Solo travel · Tangier · Morocco
Solo travel in Tangier
How to enjoy Tangier at your own pace.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answer
Tangier is manageable for solo travellers: compact, well connected by train and with sociable café culture. Unofficial guides can be persistent near the port and medina entrances. Many solo travellers base themselves in Ville Nouvelle.
Key facts
- Base
- Ville Nouvelle
- Getting around
- Walking
- Emergency number
- 19 police, 15 ambulance and fire (112 from mobiles)
- Language
- Arabic (Darija), French, Spanish and Tamazight (Berber)
Solo travel tips
- Politely decline unofficial guides; the medina is small enough to explore with a map app.
- Stay in a medina riad or guesthouse where hosts can give advice and arrange taxis.
- Use the train to explore Asilah, Rabat or Casablanca easily on your own.
- Women travelling alone may receive unwanted comments; modest dress and confident walking help.
- Take petit taxis rather than walking in quiet medina lanes after dark.
Where to stay
$$ · Best for first-timers, solo travellers, nightlife and shopping
Ville Nouvelle
Built largely during the International Zone era, the Ville Nouvelle centres on Place de France, the Café de Paris and Boulevard Pasteur, with its Terrasse des Paresseux viewpoint. It has most of the mid-range hotels, banks, restaurants and bars, and is a 10-minute walk downhill to the Grand Socco.
- Good
- Central and practical; Good restaurants and cafés; Easy taxi access
- Watch out
- Less atmospheric than the medina; Busy traffic
- Nearby
- Place de France, Boulevard Pasteur, Terrasse des Paresseux, Grand Socco
Great on your own
Neighbourhood · Medina
Tangier medina
Use the kasbah at the top and the Grand Socco at the bottom as your landmarks; walking uphill always leads to the kasbah.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Free
- Iconic
- Free
- History
- Photo spot
- Shopping
Palace · Kasbah
Kasbah Museum (Dar el Makhzen)
Combine the museum with the terrace at Bab el Bahr on a clear day, when the Spanish coast looks close enough to touch.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Architecture
- Rainy day
- Views
Landmark · Medina
Petit Socco
Take a mint tea on a café terrace and watch medina life pass through the square.
- Time needed
- 30–60 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- History
- Food
Landmark · Medina
Grand Socco
Have a coffee at the Cinémathèque's café and check its programme of art-house and classic films.
- Time needed
- 30–60 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- History
- Architecture
- After dark
Museum · Medina
Tangier American Legation Museum
Look out for the room of paintings of old Tangier and the Paul Bowles wing with his books and recordings.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Art
- Rainy day
- Off the beaten path
Viewpoint · Marshan
Café Hafa
Order mint tea and bissara and stay for sunset; it is at its liveliest at weekends.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Views
- Food
- Couples
- History
Meeting people
- Café culture — Spend an afternoon moving between Tangier's historic cafés: the Petit Socco's terraces, the Café de Paris on Place de France and Café Hafa on the Marshan cliffs.
- Medina street breakfast — Start the day with bissara, msemen and hot kalinte from stalls in the medina, followed by mint tea.
- Ville Nouvelle — Hotel bars, lounges and restaurants with drinks around Boulevard Pasteur and Place de France.
- Corniche and Tanja Marina Bay — Seafront cafés, restaurants and the marina's terraces, busy on summer nights.
Sensible precautions
Check your own government's travel advice before travel. The most common problems are persistent unofficial guides and touts around the port and medina entrances, and pickpocketing in crowded areas; use metered petit taxis and keep valuables zipped away.
- Emergency number
- 19 police, 15 ambulance and fire (112 from mobiles)
- Staying connected
- Local SIM cards from Maroc Telecom, Orange and inwi are inexpensive and sold at the airport and in town; riads and cafés usually offer Wi-Fi.
Questions travellers ask
+Is Tangier good for solo travellers?
Tangier is manageable for solo travellers: compact, well connected by train and with sociable café culture. Unofficial guides can be persistent near the port and medina entrances.
+Where should solo travellers stay in Tangier?
Ville Nouvelle: The 20th-century city of boulevards, cafés and hotels around Place de France.