Because Tarifa only lies 14 kilometers from Africa, one of the many reasons for traveling to this seemingly isolated region is to catch a ferry even further south, across the Strait of Gibraltar to the coastal towns of northern Africa. The ferries tend to be highly touristy and a bit pricey, but depending on how much time you have available, may be worth the ride. Following are a few of the more popular ferry companies that can be found in Tarifa.

• FRS Ferries offers one-way, all-day and two-day tour passes to Tangier ranging from 22 to 84 euros. The ferries leave Tarifa every Wednesday at 11:30 and 18:00 and every Friday at 11:30 and 19:00. For more information check out www.frs.es.

• Speedlines Tours has an office located on Tarifa's main drag, Batalla del Salado. Speedlines offers English-speaking guides who lead tours through Tangier for about 48 euros per person including lunch. For more information check out www.speedlines-tours.com.

• Euroferrys offers tours leaving from both Tarifa and the nearby port of Algeciras to Tangier, Ceuta, and Tetuan. A two-day tour of Tangier from Tarifa will set you back 156 euros, but includes hotel, meals and an English-speaking guide. A single-day tour to any of the above places from Algeciras is 48 euros, including a meal and some cultural events. For more information on scheduling and prices check out www.euroferrys.com.

Be forewarned that only European citizens may take ferries from the port of Tarifa, while all other nationalities must leave from the Algeciras port. Algeciras lies only a 20-minute drive from Tarifa though, and buses leave almost hourly from the main drag. For those who are going the budget route and ferries are out of the question, you can take comfort in that fact that the wonders of the African coast can be seen clearly on most days from the Tarifa beaches.

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