hey /trv/
>thinking of a trip to Morocco and southern Spain in 2017 or before, maybe for two weeks
>American traveler, no Arabic language skills (though can learn the basics), high school Spanish (Mexican and Puerto Rican dialects - for what it's worth, it passed in South America, at least)
how is the situation? language barrier? getting around by yourself? not into tours and shit like that. I've read up on other travel sites, but figured you guys have a more lay-of-the-land impression.
focusing mostly on Morocco, but would like to hop a ferry ride to Spain and see at least Gibraltar and maybe other places close enough to be worth it. any basic thoughts there?
I don't know how easy it is to get a boat directly to Gibraltar; it's definitely easy to get to Algeciras, although I recommend sailing to Tarifa instead. It's a beautiful town with great tapas bars and views of Africa. From Tarifa it's maybe an hour by bus to La Linea, at the border with Gibraltar.
Is it worth the trouble and expense? Yes, but only if you happen to be in Morocco's far north anyway. It's straightforward enough if you're starting in Casa or Rabat, but Moroccan public transport is a pain in the ass so if you're in Chefchaouen don't think "oh I'm not so far from Tangier". Still, Gibraltar is motherfucking cool.
>Situation
There is no situation. There never has been a situation.
>Language barrier
You can use your Spanish in the far north. If you only speak English you'll only interact with people who want to get your money, and you'll quickly convince yourself that all Moroccans are scumbags. Try, try, try to learn as much French as possible before you go. I used a combination of Michel Thomas and Duolingo.
>Getting around by yourself
you'll have to deal with bus ticket salesmen who are mostly crooks. If they're charging you 100 dirham, if the trip isn't at least 3 hours long you're being cheated. Trains are functional but slow and don't go many places.
Shared taxis are the fastest way to get anywhere but they cram you in with six other people which is so uncomfortable I avoid them whenever I can.
Do you have any specific plans?
>Don't bother with Marrakech
>Do go to Rabat
>>1089732
I wouldn't bother with learning Arabic for a trip to Morocco, the dialect is so strong even native speakers from other parts of the Middle East can't understand them a lot of the time
