Difference between revisions of "Algeciras"

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<map lat='36.132051884162735' lng='-5.44647216796875' zoom='12' view='0' float='right' />
 
<map lat='36.132051884162735' lng='-5.44647216796875' zoom='12' view='0' float='right' />
'''Algeciras''' is an industrial port-city in southern [[Spain]], in the region named [[Andalusia]]. It is one of the main ferry crossings to [[Tangier]], [[Morocco]], and from which it is often possible to hitchhike with truckers ("camioneros") onto a boat to Morocco, without having to pay a ticket. Many drivers have the right to bring a passenger along with them, so it is both legal and free for them to take you along. Beforehand, you will see many trucks waiting in the many parking lots surrounding the port. The easiest way to find a ride is to simlpy ask, and continue asking everyone you see until you´ve found someone who is leaving on the next [[boat]]. The last ferry of the night departs around 10 PM, and each ferry loads about an hour before departure. So, to be on the safe side, you should arrive no later than 8PM (20.00) if you´d like to try for the last ferry of the night.
+
'''Algeciras''' is an industrial port-city in southern [[Spain]], in the region named [[Andalusia]]. It is one of the main ferry crossings to [[Tangier]], [[Morocco]], from which it is often possible to hitchhike with truckers ("camioneros") onto a boat to Morocco, without having to pay a ticket.  
 +
 
 +
== To Morocco ==
 +
Many drivers have the right to bring a passenger along with them, so it is both legal and free for them to take you along. Beforehand, you will see many trucks waiting in the many parking lots surrounding the port. The easiest way to find a ride is to simply ask, and continue asking everyone you see until you find someone who is leaving on the next [[hitchhiking a boat|boat]]. The last ferry of the night departs around 24:00, and each ferry loads about an hour before departure. So, to be on the safe side, you should arrive no later than 21.00 if you´d like to try for the last ferry of the night.
 +
 
 +
There are basically two ways of getting a lift. Walking around and asking truck drivers is one option, you will meet many of them on their way between town and the truck parking lot, a little south of the main terminal, where the military port is. Stand near the roundabout (see maps) and ask people, but they might go hours or days later. <br> If you want to get a quicker ride, it's better to try your luck right where they boad the ferry. Follow the signposting for the trucks to Tangier. If you feel you are running around areas where no pedestrians should be, don't worry, authorities seem to be quite relaxed. You can walk all the way up to the water where the boats are loaded and ask the truckers waiting there.
 +
 
 +
Some drivers are actually willing to take more people into their truck than they are allowed, but don't bet on it, it's better to split up if you are hitching with more than 1 person. Once on the ferry, you can expect a free meal and coffee (if your driver is nice and shares the coupon with you), and sometimes even a shower and a room.
 +
 
 +
Remember that the ferries do not go to Tangier itself, but to Tangier-Med, a port 40 km to the east of Tangier. There is a Bus to Tanger right by the Port, which costs 7MAD (0,70€), but hitchhiking is obviously possible as well.
 +
 
 +
UPDATE: As of March 2016, renovations of the port seem to be complete. There doesn't seem to be a parking lot where Trucks to Morocco are waiting in the port, but you can just walk all the way through to the quay and ask around there. This has the added advantage that your ride should usually leave on the next ferry, as this is already where everybody is boarding the boat. Right before the last Police checkpoint, there can be quite a queue of trucks, whom you can also ask, but nobody seems to care if you walk past the checkpoint either. Next to the checkpoint there is also a parking lot, but the trucks there are coming from the ferries and are not going to Morocco.
 +
 
 +
If you are planning on buying a ferry ticket to Morocco, consider sailing out of the little-known port of Motril, which is an hour and a half south of Granada. If you don't want to make the detour all the way to Algeciras, the boat from Motril to [[Melilla]] costs about the same as from Algeciras to Ceuta (€36 for adult, €32 for ages 17-21). Drawbacks: Ferries leave only once a day, and the trip is several hours long (although you may enjoy the cruise). [[Melilla]] is a bit out of the way, but if you plan on heading straight for [[Fes]] or Tazekka National Park, it may be a good starting point.
 +
 
 +
=== Formalities ===
 +
Police might send you away if they find you walking the last metres of the road leading to the quay because you are bypassing the passport control, but once you're on the last, big parking lot where everybody is waiting to board the ferry, noone should bother you, as you're already past all checkpoints.
 +
 
 +
If you don't have a passport from a Schengen member country, things might be more complicated for you. Using the method described here, you will bypass the passport control on the european side and thus not get an exit stamp, which you might need for different reasons. So it would be wise to find out in advance if you need an exit stamp, in which case you would need to find a truck '''before''' passing the checkpoint.
  
 
Customs and [[border crossing]] patrol will take place on the ferry. You should bring your passport and a pen to fill out the form that you will be given. Sometimes, you have to ask the staff for guidance, since the border personnel expect you to come to them, rather than for them to come to you. You should take care of all passport-stamping before the boat arrives in Tanger because you will have to present your stamped passport page to the authorities before leaving the port.
 
Customs and [[border crossing]] patrol will take place on the ferry. You should bring your passport and a pen to fill out the form that you will be given. Sometimes, you have to ask the staff for guidance, since the border personnel expect you to come to them, rather than for them to come to you. You should take care of all passport-stamping before the boat arrives in Tanger because you will have to present your stamped passport page to the authorities before leaving the port.
  
 +
=== Personal Experiences ===
 +
 +
There are more or less two ways to hitch the ferry. You will either ask around in the parking area, or wait at the entrance gate for the trucks boarding the ferry. You are not assured to get an exit stamp of the Schengen Area through any of those options.
 +
 +
The first roundabout South of the boarding station/ticket boots leads you to the parking area where all the trucks wait before boarding, but also after coming out of the ferry that arrived from Morocco: good opportunities to head out very far into Europe will arise from asking around there (within an hour, I could have hopped into 2 trucks headed all the way back to Paris, one truck to London, and one to Italy)!
 +
 +
Multiple parking areas will be awaiting you. Enter the area through the opening in the fence, right before the gates where truckers exit the area, about 50 meters from the roundabout. It is perfectly legal for you to be in there and to ask around for a ride (words of the Portuary Police themselves). However, do not talk to the trucks on the road as the act of soliciting a ride is actually illegal in the port (words, again, of the Portuary Police). I take it that "soliciting a ride" only applies to a running vehicle on the road.
 +
 +
You will have better chances to find a ride if you walk through that first parking area and cross into the second area (there is another opening in the fence back there). The whole point of this is just to avoid walking through the exit gate.
 +
 +
Use the license plates to find out in which language you should try to communicate with the drivers.
 +
 +
If you catch a trucker that still hasn't submitted his forms to the authorities, it is apparently possible that he might be able to get you an exit stamp if you give him your passport, but it would then be possible that you would have to wait a few days around. A truck boarding the ferry has already done all the paperwork, which is why you end up skipping the Spanish Border Authorities.
 +
 +
If you want to try the other option, you should head into the boarding building and find out when the next ferry is leaving: trucks will start driving through the ferry's entrance gate (first roundabout North of the boarding building) as early as an hour and a half before the ferry leaves.
 +
 +
On the ferry, a man sitting in a chair with a computer in front of him will be doing the Entrance Stamp to Morocco. He will not be there throughout the whole trip, so take care of that as early as possible once you are on board.
 +
 +
My understanding is that the ticket for trucks is valid for up to 2 persons inside the cab, and its price doesn't vary based on whether or not both places are used up. It also includes a free shower and free meal on board.
 +
 +
The boarding building in Spain has 1 hour of free Wi-Fi to offer. On the Moroccan side, it is supposed to be the same, but it actually turns off more or less every half hour, but also allows you to log in again infinitely.
 +
 +
Personal experience: Blitz and J successfully hitchhiked to Morocco in February 2018. J speaks French and this was essential for communicating with drivers and securing rides. We first tried to pass by the final police check before trucks board the ferry, the on duty officer told us it was impossible, had never been done and we couldn’t pass. Having read hitchwiki we knew this wasn’t true and decided to persist, passing through the fence elsewhere was not an option because we both had packs and the area from the fence to the ferry is large so we would have been spotted immediately. J suggested we try at the roundabout before the final police check anyway incase the officer on duty had changed. We spoke to truck drivers and were both taken through within 20 minutes by trucks. When passing through the police check the officer had changed and the officer on duty barely glanced at either of us.
 +
 +
Me and my friend were not able to make it past the police checkpoints in september 2018. As we tried to walk around the (first?) checkpoint two police officers in a car came and told us to go back. We didnt try it any longer so maybe if you are more sneaky and resistant you can make it.
 +
 +
Boarding the ferry in a truck. Someone drove me into the port, then on the first roundabout we went right, there is a parking with some trucks and a cafeteria. I think it's called "Parque de seguridad". I asked a truck he told me I was crazy. I asked a second one and he took me in. It took me less than a minute... And free meal on the ferry.
 +
 +
== Coming from Morocco ==
 +
 +
Arriving by ferry from Morocco you should have tried to locate a ride on or before the ferry. If this failed (as it did in my case) you arrive at the ''passengers port''. Go past the places where there are long distance buses and you'll come to a crossing. Follow the signs to whatever direction you're going to. If your going direction Malaga (many people going long-distance here) follow the signs saying "Salida Norte" for a couple of minutes and you'll see the huge shipping port. Keep on walking and you'll be on the main road out of the Port, where all cars coming from the ferries are passing.
 +
 +
If you're going far make sure the driver drives on Playa del Sol or some other motorway and don't avoid them because they aren't free.
 +
 +
If you just walk over to where the cars are being led off the ferry and out of the port area (the roundabout by the main building), you can find a lot of people hitching and cars that stop.
 +
 +
Better to try next to the harbour (you can see also a petrol station but don't ask there) there is an alimentary security control for trucks. All trucks trasporting fish or fruit (the bests to go straight in continental europe) must pass by it and stop inside. Either try directly at the ferry harbour (not the big merchandise one) where cars and trucks leave the ferries, or look for trucks that doesn't cross the sea and just wait for containers.
 +
 +
==Sleep==
 +
 +
Waiting hall for the ferries is open 24/24h, is actually safe, controlled and also some other people (locals/homeless/travelers) sleep in it. If you don't find a lift for the ferry or a long lift for Europe, it is better  to sleep there and try the next day instead of moving somewhere else.
 +
 +
== Trashwiki & Nomadwiki ==
 +
 +
[[nomad:Algeciras]] [[trash:Algeciras]]
  
[[File:Hh-maroc-camion.jpg|left|300px|thumb|right|[[Amylin]], inside a truck, hitchhiking onto the ferry from [[Algeciras]], [[Spain]] to [[Tanger]], [[Morocco]], April 2008.]]
 
 
{{IsIn|Spain}}
 
{{IsIn|Spain}}
  
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[[Category:Border crossings]]
 
[[Category:Border crossings]]
 
[[Category:Ferries]]
 
[[Category:Ferries]]
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[[Category:E5]]
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[[Category:E15]]

Revision as of 08:50, 2 October 2020

<map lat='36.132051884162735' lng='-5.44647216796875' zoom='12' view='0' float='right' /> Algeciras is an industrial port-city in southern Spain, in the region named Andalusia. It is one of the main ferry crossings to Tangier, Morocco, from which it is often possible to hitchhike with truckers ("camioneros") onto a boat to Morocco, without having to pay a ticket.

To Morocco

Many drivers have the right to bring a passenger along with them, so it is both legal and free for them to take you along. Beforehand, you will see many trucks waiting in the many parking lots surrounding the port. The easiest way to find a ride is to simply ask, and continue asking everyone you see until you find someone who is leaving on the next boat. The last ferry of the night departs around 24:00, and each ferry loads about an hour before departure. So, to be on the safe side, you should arrive no later than 21.00 if you´d like to try for the last ferry of the night.

There are basically two ways of getting a lift. Walking around and asking truck drivers is one option, you will meet many of them on their way between town and the truck parking lot, a little south of the main terminal, where the military port is. Stand near the roundabout (see maps) and ask people, but they might go hours or days later.
If you want to get a quicker ride, it's better to try your luck right where they boad the ferry. Follow the signposting for the trucks to Tangier. If you feel you are running around areas where no pedestrians should be, don't worry, authorities seem to be quite relaxed. You can walk all the way up to the water where the boats are loaded and ask the truckers waiting there.

Some drivers are actually willing to take more people into their truck than they are allowed, but don't bet on it, it's better to split up if you are hitching with more than 1 person. Once on the ferry, you can expect a free meal and coffee (if your driver is nice and shares the coupon with you), and sometimes even a shower and a room.

Remember that the ferries do not go to Tangier itself, but to Tangier-Med, a port 40 km to the east of Tangier. There is a Bus to Tanger right by the Port, which costs 7MAD (0,70€), but hitchhiking is obviously possible as well.

UPDATE: As of March 2016, renovations of the port seem to be complete. There doesn't seem to be a parking lot where Trucks to Morocco are waiting in the port, but you can just walk all the way through to the quay and ask around there. This has the added advantage that your ride should usually leave on the next ferry, as this is already where everybody is boarding the boat. Right before the last Police checkpoint, there can be quite a queue of trucks, whom you can also ask, but nobody seems to care if you walk past the checkpoint either. Next to the checkpoint there is also a parking lot, but the trucks there are coming from the ferries and are not going to Morocco.

If you are planning on buying a ferry ticket to Morocco, consider sailing out of the little-known port of Motril, which is an hour and a half south of Granada. If you don't want to make the detour all the way to Algeciras, the boat from Motril to Melilla costs about the same as from Algeciras to Ceuta (€36 for adult, €32 for ages 17-21). Drawbacks: Ferries leave only once a day, and the trip is several hours long (although you may enjoy the cruise). Melilla is a bit out of the way, but if you plan on heading straight for Fes or Tazekka National Park, it may be a good starting point.

Formalities

Police might send you away if they find you walking the last metres of the road leading to the quay because you are bypassing the passport control, but once you're on the last, big parking lot where everybody is waiting to board the ferry, noone should bother you, as you're already past all checkpoints.

If you don't have a passport from a Schengen member country, things might be more complicated for you. Using the method described here, you will bypass the passport control on the european side and thus not get an exit stamp, which you might need for different reasons. So it would be wise to find out in advance if you need an exit stamp, in which case you would need to find a truck before passing the checkpoint.

Customs and border crossing patrol will take place on the ferry. You should bring your passport and a pen to fill out the form that you will be given. Sometimes, you have to ask the staff for guidance, since the border personnel expect you to come to them, rather than for them to come to you. You should take care of all passport-stamping before the boat arrives in Tanger because you will have to present your stamped passport page to the authorities before leaving the port.

Personal Experiences

There are more or less two ways to hitch the ferry. You will either ask around in the parking area, or wait at the entrance gate for the trucks boarding the ferry. You are not assured to get an exit stamp of the Schengen Area through any of those options.

The first roundabout South of the boarding station/ticket boots leads you to the parking area where all the trucks wait before boarding, but also after coming out of the ferry that arrived from Morocco: good opportunities to head out very far into Europe will arise from asking around there (within an hour, I could have hopped into 2 trucks headed all the way back to Paris, one truck to London, and one to Italy)!

Multiple parking areas will be awaiting you. Enter the area through the opening in the fence, right before the gates where truckers exit the area, about 50 meters from the roundabout. It is perfectly legal for you to be in there and to ask around for a ride (words of the Portuary Police themselves). However, do not talk to the trucks on the road as the act of soliciting a ride is actually illegal in the port (words, again, of the Portuary Police). I take it that "soliciting a ride" only applies to a running vehicle on the road.

You will have better chances to find a ride if you walk through that first parking area and cross into the second area (there is another opening in the fence back there). The whole point of this is just to avoid walking through the exit gate.

Use the license plates to find out in which language you should try to communicate with the drivers.

If you catch a trucker that still hasn't submitted his forms to the authorities, it is apparently possible that he might be able to get you an exit stamp if you give him your passport, but it would then be possible that you would have to wait a few days around. A truck boarding the ferry has already done all the paperwork, which is why you end up skipping the Spanish Border Authorities.

If you want to try the other option, you should head into the boarding building and find out when the next ferry is leaving: trucks will start driving through the ferry's entrance gate (first roundabout North of the boarding building) as early as an hour and a half before the ferry leaves.

On the ferry, a man sitting in a chair with a computer in front of him will be doing the Entrance Stamp to Morocco. He will not be there throughout the whole trip, so take care of that as early as possible once you are on board.

My understanding is that the ticket for trucks is valid for up to 2 persons inside the cab, and its price doesn't vary based on whether or not both places are used up. It also includes a free shower and free meal on board.

The boarding building in Spain has 1 hour of free Wi-Fi to offer. On the Moroccan side, it is supposed to be the same, but it actually turns off more or less every half hour, but also allows you to log in again infinitely.

Personal experience: Blitz and J successfully hitchhiked to Morocco in February 2018. J speaks French and this was essential for communicating with drivers and securing rides. We first tried to pass by the final police check before trucks board the ferry, the on duty officer told us it was impossible, had never been done and we couldn’t pass. Having read hitchwiki we knew this wasn’t true and decided to persist, passing through the fence elsewhere was not an option because we both had packs and the area from the fence to the ferry is large so we would have been spotted immediately. J suggested we try at the roundabout before the final police check anyway incase the officer on duty had changed. We spoke to truck drivers and were both taken through within 20 minutes by trucks. When passing through the police check the officer had changed and the officer on duty barely glanced at either of us.

Me and my friend were not able to make it past the police checkpoints in september 2018. As we tried to walk around the (first?) checkpoint two police officers in a car came and told us to go back. We didnt try it any longer so maybe if you are more sneaky and resistant you can make it.

Boarding the ferry in a truck. Someone drove me into the port, then on the first roundabout we went right, there is a parking with some trucks and a cafeteria. I think it's called "Parque de seguridad". I asked a truck he told me I was crazy. I asked a second one and he took me in. It took me less than a minute... And free meal on the ferry.

Coming from Morocco

Arriving by ferry from Morocco you should have tried to locate a ride on or before the ferry. If this failed (as it did in my case) you arrive at the passengers port. Go past the places where there are long distance buses and you'll come to a crossing. Follow the signs to whatever direction you're going to. If your going direction Malaga (many people going long-distance here) follow the signs saying "Salida Norte" for a couple of minutes and you'll see the huge shipping port. Keep on walking and you'll be on the main road out of the Port, where all cars coming from the ferries are passing.

If you're going far make sure the driver drives on Playa del Sol or some other motorway and don't avoid them because they aren't free.

If you just walk over to where the cars are being led off the ferry and out of the port area (the roundabout by the main building), you can find a lot of people hitching and cars that stop.

Better to try next to the harbour (you can see also a petrol station but don't ask there) there is an alimentary security control for trucks. All trucks trasporting fish or fruit (the bests to go straight in continental europe) must pass by it and stop inside. Either try directly at the ferry harbour (not the big merchandise one) where cars and trucks leave the ferries, or look for trucks that doesn't cross the sea and just wait for containers.

Sleep

Waiting hall for the ferries is open 24/24h, is actually safe, controlled and also some other people (locals/homeless/travelers) sleep in it. If you don't find a lift for the ferry or a long lift for Europe, it is better to sleep there and try the next day instead of moving somewhere else.

Trashwiki & Nomadwiki

nomad:Algeciras trash:Algeciras