Walking to ship from Gibraltar Main Street

[1965]

Our cruise on the Regal in Nov. includes a stop in Gibraltar. An excursion I'm considering gives the option of dropping us off on Main Street at excursion end where we may take a taxi or walk back to ship. Can someone tell me how far the walk is? Thanks for any info & input.

[pris993]

If you are use to walking it is doable.  My DH and myself have walked it several times over the years and we are seniors.

[Steelers36]

30 minutes ago, 1965 said:

Our cruise on the Regal in Nov. includes a stop in Gibraltar. An excursion I'm considering gives the option of dropping us off on Main Street at excursion end where we may take a taxi or walk back to ship. Can someone tell me how far the walk is? Thanks for any info & input.

Ever use Google Maps?  

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Main+St,+Gibraltar+GX11+1AA,+Gibraltar/Gibraltar+Cruise+Terminal,+Gibraltar/@36.142669,-5.3685743,15.26z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0xd0cbf81c00ec0a9:0x34a498e2a79210cf!2m2!1d-5.3537568!2d36.1396407!1m5!1m1!1s0xd0cc076db665da5:0x10317990c4bdb13!2m2!1d-5.3657812!2d36.1476014!3e2

 

[1965]

Steelers36-It never occured to me to use google maps. Thanks!

[caribill]

How far the walk is depends on where on the main street you are starting from.

 

From the town gate closest to the ship, it is less than a 30 minute walk.

[wowzz]

3 hours ago, caribill said:

How far the walk is depends on where on the main street you are starting from.

 

From the town gate closest to the ship, it is less than a 30 minute walk.

If you are a very slow walker ! About 15 minutes to the start of the shopping street. 

[taxmantoo]

There is also a shuttle bus stop just outside the gate to the city.  Don't remember the exact cost but it was approx 2 Euro or so.

[wowzz]

1 minute ago, taxmantoo said:

There is also a shuttle bus stop just outside the gate to the city.  Don't remember the exact cost but it was approx 2 Euro or so.

Don't forget that Gibraltar uses sterling, rather than euro's, and all prices in shops etc are shown in £. You can use €, but check the fx rate. 

[caribill]

4 hours ago, wowzz said:

If you are a very slow walker ! About 15 minutes to the start of the shopping street. 

 

Agree. It has been several years since we last did that walk, so all I remembered is that it was less than 30 minutes.

 

In good weather it is a very nice 15 minute walk.

[skynight]

We did a few times. Was not difficult. You can see when you leave if you can handle it.

[nocl]

1.3 km from the end of the cruise terminal to Grand Casemates Square

 

Nice walk.

[jimbo1683]

Just an aside, what is the excursion? Gibraltar is so small and easy to navigate that I expect you could do the same excursion by yourself at considerably less cost.

[crimsonbird]

Gibralter weather is chancy.  We have been there 3 times...and only once was the weather nice.  It can be windy and rainy so it is good you are taking an excursion.  The monkeys are fabulous.  We have walked back to the ship on the only one nice weather day.  You can take the shuttle...or just ask your driver to bring you back to the ship.  Enjoy.

[1965]

1 hour ago, jimbo1683 said:

Just an aside, what is the excursion? Gibraltar is so small and easy to navigate that I expect you could do the same excursion by yourself at considerably less cost.

It's called "Cable Car & Great Seige Tunnels." It includes Europa Point, Top Station, Ape's Den, guided tour of Upper Galleries, & guided tour of City Under Seige Exhibition. It's $100 pp, US dollar. 

[sewgood]

After our excursion we were dropped at the other end of town and just slowly strolled through looking at the shops and cafes. When we got to the other end where the shuttle was we made the decision to walk back to the ship not really knowing the way but it was easy as we just went in the oposite direction to those passengers and crew walking to town from the ship.

It took about 15 minutes and was all flat and the roads were easily crossed.

You can always make the decision on the day according to how tired you are or how hot/windy or rainy the day is. The shuttle will be at the other end of the main shopping centre if you wish to use it.

We had a wonderful day in Gibraltar and would love to go back and explore another part of the rock next time.

Have a wonderful cruise in a delightful part of the world.🙂

[jimbo1683]

2 hours ago, 1965 said:

It's called "Cable Car & Great Seige Tunnels." It includes Europa Point, Top Station, Ape's Den, guided tour of Upper Galleries, & guided tour of City Under Seige Exhibition. It's $100 pp, US dollar. 

Ah well that price doesnt seem too bad, you'd definitely be able to do it by yourself if you were so inclined

[cruisequeen4ever]

We had hiked the Med Steps that day, so by the time we got back to Main Street, I asked DH if we could plllllease take the shuttle back to the ship. If you don’t plan on doing a ton of walking that day, it might be fine, but if you plan on hiking, you may want the shuttle. 

[1965]

53 minutes ago, cruisequeen4ever said:

We had hiked the Med Steps that day, so by the time we got back to Main Street, I asked DH if we could plllllease take the shuttle back to the ship. If you don’t plan on doing a ton of walking that day, it might be fine, but if you plan on hiking, you may want the shuttle. 

I was reading about those steps. They are way, WAY above our skill level. 😁

[JimmyTheSaint]

Walking from Casemates Square ( the end of the Main street closest to the cruise terminal ) is flat and takes about 15 minutes. It's very easy to navigate, you'll be able to see the ship.

[LarryL]

On 1/7/2022 at 10:44 PM, 1965 said:

Our cruise on the Regal in Nov. includes a stop in Gibraltar. An excursion I'm considering gives the option of dropping us off on Main Street at excursion end where we may take a taxi or walk back to ship. Can someone tell me how far the walk is? Thanks for any info & input.

The walk from the entrance of Casemates Square to the ship is about 3/4 mile. The whole area is very walkable. We walked from the ship to the cable car and then from the top of Gibraltar back to the ship. That was about 5.5 miles +. Hard to gauge because we meandered quite a bit on top on the many trails and caves. There are lots of shops and restaurants in Casemates Square and the surrounding area. We had lunch at Lord Nelson's. I hope you get a clear day.

[Anubi]

Has anyone done DIY to the WW II tunnels and then the top of Gibraltar?  It looks doable.  

[John Bull]

5 hours ago, Anubi said:

Has anyone done DIY to the WW II tunnels and then the top of Gibraltar?  It looks doable.  

 

Two ways to do it ....................

 

1. Because of time constraints, take a taxi from the cruise terminal to the WW2 tunnels.

The entrance is a few hundred yards up from the Moorish Castle - the driver may suggest you walk up from the Moorish castle if there's an upper Rock fee fpr vehicles.

WW2 Tunnel tours are accompanied, have been every half-hour but check the current frequency, and the tour takes about an hour. When you exit (the exit is higher up the road than the entrance) get the guide to point you in the right direction for the top of the Rock (about 35 - 40 minuts). Close to the top, you might want to continue south for 5 minutes to meet the residents at the (no fee) upper apes den (Barbary Macaque Feeding Station on googlemaps) and perhaps risk the SkyWalk.

From the top, go down on the cablecar (usually no delay - fewer people go down than go up)

https://goo.gl/maps/twYUD4C1JCPMwjLT9

 

From the cablecar base station, walk thro the South Bastion Gate, by the little Trafalgar Cemetery & down thro the shops, pubs & minor sights of pedestrianised Main Street to Casemates Square (20 minutes). From there a straightforward 20 minute walk back to your ship

https://goo.gl/maps/YQ5JYF17AsdqPiwW9

 

If you do this the other way round,  take a taxi from the cruise terminal to the cablecar base station to ensure you get there by about 9.30am - by about 10 am coachloads of daytrippers from the Spanish resorts descend on the place and the  queue for the cablecar can be long.

 

One risk - in moderately high winds the cablecar is suspended (pun intended),  walking down would add significantly to your time, effort and frustration

2. Better and easier to take a van tour of the upper Rock from the cruise terminal and bale out at the end of the tour as it passes the WW2 tunnels entrance.

Join a van tour outside the terminal (no need to pre-book) or book a ship's standard upper Rock van tour. This takes you to the Pillars of Hercules (southerly views to Africa), St Michael's cave (great westerly views over the Bay of Algeciras), the upper Apes den (great easterly views over the Mediterranean, though sometimes blotted out by clouds which roll up the vertical eastern face), and Great Siege Tunnels (sheer veriical face with great northerly views over the airport & Spanish border).

About an hour & three-quarters, cost a few years back was £22 or €25 per person incl entrance fees

After the Great Siege Tunnels the tour returns to town past the entrance to the WW2 tunnels, so ask the driver to drop you there. That's what we did. 

Took a tour of the WW2 tunnels, then walked down past the Moorish castle to the Willis as Road bus stop, & bus to Casemates Square. It's possible to walk all the way down, but you might need to ask for directions from time to time.

 

Here's a typical standard upper Rock van tour route - due to narrow one-way roads the sights are always in that order.

https://goo.gl/maps/CjxCBLXPDdx6ypVV7

.... and some detail on the website of a typical private van tour operator (pre-booked means booking the entire van, max 8 people, no minimum) https://www.rocktoursgibraltar.com/packages/standard-tour

 

Do work out your timings carefully, & be prepared to modify on-the-day.

Bear in mind that latest back-on-board time is normally 30 minutes before the advertised sailing time

 

JB 🙂

[Anubi]

10 hours ago, John Bull said:

 

Two ways to do it ....................

 

1. Because of time constraints, take a taxi from the cruise terminal to the WW2 tunnels.

The entrance is a few hundred yards up from the Moorish Castle - the driver may suggest you walk up from the Moorish castle if there's an upper Rock fee fpr vehicles.

WW2 Tunnel tours are accompanied, have been every half-hour but check the current frequency, and the tour takes about an hour. When you exit (the exit is higher up the road than the entrance) get the guide to point you in the right direction for the top of the Rock (about 35 - 40 minuts). Close to the top, you might want to continue south for 5 minutes to meet the residents at the (no fee) upper apes den (Barbary Macaque Feeding Station on googlemaps) and perhaps risk the SkyWalk.

From the top, go down on the cablecar (usually no delay - fewer people go down than go up)

https://goo.gl/maps/twYUD4C1JCPMwjLT9

 

From the cablecar base station, walk thro the South Bastion Gate, by the little Trafalgar Cemetery & down thro the shops, pubs & minor sights of pedestrianised Main Street to Casemates Square (20 minutes). From there a straightforward 20 minute walk back to your ship

https://goo.gl/maps/YQ5JYF17AsdqPiwW9

 

If you do this the other way round,  take a taxi from the cruise terminal to the cablecar base station to ensure you get there by about 9.30am - by about 10 am coachloads of daytrippers from the Spanish resorts descend on the place and the  queue for the cablecar can be long.

 

One risk - in moderately high winds the cablecar is suspended (pun intended),  walking down would add significantly to your time, effort and frustration

2. Better and easier to take a van tour of the upper Rock from the cruise terminal and bale out at the end of the tour as it passes the WW2 tunnels entrance.

Join a van tour outside the terminal (no need to pre-book) or book a ship's standard upper Rock van tour. This takes you to the Pillars of Hercules (southerly views to Africa), St Michael's cave (great westerly views over the Bay of Algeciras), the upper Apes den (great easterly views over the Mediterranean, though sometimes blotted out by clouds which roll up the vertical eastern face), and Great Siege Tunnels (sheer veriical face with great northerly views over the airport & Spanish border).

About an hour & three-quarters, cost a few years back was £22 or €25 per person incl entrance fees

After the Great Siege Tunnels the tour returns to town past the entrance to the WW2 tunnels, so ask the driver to drop you there. That's what we did. 

Took a tour of the WW2 tunnels, then walked down past the Moorish castle to the Willis as Road bus stop, & bus to Casemates Square. It's possible to walk all the way down, but you might need to ask for directions from time to time.

 

Here's a typical standard upper Rock van tour route - due to narrow one-way roads the sights are always in that order.

https://goo.gl/maps/CjxCBLXPDdx6ypVV7

.... and some detail on the website of a typical private van tour operator (pre-booked means booking the entire van, max 8 people, no minimum) https://www.rocktoursgibraltar.com/packages/standard-tour

 

Do work out your timings carefully, & be prepared to modify on-the-day.

Bear in mind that latest back-on-board time is normally 30 minutes before the advertised sailing time

 

JB 🙂

Thanks so much John.  This information is very appreciated.  

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

On 1/8/2022 at 6:55 PM, 1965 said:

It's called "Cable Car & Great Seige Tunnels." It includes Europa Point, Top Station, Ape's Den, guided tour of Upper Galleries, & guided tour of City Under Seige Exhibition. It's $100 pp, US dollar. 

That sounds like a good excursion, though of course you probably could do most of it on your own, but not all that easily.  I took a public bus to Europa Point.  There is a beautiful lighthouse (just see exterior) and a mosque.  We went to the city and got a taxi up to/on the rock.  We went to City Under Seige (and tunnels), spent a little time at the top and with the monkeys, and in the caves (very pretty).  Then we spent a short while in the town, and I went off to find the bus to Europa Point.  I forget if I walked back to the port or took a shuttle - probably a shuttle paid for by the cruise line (Oceania) or port/city.  My pictures, with annotations, are, about 2/3rds of way down page:  here: https://pbase.com/roothy123/iberian_sojourn__portugal_spain_gib&page=all