My husband and I along with our 2 dear friends were in Tangiers last year via a cruise ship. We have traveled in the Middle East in the past and around the world extensively, however after this experience I wish we had stayed on the ship.

 

We decided to explore on our own and were quickly "adopted" by a young boy about 10 years old who acted as tour guide. As hard as we tried we could not get rid of him and finally thought, "what's the harm?". Before we knew it, he led us to a carpet store in the souk where several men hussled us upstairs to show us rugs. The room was small with one window and I was feeling trapped. We were told to sit on a sofa and were shown rugs. We made pleasantries and numerous excuses for not buying a rug, but after an hour my husband and his friend stood up and grabbed us and we made our way down the staircase. The men in the store were yelling at us in arabic and the young boy followed us back to ship. We gave him a couple euros and he demanded more money, but security atthe ship stopped him and we boarded.

 

If you go out on your own, go in a group and ingore EVERYONE! These vendors give the Middle East a bad reputation.

 

 

Well, that wouldn't have been any fun. Sounds like a tour would have been a better option. It's rare I would ever consider just staying on the ship--I cruise for the ports. My roll call has a private tour booked in Tangier, and I'm really looking forward to it. It looks beautiful. :)

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  • 2 weeks later...

We had a great guide through the private tour mentioned in this thread. It was a group of 8. Our guide showed us the sites outside of the city, and around the souk, pointing out historic monuments and gave us some historical information. Inside the souk, we visited a pharmacy (where most of us bought some creams and/or spices) and a store (two of us bought a carpet even though we had no intentions to do so). Still, the market area was very interesting and a high-light of our entire cruise. The roll-call person who organized our tour included lunch. We didn't want to eat, and only ordered a cola and a beer. It was interesting to see the waiter serve and pour tea (makes a great photo), but probably not worth the time or money. NOTE: I read with interest the post in this thread that mentioned that the guide gets a tip from the stores and restaurants visited. I think that was probably true in our case; I always wondered why he encouraged these particular shops and out-of-the-way restaurant.

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I've booked Said tours for tangier, highly recommended on trip advisor. I would suggest checking trip advisor for similar tour operators on other stops too. I'm really looking forward to it. Said takes Euros or Dollars - he isn't fussed!

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