Gibraltar plans

I will be stopping in Gibraltar in April from 8-5pm. I am hoping to do the following

Basic cab tour of upper rock

Dolphin safari

Afternoon tea at Hotel Caleta

Is this all feasible in a day? If so, does anyone have suggestions on the best order?

Thx, Shan

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I guess it depends on the timing of the Dolphin Safari, but ideally the Upper Rock tour first - there'll be plenty of sharers milling around the vans so you'll be off and away quickly. Later in the day you 'll probably find no sharers at the pier, mebbe no taxis or vans, and the Upper Rock will be more congested (it's a one-way system up there). And that tour takes care of your transportation from the pier.

The Upper Rock tour will take 90 mins to 2 hours.

Bale out of the Rock tour when it comes back down to the town at Casemates Square - that's where most will bale out to explore Main Street etc, but some may want to continue back to the ship. If no-one wants to go back to the ship, you could ask the driver to take you round to Caleta Bay - he'll want paying cos it's out-of-the-way on the Med side of the Rock. If he's not available there'll be a taxi rank behind Casemates Square. If your tea at Caleta Hotel is at a set time & you have time in hand consider a short tour anti-clockwise round the Rock at sea-level via Europa Point & the Med tunnels rather than the shorter clockwise route past the airport.

When is your appointment with the dolphins?

JB :)

Hi

You could do all three activities, but I think it sounds a little rushed. It all depends on you leaving the ship promptly, getting your taxi to take you to the Dolphin tour and finding that your Dolphin tour fits in nicely. I am not sure how long the Dolphin tours are - but I suppose if you got an 11.30 tour you would have plenty of time to get round to Catalan Bay. I would be wanting to have tea by 3 pm to allow enough time to get back to the ship. The traffic can get really congested around the runway area and you may have to wait for a taxi. So you should be leaving at 3.45 pm at the latest. The whole point of an afternoon tea for me is taking time to savour the tea in a relaxed atmosphere. I am not sure that you would achieve that.

There is a lovely tea shop in Ocean Village - you could go there straight from the Dolphin Safari - not quite the same as afternoon tea at a hotel because you do not get the views, but at least you are within walking distance of the ship.

Hi John, so no need to pre book tour for Gibraltar? Lot of shared taxi in port?

Sent from my SM-A520W using Forums mobile app

Hi John, so no need to pre book tour for Gibraltar? Lot of shared taxi in port?

 

Sent from my SM-A520W using Forums mobile app

Correct :)

But make sure you get off the ship at the same time as, or a little before, the herd. That way you'll have no problem getting a van or a long wait while others join to fill the van.

Later you could find a shortage of both.

JB :)

I will be in Gibraltar in April and thought about dolphin safari but looking on website it says the least likely time of year to spot them is April!

so just a heads up

I will be in Gibraltar in April and thought about dolphin safari but looking on website it says the least likely time of year to spot them is April!

 

so just a heads up

It could be a little chilly/windy too - I think you really have to decide on whether to do the dolphin trip on the day.

Get off early and you will get a rock tour (my previous post was a bit garbled about that). You do not have to book the taxis, but the taxi drivers will want you to fill up the van. They may encourage you to share or the price per person will rise (same thing happens in Italy/France, you pay per car).

Quick Question on Gibraltar DO we need Euros. GBP , Gibraltar Pounds or USD?

Quick Question on Gibraltar DO we need Euros. GBP , Gibraltar Pounds or USD?

GBP or Euros.

Most cruisers opt for Euros because its a common currency of many other Med ports on their itinerary.

Check conversion rates, they do vary widely & some shops quote very competitive GBP prices but load their conversion rates - watch out for that if you use Euros.

If you use GBP, don't accept change in Gib bills - you can only use them in Gib. Shops will generally sift thro the bills in their cash register for GBP if asked

Plastic also widely accepted. If you are asked if you want to be billed in the currency of your card (USD?), decline. Leave it in local currency & your card issuer will convert at a much better rate - this applies to all outlets worldwide, including cruise ships if ship's currency isn't the same as your card.

Probably there are a few places which will accept USD, but will give awful exchange rates.

Whilst the USD is the king of foreign currencies in places like the Caribbean, the Euro is the king of foreign currencies in the Med.

Beware of pick-pockets on the Upper Rock. They're easy to spot - they've got tails :D

JB :)

GBP or Euros.

Most cruisers opt for Euros because its a common currency of many other Med ports on their itinerary.

Check conversion rates, they do vary widely & some shops quote very competitive GBP prices but load their conversion rates - watch out for that if you use Euros.

 

If you use GBP, don't accept change in Gib bills - you can only use them in Gib. Shops will generally sift thro the bills in their cash register for GBP if asked

 

Plastic also widely accepted. If you are asked if you want to be billed in the currency of your card (USD?), decline. Leave it in local currency & your card issuer will convert at a much better rate - this applies to all outlets worldwide, including cruise ships if ship's currency isn't the same as your card.

 

Probably there are a few places which will accept USD, but will give awful exchange rates.

Whilst the USD is the king of foreign currencies in places like the Caribbean, the Euro is the king of foreign currencies in the Med.

 

Beware of pick-pockets on the Upper Rock. They're easy to spot - they've got tails :D

 

JB :)

Thank you very much for this info!

Coolhand and Island Gull55

As has been said, our currency is pounds sterling. Most businesses will accept euro or dollars, but the exchange rate will be less favourable than if you call in any of the exchange bureau along Main Street. You cannot blame them.

You will usually find that any change you get will be in pounds. It is one thing to accept the currency, another to carry a float in each currency in order to be able to give change. Businesses do understand that you will want pounds sterling in your change rather than Gibraltar pounds. They are equivalent in value but obviously not easy to exchange out of Gibraltar, so they are usually happy to oblige. Locals have the same issue when we are travelling to UK so often have to ask shops to sort out coins and notes.