Almería-Nador ferry check-in: times and steps

Checking in for the ferry to Nador is more than showing a ticket: you drive into the port of Almería, pass security and the Spanish passport check, and park the car on the vehicle deck. That takes time, and every operator asks a different margin for it: Baleària wants to see you on the quay with the car five hours before departure, with Naviera Armas boarding closes one hour before. This page lists those times per operator, with the source, and below them the steps from the port gate to the barrier in Beni Ensar.

Which sailings there are, you see on the timetable. Which papers you must carry and what Moroccan customs does with your car is under customs and documents.

Back from Nador it goes in reverse order and everything starts in the port of Beni Ensar: check-in with the operator, Moroccan customs taking back the car’s import document, the Moroccan exit stamp, and then on board. In Almería only the Spanish passport check follows on arrival.

Be in Nador well in time, because customs and exit control come before boarding. The time the operator names is the latest boarding time; customs comes on top: usually quick outside the high season, much longer during Operation Marhaba and around public holidays. GNV opens check-in in Nador nine hours before departure and closes it on this route two hours before departure. The other operators publish no separate time for Nador. In summer the queue stretches outside the port.

As a foot passenger you may bring plenty of luggage, as long as you can carry it yourself. Large or fragile items are tagged separately at the desk. With a car you secure everything well and declare gas bottles, jerrycans, batteries and other hazardous goods to the operator beforehand; the rules differ per operator. That includes the gas bottles in a motorhome: declare them and close the valves during the crossing. If you run on LPG, say so when booking and at check-in: Baleària puts gas cars in a separate spot in the garage, with the other operators you ask.

Rebooking and no-shows you arrange with the operator, not with the port. Flexible or dearer fares allow changes and cancellations, the cheapest fares usually do not. If you miss the ship, go straight to your operator’s desk: sometimes you can take the next sailing for a fee. With AML your ticket stays valid for a year for a later crossing after a missed sailing, if there is space. Arrange this at the operator’s desk, not at sales points outside the port grounds.