Pre-book Gibraltar taxi tour or just hire one at the port?

[buckeye7]

Our Princess cruise will be in Gibraltar for one day this spring. My husband and I (and possibly a few others from our cruise) would like to take a Taxi Tour. I tried a couple times to get a quote online from Gibraltar Taxi Association, but never heard back. I'm trying to figure out if there is another company that someone can recommend to hire or if it's just as good to wait and find a taxi at the port. Are prices the same whether pre-booked or not? How quickly are all the taxis taken at the port?  (I tried doing a search for this but didn't find these answers.) Thank you so much for any help as we make our plans! 

[Over from NZ]

This was an exceptional tour last time we were there - 

https://www.rocktoursgibraltar.com/packages/ultimate-tour

 

[bellaone]

We had an idea of what we wanted to do, walked off the ship where there is a well run kiosk. We just walked up to and made arrangements on the spot. There is a cab queue. 

[mort&fran]

On 1/16/2023 at 9:33 AM, bellaone said:

We had an idea of what we wanted to do, walked off the ship where there is a well run kiosk. We just walked up to and made arrangements on the spot. There is a cab queue. 

That was our experience, too; except we had no plans in mind. Just got the next taxi in line and were very happy with the tour we received

[John Bull]

In a nutshell ..........

Tours offered by the vans at the cruise terminal are at a reasonable fixed-price, in their 1 hr 30 - 1 hr 45 mins they give you a decent oversight & stops. 

 

If you're at the quayside near the front of the herd there'll be no risk of insufficient vehicles and vans fill quickly. Usually the same if you're in the middle of the herd - the real risk of no vehicle available is if you disembark long after the herd, by the divers will have moved to more fertile locations.

 

Pre-booking usually means booking the whole van (usually 8 sets) and finding sharers eg thro your Cruise Critic RollCall.

Might cost you a little more, might cost you a little less, don't let price figure in your decision

- the disadvantages are having to find sharers and then relying on them not to let you down

- advantages are that you share with hand-picked sharers and can tailor a more-extensive tour, such as those linked by the Kiwi , a few posts up.

Yes, there's also the guarantee that the quayside won't be bereft of vans but that risk is slight

 

JB 🙂

[lisabdh1]

Another vote for Inside Rock Tour with Carl. We did the Ultimate tour last month and it was amazing. We had 3 vans full and everyone just loved it. 

[Senga]

On 1/15/2023 at 3:53 PM, buckeye7 said:

I tried a couple times to get a quote online from Gibraltar Taxi Association, but never heard back. 

We're going in September but had the same lack of response from Gibraltar Taxi Association.  I'd be very interested in hearing about your experience when you return.

[buckeye7]

16 minutes ago, Senga said:

We're going in September but had the same lack of response from Gibraltar Taxi Association.  I'd be very interested in hearing about your experience when you return

I will report back and tell you about our experience. I think we have decided to just hire a taxi when we exit the ship. This website described that option and it sounds good to me. Here is a screenshot.

Edited April 3, 2023 by buckeye7
Forgot something

[Senga]

@buckeye7That’s what we’re leaning towards so definitely interested in hearing about your experience.  The private tour suggested is very expensive and we really don’t want a 7 hour tour.

[buckeye7]

2 hours ago, Senga said:

we really don’t want a 7 hour tour.

Agree! We don’t even want the longer of these two tours. An hour and a half sounds good to me! Other ports will take more of our time, money, and energy — so a light day sounds great!

[John Bull]

27 minutes ago, buckeye7 said:

Agree! We don’t even want the longer of these two tours. An hour and a half sounds good to me! Other ports will take more of our time, money, and energy — so a light day sounds great!

 

Cruisecrocodile is woefully out-of-date, Buckeye - or more likely simply inaccurate.😕

 

I guess a vanload of cruisers could arrange whatever tour they wanted at the pier, but only the standard tour is normally offered.

Most importantly it says the standard tour "costs £12 per person"?????????????????

Pre-pandemic the price was £22 or €25. Three years and worldwide inflation later it'll be more like £35.

But it does include the Upper Rock Nature Reserve Fee, and admission to both St Michael's Cave & the Great Siege Tunnels.

The order quoted is totally wrong....

- it starts with The Pillars of Hercules (just a photo-stop). Southerly views across the Straits to Morocco 

- then St Michael's Cave. For those who choose not to go into the cave there are elevated westerly views over the Bay of Algeciras & the Atlantic

- then the Apes Feeding Station  Please don't feed them with cookies or chips or sandwiches etc., your driver might take fruit

Oh - and they're thieving bas***ds (the apes, not the drivers 🙃) , so don't let them steal your hats, sunglasses, handbags, cameras & such. Good westerly views, and by climbing a dozen steps at the feeding station great easterly views over the Mediterranean.

Last stop is the Great Siege Tunnels - Elevated northerly views across the border to Spain, and vertical views down to the airport (the runway bisects the road to the border).

You pass the Moorish Castle on the way down.

At the end of the tour the driver can take you back to the ship, but most folk choose to bale out at Casemates Square at the bottom (northern) end of Main Street for a beer or a coffee, and then to explore the shops. pubs, cafes & minor sights of Main Street.

Casemates Square to the ship is a 20 - 25 minute walk.

 

JB 🙂

[buckeye7]

Oh wow, thank you, John Bull. That’s great info and super helpful. We will plan on this way to see Gibraltar since it’s still less money and time than the other options I’ve seen. Thank you so much for this helpful update!!

[ollienbertsmum]

 John Bull is on the money as usual.  Good info about taxis.  I think the taxi plus entry to nature reserve is around 35 pounds.    The Tower of Homage is usually missed out from the tours.  I think it is just too hard to park and then pick up customers.  If you have plenty of time and don’t mind walking an extra 15 miinutes, it is worth asking your taxi driver to drop you off at the tower and to let you use the Upper Rock ticket to visit the Tower.    You then go down through the oldest part of the old town on to Main Street.  A flat walk back to the ship.