Around both Spain and Portugal train is probably best although there is also decent bus service. Oddly, there aren’t a lot of trains and it’s a fairly long ride between Spain and Portugal. I’d look for a flight or an overnight train is a good option. The Spanish rail website is www.renfe.com You can use the German rail website for schedules anywhere in Europe: http://reiseauskunft… There is frequent ferry service and numerous flights from southern Spain to Morocco. Use www.whichbudget.com to see which budget airlines fly which routes and check our “cheap flights” forum for other tips and advice.

How many people are going with you…if you have a couple of friends along , car rental is a failry reasonable option

it will just be me, traveling solo, so car rental is out of the question, unfortunately.

How long you going to Morroco? If just going for a day to Tangiers to say you’ve been there forget it. It’s a seriously sketchy town. Even if going with a tour group you’ll be taken to carpet shops, leather goods shops and pressured into buying. Most tour operators get kickbacks from the merchants.

Better to make a bee line out of Tangiers before darkness and head for the real morroco in Fez, Rabat maybe Marrakesh. Spend about 4 days.

Thats just the thing…I want to see the real Morocco, not those BS tours they take you on and show you some belly dancers and souvenir shops. But I was told its not recommended for females to go there on their own, so I’m not sure of what to do. I want to spend several days in Morocco, at least 3, but if I will be stared down and have to worry about walking the streets on my own, I’m not sure if its the best idea. Any advice? If there’s any groups that go there I would love to join, but not like the tour ones that go for a few hours just to say they’ve been.

I’m not sexist or anything, but I would seriously reconsider traveling alone in Morroco. It is very much a male society, where females are sort of second class citizens. Single women traveling alone are pretty much considered prostitutes (expect to be propositioned, molested, pinched, followed, etc. – at least this was my girlfriend’s experience in Tangiers). I have since been told that if a woman is wearing a wedding band, she will not be bothered (bad form to hit on a married women I guess-maybe wear a cheap ring on your wedding finger when in Morroco).

In the smaller towns the people were super friendly and the men more respectful (at least while I was round). Morroco is a beautiful place, but you should pack lots of patience and good humor. I really liked Essaouira (near Marrakech) right on ther ocean. Geat old city, great beach and a very relaxed vibe. We stayed at at the Essaouira Hotel, which is really a hostel. This place is super friendly and cheap. If you have a chance, go to the desert or up into the Atlas mountains