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Hi,

I’m trying to figure out an itinerary to travel from UK through France & Spain to Morocco on the Tarifa-Tangier ferry in January - I read that Man in Seat 61 highly recommends this route. However having got as far as finding trains as far as Antequera-Santa Ana (using seat61’s suggested itineraries) I’ve now got rather stuck. I’ve not found any departures at suitable times from Antequera to Algeciras, looking on the interrail planner, renfe.com and raileurope.com so I’ve no idea whether the itinerary is feasible, so daren’t book anything yet. I’ve a few questions…

Is it too soon to expect train times on this route to be published? There seems to be one train time published on the route but at a totally unsuitable time - the one mentioned by seat61 doesn’t appear, although if I look at dates in December there are far more trains.

According to seat61, the Antequera to Algeciras trains are Media Distancia. Do these require seat reservations?

And finally, I read that interrail passholders can get a discount on the ferry. Since the plan was to stay overnight in Algeciras and take the ferry the next morning , I assume this would count as a day on my pass wouldn’t it? In which case I guess I’d need to work out whether the saving justifies getting a longer pass.

Thanks

Renfe publish timetables whenever they feel like it. There's no way of telling when that will be. To get an idea of the timetables, look at closer dates on the same day of the week. If you want help, please mention your travel date (“January” isn't a date).

If you get a pass discount, then you never need to use a travel day. It just needs to be within the validity period.

You can book on https://aml.ma/ where you can select the pass discount in step 2 of the booking process.

Renfe publish timetables whenever they feel like it. There's no way of telling when that will be. To get an idea of the timetables, look at closer dates on the same day of the week. If you want help, please mention your travel date (“January” isn't a date).

If you get a pass discount, then you never need to use a travel day. It just needs to be within the validity period.

You can book on https://aml.ma/ where you can select the pass discount in step 2 of the booking process.


Thinking of leaving UK on 27th Jan early, reaching Algeciras on 28th eve. There’s currently a 15.09 from Antequera (according to Renfe) but looking in January only 1 train a day in the morning 🤔 .Taking ferry on 29th, if I needed the pass for the discount I’d need a more expensive pass but sounds like that won’t be necessary 👍. Probably returning from Algeciras on 2nd Feb early. Can flex these dates by a day or 2 depending on what’s available.

I would expect more trains too but you never know with RENFE. Fortunately there’s an easy alternative if needed:

  • direct AVE Barcelona - Malaga 08:35 - 15:05 (over 1200 km!)
  • Bus Malaga - Algeciras 1h45 → no pass discount but shouldn’t be too expensive

Mandatory seat reservations will be a big part of your budget: 30€ Eurostar, 35€ Paris - Barcelona TGV, 12€ domestic AVE, etc. However separate tickets might not be cheaper. Worth checking though. The flexibility you get with Interrail isn’t useful in Spain or France where you need to plan ahead anyway.

I would expect more trains too but you never know with RENFE. Fortunately there’s an easy alternative if needed:

  • direct AVE Barcelona - Malaga 08:35 - 15:05 (over 1200 km!)
  • Bus Malaga - Algeciras 1h45 → no pass discount but shouldn’t be too expensive

Mandatory seat reservations will be a big part of your budget: 30€ Eurostar, 35€ Paris - Barcelona TGV, 12€ domestic AVE, etc. However separate tickets might not be cheaper. Worth checking though. The flexibility you get with Interrail isn’t useful in Spain or France where you need to plan ahead anyway.


Thank you that sounds like a possibility. Thinking about it again my original idea for Antequera to Algeciras was a bit daft as although I understand it’s supposed to be an attractive route it would probably be dark most of the way at that time 🙄. I might also think about rejigging the whole itinerary to go direct from Madrid to Algeciras, for which I did find a service. But then I might consider the bus for the return trip as I’m struggling to find many services from Algeciras at the moment.

 

Might I be better off perhaps waiting until the new year to book, maybe I’d find more options then? My worry then would be that I’d miss out on booking some of the legs if they fill up.

 

Yes I’m aware that the pass doesn’t offer much flexibility in Spain and France, found that travelling to Lisbon last year. 
 

Regarding the bus to/from Malaga, do you know how I book that (if it is bookable in advance)?

From a quick Google search Avanza seems to be the main operator on this route. Tickets could probably sell out. https://malaga.avanzagrupo.com/en

You shouldn't wait too long to book the Eurostar but the rest can wait in my opinion.

I guess I'd do Barcelona - Malaga + bus to Algeciras on day 2 and the stunning railway on the way back.

Been a few years snce we did it but we got a coach from Jerez to Algeciras. Not sure I’d choose to spend the night in Algeciras to be honest.

The one thing I did make a note of was that the Baleares ferries were much more reliable than the other companies. We gave up our return with Acciona / Transmediterranea as we were stuck in port for three and a half hours with them on the way out and had a connection to make on the way back. 

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