Crossing between Spain and Morocco on a motorbike
Are you thinking of crossing from Spain to Morocco and back on your motorbike?
In my Hat Adventure I travelled between Algeciras (Spain) and Tanger Med (Morocco), so this is my experience on a UK-registered motorbike.
I did this in June 2025 - things may have changed since then.
Before you set off, you will need your V5C - this document shows the registered keeper of the vehicle.
I also recommend bringing a pen.
Crossing To Morocco
Algeciras
Useful links/locations:-
When I arrived in Algeciras, I went to the Embarkation checkpoint first. The gent was very helpful despite my lack of Spanish and his lack of English. He told me I needed to buy a ticket first and pulled out a set of QR codes which opened Google Maps and showed the ticket office location. He kindly informed me that there was a ferry with Armas/Trasmediterranea at 8am, or a later one with DFDS at 9am (it was 7:20am at this point). Be careful - I tried to use the free parking by the ticket office, but the access road said no motorcycles forcing me to u-turn and drive the wrong way down the road in front of the police. I found the motorcycle parking and squeezed through the gap to park.
Ticket acquired, I returned to the friendly checkpoint chap who let me through and I passed through Customs and then Border control, the latter putting an exit stamp in my passport.
I rode up onto the ferry and was directed by the crew where to park. They secured the bike using ratchet straps through the engine bars. I was on the 8am ferry and ready to leave!
Some people suggested buying tickets in advance as ferries can be be booked up quite quickly. My ferry, first thing on a Monday morning, had only 9 cars on it. I can’t see how it makes commercial sense for 4 operators to run ferries on this route given the lack of traffic! Alternatively, I had encountered a ticket booth at a service station near Seville - but as I didn’t know what time I’d be travelling I thought it best to get tickets at the port.
I bought a one-way ticket as I didn’t know when I’d be returning and might choose a different ferry operator. The cost was €68.
On board - Algeciras to Tanger Med
I found people were filling in landing cards - small pieces of paper listing your details, where you’ll be staying, your occupation, etc1 2. There was a stack of them at the cafe at the rear of the boat but no pens - I had to borrow one from a fellow traveller (this is why I suggested you bring a pen!).
I left the first entry (“CIN No”) blank.
Around 20mins after departing, a Moroccan border official opened a small office in the middle of the boat. Queue up with your passport and landing card. He checked my passport and landing card, entered details onto a laptop, stamped my passport and copied a number from the laptop onto the landing card CIN field and wrote it above my entry stamp.
Arriving in Tanger Med
Useful links/locations:-
My passport was checked for a valid entry stamp on the quayside, barely 10 metres from the end of the ferry ramp.
I allowed all the cars to disembark first so I could follow them - but by the time I’d had my passport checked they’d all disappeared. Eventually I found the “Exit” signs (it’s a big port!) and followed them to reach Customs. I was at the back of the queue and they were unloading each vehicle in turn, two at a time, so I settled in for a wait.
When my time came, they asked for my “carte grise”. I wasn’t sure what this was, so we muddled through it not being a visa, nor vehicle insurance. Eventually I worked out that this is the V5C. The officer’s supervisor came over and asked me what I called the V5C and explained to his colleague that the UK called them different things before wandering off with my passport and V5C. I had to open my panniers, and was asked if I had a drone or any maps (no drone and only GPS navigation). Shortly afterwards the supervisor returned with my passport and V5C, and handed me a small slip of paper - my temporary import permit for the motorbike - and sent me on my way.
Freedom!
Not quite - a short distance on, I was stopped at another checkpoint where the officer wants my passport and import permit. A cursory glance and I’m on my way again.
I was free - but instead did a short hop to the currency exchangers to get some Moroccan Dirhams (MAD). I also opted to get some vehicle insurance as my insurance didn’t cover Morocco3.
Insurance wanted to see my passport, V5C and temporary import permit. Minimum duration was for 5 days, and cost me 500MAD (~€50, cash only) and I was duly issued a certificate of insurance. The attendent was very clear that I needed to keep my temporary import permit safe otherwise my motorbike might not leave Morocco.
Returning to Spain
Tanger Med
Useful links/locations:-
I tried to be clever and thought that the ticket booths would be located separately from the vehicle entrance as per Algeciras! I lost time finding out I was wrong. Eventually I rode through the vehicle entrance - security waved me through the gate and I parked up near the ticket offices. Tickets stopped being sold 2 hours before departure so the next sailing was 10:30am with Trasmediterranea - the cost was 596MAD (~€56).
My first security checkpoint wanted my passport and the temporary import permit for the bike. They checked the licence matched the permit. I was cleared to continue and rode a long distance to the next checkpoint where my bike was x-rayed, then another queue to unload vehicles for inspection. Thankfully I was waved through this and sent on to a final checkpoint who verified my boarding pass. I followed a motorhome with hope but they were on an earlier DFDS ferry - the attendent directed me to the right queue.
Before riding up the loading ramp onto the ferry, they again checked my passport and ferry ticket. I rode up onto the ferry and the deckhands secured it.
There’s no landing cards or border control on this sailing - it’s all done in Algeciras. I queued at the customs and border booths at the port, got an entry stamp in my passport, and I was free to ride off into Spain.
Footnotes
The web seems to suggest that landing cards were abolished in 2019 but most people seemed to be filling them in and the Border official used it. ↩︎
There’s a picture of a landing card in this Motorroamers post about a third of the way down. ↩︎
I don’t know if vehicle insurance is mandatory or not - I was never asked by any officials about it. Perhaps they only demand to see it if you have an incident? ↩︎