Arriving by ferry at Tanger Med: getting to Tangier and where to leave your bags

The ferry from Algeciras has docked and you walk off with a suitcase and a backpack. This is when many travellers discover something their ticket never made clear: Tanger Med is not in Tangier. The port lies to the east, near Ksar Sghir, about 40 kilometres from the city (a little more by road). Here is how to reach Tangier without a car, what is actually known about buses, taxis and trains, and where to leave your bags until hotel check-in or your train.

Tanger Med or Tanger Ville: check your ticket

Tangier has two passenger ports, and they have nothing in common.

• Tanger Med is the big modern port on the Strait, east of the city. Most ferries from Algeciras and the long routes from Europe arrive here. You then have about 40 kilometres to cover to reach Tangier.
• Tanger Ville port is right in the centre, below the medina, and handles fast ferries from Tarifa and cruise calls. If your ticket says Tanger Ville, this is the wrong article: read our guide to luggage storage at Tanger Ville port instead.

Leaving the terminal on foot

Foot passengers go through the port's passenger terminal, then police and customs checks. Once outside, you will find taxis waiting for the boats and touts offering their services. Stay calm, do not let anyone take your suitcase before a price is agreed, and pick your option before you walk out.

Option 1: the bus

For years ALSA ran Tangier's city buses, with a line between Tanger Med port and the city that travellers called I3 (a capital "i", not the number 13), ending in the Tanger-Ville station area. Since December 2025 Tangier's urban network has a new operator: Issal Tanger, a company of the CTM group working with Transdev, with new buses. We could not confirm the current number, fare or timetable of the Tanger Med line. What to keep in mind:

• Journey time: allow about an hour, sometimes more depending on traffic.
• Fare: ask at the stop or the driver, and have small change in dirhams ready.
• Frequency: no official timetable is easy to find. Do not count on a late-evening bus: if you land at night, a grand taxi is the safer bet.

Some ferry companies also mention a coach between the port and Place Al Jamia Al Arabia, near Tangier's main bus station. Ask at your ferry company's desk or the terminal information desk when you arrive: it is the most up-to-date source. With a large suitcase the bus is still doable, but it is often full when ferries come in.

Option 2: the grand taxi

This is the most direct option: 45 minutes to an hour to the centre depending on traffic, dropped at the address you give. The fare is not displayed and is negotiated: agree on it before loading your bags, making clear it is for the whole car and to the exact address. Grand taxis can carry several passengers, so sharing with other travellers from the same ferry cuts the cost noticeably.

Tip: give the driver the address of the BoxSpot point where you will leave your bags. That saves you a second trip across town with the suitcase.

What about the train from Tanger Med?

A railway line does serve Tanger Med port. But passenger service to Tangier has changed a lot over the years, and we found no recent timetable confirming it. Before planning your arrival around a train, search for "Tanger Med" on oncf-voyages.ma. If nothing shows up for your date, go for a taxi or the bus.

Where to leave your bags once in Tangier

There is no BoxSpot point at Tanger Med port itself: all three points are in the city. Choose according to when you arrive and what comes next.

RS Valises, near the Grand Socco: the most central

Rue Amérique du Sud, about 3 minutes' walk from the Grand Socco and less than 10 minutes from Tanger Ville port. Open every day from 11am to 11pm. The right choice if your hotel or riad is in the medina or the Kasbah, where the alleys are hard going with a wheeled suitcase. See RS Valises luggage storage.

Anabelle Para, near the station: from 3pm

Rue Ibn El Quadi, Hay Alia district, about 1 km from Tanger-Ville station. Open every day, but only from 3pm to 10pm. Handy if you arrive in the afternoon and leave by train in the evening. See Anabelle Para luggage storage.

Cash Plus Riad Ahlan: the only one open from 9am

A Cash Plus agency at the Al Izdihar roundabout, away from the centre. Open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 9pm, with a break on Friday from 2pm to 3pm, and closed on Sunday. Useful for an early weekday arrival if you are staying on that side of town: follow the directions in your booking. See Cash Plus Riad Ahlan luggage storage.

It works the same everywhere: you show your booking, the partner scans your QR code and takes a photo of your bags with the drop-off time. To collect them, you show the same QR code, before the point's closing time.

Three arrivals, three calculations

Morning ferry, check-in at 3pm

You land around 10am, take a grand taxi and reach the city around 11:15am. Drop-off at RS Valises around 11:30am, pick-up at 3pm to head to your riad: 3.5 hours, so the 4-hour minimum applies. You pay 36 MAD for one bag.

A day in Tangier, evening train

Drop-off at noon near the Grand Socco, the medina and the Kasbah, pick-up at 6pm, then a petit taxi to Tanger-Ville station for a 7pm train. Book 6 hours: 54 MAD for one bag.

Two suitcases for the day

Two of you, two large suitcases, left for the whole day: 59 MAD for the first, 49 MAD for the second, so 108 MAD.

Payment is online, in dirhams, by card. All three points are on the Tangier luggage storage page. Moving on to another city? BoxSpot points across Morocco are on the luggage storage map, and our article on luggage storage near Tanger-Ville station covers the train option.