Should I do Morocco only, or combine it with Spain?

It's a tempting pairing because the two are so close — you can literally see Spain from Tangier — and Andalusia's Alhambra, Seville, and Córdoba share deep Moorish roots with Morocco, so they make a genuinely coherent cultural story. Travellers who do both often love watching the same architectural and culinary threads play out on either side of the Strait of Gibraltar. There's real merit to it.

But I'm honest about the cost of combining: Morocco alone richly fills ten days to two weeks, and folding Spain in usually means short-changing one or both. The ferry and onward travel eat time, and the rhythms are different — bouncing from Marrakech's intensity to Seville's tapas bars in quick succession can feel like two half-trips rather than one whole one. If you only have a week or ten days, I almost always say give it all to Morocco.

The combination really earns its place when you have the time — say seventeen days or more. Then you can do a proper Moroccan loop (cities and desert), cross via Tangier, and give Andalusia its own unhurried week, letting the contrast enrich both rather than blur them. Done at that length, it's one of the great cultural journeys, and the Strait crossing becomes a highlight in itself.

So weigh depth against breadth. Limited time, first visit, want to truly know one country — Morocco only, no hesitation. Generous time and a love of the shared Moorish heritage — by all means add Spain, but resource it properly. The mistake is squeezing both into a fortnight and feeling you rushed each.