Tours in Tangiers, Morocco

[bookworm1]

Has anyone taken a tour of Tangiers, Morocco. We are booked on an Oceanic trans atlantic cruise in November of 2009. There is very litte information on the ports page for African ports such as Tangiers. Any help would be appreicated

Thanks

Michael and Jeralyn

[Andee]

We negotiated with a guide when we got off the ship, and although we enjoyed our day, there was a certain amount of stress. We had the definite feeling that our guide was pressuring us to buy rugs from a store that gave him a kickback, and everywhere we walked, we were swarmed with people trying to sell us something or take us on a tour--much more so than in Casablanca or Tunis.

 

I did like walking through the medina, seeing the kasbah, getting a demonstration in a spice shop, and touring a history museum.

 

Here are the notes that I compiled from several guide books before we went:

Morocco’s oldest continually populated city; founded by Berbers 1000 BCE; unified with Morocco 1956; flavor of old Maghreb Africa; English widely spoken

TO 29 Blvd/Ave Pasteur. Rue du Mexique: main shopping street

Medina: near harbor Cruise ship terminal 800 yards (1/2 mile) from the city

Kasbah: highest point; built on the site of a Roman settlement

Local crafts:

Pottery: crude, colorful designs; to use for liquids, check that they're sealed & non-porous; many are only for dry goods.

Leather: varies in quality. Sniff the leather; some cheaper items are cured in goats' urine. Belts, bags, wallets are simple to make, hard to get wrong. Visiting a tannery is interesting, but smells horrible.

Jewelry: an acquired taste. Quality & price vary. Found in the small Jewish quarter of the Medina.

Rugs & Blankets: If you don't want a rug, do not look! Once you're in the shop, buy something or they'll get offended and things can get uncomfortable. Unless you're an expert, it is likely the trader will start you on some magnificent work of art but sell you an over-priced, badly woven, mass-produced item.

Dar el Makhzen: 17th century sultan’s home Andalusian garden

Musee des Arts Marocains et des Antiquities: 9-12; 3-6 ?winter 9-3:30

Kasbah Mosque: octagonal minaret

Ramparts: walkways lead to Borj en Naam, through residential areas to Hafa

Petit Socco/Souk Dakhli: rue Es-Siaghine or rue Jma el-Kbir: heart of the medina in 19th century

Grand Mosque rue Jma el-Kbir: only open to Muslims; built on the site of a Portuguese cathedral

Grand Socco, Place du Avril 1947: link between Medina & Ville Nouvelle; traders from mountain villages

Sidi Bouabid Mosque: 1917

Rue Es-Siaghin (silversmiths’ street): where the Jews lived; lined with cafes & bazaars

Fondation Lorin 44 rue Touahine: old synagogue; history of Tangiers since 1930s 11-1; 3:30-7:30

American Legation 8 rue d’Amerique off rue du Portugal: now art museum Given to US 1821; embassy for 140 years 9:30-12:30/10-1; 4:00-6:30/3-5

Forbes Museum Palais Mendoub, rue Shakespeare: 115,000 lead soldiers; reenact major battles of history

Musee d’Art Contemporain 52 rue d’Angleterre: 9-12:30; 3-6 in former British Consulate

Great Synagogue 27 Ave Pasteur

Colline du Charf 328’ most impressive & complete view of Tangier

 

The Caves of Hercules, have nothing to do with the mythical figure, are worth a visit. Hire a grand taxi or travel by mini-bus (available at the port); the caves are 18 km outside the city.

 

Warning: many goods have parts made from tortoise shell, ivory, coral & snakeskin, illegal to take through customs; the fines can be huge. If in doubt, don't buy it, and don't listen to shopkeepers who say it's OK.

[HBINDC]

In addition to looking at the tour options, you may want to consider just walking around on your own. The sites main sites are fairly close to the dock. Some advantages - saving $$$, and greater felxibility on what to see and do, and for how long.

[oceania]

:)

I'm also a bookworm. My sister & I will also be on the November TA. One of the reasons we're taking this cruise is because we can read a lot with all that time at sea. Hope to see you - in the library. You'll love this ship. We went last year.

I'm glad you asked the question as we don't know what to do in Tangiers either. It seems a little scary.

[lovecruisingtoo]

Have been in Tangier on another cruise line and I would strongly suggest taking the ship tour. On our tour, the tour operator had one person at the front of the group and one at the back of the group. This minimized the problems and made sure that no one got lost. I would have not felt too safe walking around on my own.

After the formal tour, the tour guide offered to take people back to the medina to do some shopping. Naturally the shopping was at one store where he got a kick-back.

[shoshona2]

Dear Oceania,

 

I agree with lovecruisingtoo -- take the ship's excursion. Since you are two women traveling together, the cruise guides will make sure you are safe. When we were in Tangiers years ago, we took the ship's tour and went back to the ship since everyone was in our face selling. If the guide offers to take you to a rug place, do not go. In fact, we were docked in Casablanca in November and I didn't get off the ship since I had been to Tangiers and that was enough.

 

Sheila

[merryecho]

Tangiers can be a scary place, especially for western women. We were threatend by police when two strange men offered to take our picture, and my Spanish friend declined, mentioning quietly aside to us that it could be a scam to steal her expensive camera. Shortly after that the police arrived, screaming, and ordered us all to apologize for insulting the men or we would be arrested.

[Benita]

We have been all over the world and the place we felt the most unsafe was in Tangiers - and that was 10 years ago. We were staying in a hotel in a nice area and went for a short walk. Everybody tried to sell us something and were grabbing at us. Safety in numbers - take a ship's excursion.

[travelfirst]

I had thought we could go on a tour of our own in November but seen as how I am travelling with a girlfriend on this cruise instead of a male friend I guess we had better not go on our own.

 

Is there anything worth seeing or should we just relax on the ship?

[ChatKat in Ca.]

While we were not in Tangiers this last November, we did private tours from Casablanca and Agadir. We went to the Hassan II Mosque and were comfortable there but once we left the Mosque, we decided we were not comfortable to get out of our guide's van and walk around. We did have a driver and fluent English speaking guide in Agadir where we went to Taroudant. Our guide made sure that no one harrassed me (I was travelling with my husband and two other gentlemen) and I had a lot of fun in the Souk. We had lunch as well at a lovely hotel in Taroudant.

 

While I would not go off on my own, travel always involves some risk. You can cross the street at home and still face some danger.

[lovecruisingtoo]

I had thought we could go on a tour of our own in November but seen as how I am travelling with a girlfriend on this cruise instead of a male friend I guess we had better not go on our own.

 

Is there anything worth seeing or should we just relax on the ship?

 

Have been to Tangier on another cruise line and it is something not to miss. My suggestion would be to take the ships tour and enjoy the sites.

[bookworm1]

Thank's to all of you. I think we will take the ships tour.

Michael amd Jeralyn

[JonconOH]

We are on Oceania's Regatta's Nov. 11, 2008 T/A crossing also. So far, Oceania does not list any tours for Tangiers, Morocco. Has anyone seen anything yet from Oceania? We would feel much safer on a ship's tour.:)

[Benita]

I don't know if it is still there, but when we were in Tangiers, about 10 years ago, we went on a tour of one of Malcolm Forbes' mansions. It was right on the beach by the Mediterranean Sea, and he had the most amazing collection of miniatures.

[bookworm1]

we are booked on the t/a in novembwer of 2009. if we get to stop in tangiers, we will be taking a ship excursion.

Michael and Jeralyn

[travelfirst]

Benita, was it a ship tour that you took to the Malcom Forbes Mansion?

 

I googled it, it sounds like something that I would like to see if I could find a tour for it.

[Benita]

We were actually on a Globus tour. It was about ten years ago, so I don't know if the family sold the mansion after Mr. Forbes died. It was fabulous, though, and well worth a visit if it is still there.

[travelfirst]

Thanks Benita.

It probably is closed now, I will see if I can find out.

[shoshona2]

Hi Benita,

 

I remember the mansion also and the miniatures. It was part of our cruise tour many years ago.

 

Sheila

[Benita]

Hi Sheila, I remember it as the only thing we really liked in Tangiers. We will be in Africa twice over the next year- a safari in Tanzania in July and a Nile Cruise next May. Hope those areas are nicer than Tangiers.

[shoshona2]

Hi Benita,

 

My husband went to Tanzania several years ago with Tauck Tours and loved it. We are booked for Tauck's Egypt and Jordan tour next March which includes a Nile River Cruise. Everyone has wonderful things to say about the tour on Tauck's website. They have guys protecting the guests every moment. My TA just got off a Nile River Cruise on a brandnew boat and said she was treated as "Queen of the Nile".

 

Sheila