Help needed with Gibraltar!

[ethan1171]

On 8/27/2023 at 11:54 AM, ollienbertsmum said:

 

 I think that what happens is that you can queue up at the port and they fill up the taxis.  As long as you leave the ship reasonably promptly (before the traffic builds up) I don’t think that you will have a problem.    If you want a private tour you would have to pay the going rate for 8 minus the cost of the entrance to the Nature Reserve for the empty seats. 

 

 

 

Thank you so much for the answer!! we do not mind sharing a tour with others. Any guidance you can offer regarding where exactly we need to go to queue up at the port for the taxis?

 

Finally I got an answer from the Gibraltar tax association:

 

> Standard Tour - 2 hours 
>£330.00 for up to 6 people per car (tickets included) 
>Sites: Pillars Of Hercules, St Michaels Cave, Apes & Views, Great Siege Tunnels, Sky Walk 

 

Does this mean - if we were to queue up as you mention above - we will share a car with 6 other random people at £55pp?

 

Thank you much!

[ollienbertsmum]

On 8/29/2023 at 8:02 PM, DUTRAVEL said:

Thanks cannot do steps, that's why I'm looking to go on the bus. I have to be more creative than those who can walk everywhere.

 

I am still not quite sure where you are aiming for.  If it is the Upper Rock, even if you get the number one up to Willis’s Road it is still steep uphill to the Tower of Homage,  WWII Tunnels and Princess Caroline’s Battery.  I am pretty sure that you would still have to pay for the Nature Reserve entrance and are still a trek away from St Michael’s Cave and the Apes Den.    Unless you take a taxi tour it is difficult to avoid the fact that visiting the Upper Rock is a good workout.    

 

If you want an interesting lower cost activity in Gibraltar on the bus you could take the number 3 or 9 to Rosia and see the 100 ton gun (I need to find out from the Tourist Office if you can see that separately from the Upper Rock ticket cost).  You can then walk past the bay that Nelson was brought into.  Then you can walk through the tunnel to Rosia bay, great seafood and coffee bar there for a snack, some nice interpretative panels along the route.  

 

If you want to carry on through the big tunnel (it is mostly flat and takes me about 15  minutes walking) you get to the lighthouse which is an area worth exploring, again with some nice interpretative panels talking about bird migration, Gorham’s Cave and other history.  The number 2 takes you back into town.  You could also get to the lighthouse  directly on the number 2 bus which is less walking.  

 

The Alameda Gardens is worth an hour plus visiting the conservation zoo.  A bit hilly but you can avoid the steps, you can get there using the number 2,  3, 4 or 9 bus - or the 5-10 bus from the frontier.   

 

Catalan Bay on the Eastside which can be reached using the 4 or 8 buses used to be a nice destination.  It has got a bit overwhelmed by all of the building work.  We are so short of housing stock that the balance between protecting the old Gibraltar and building affordable (it still is not for many people) housing is at crisis point.  It is still a steep slope or steps to get down to the beach and the couple of bars that are on the beach front.  I will admit that I have not been there for years to check it out because I live near to Rosia Bay.  If I want to swim I would go to the Europa Pool and don’t have to pay because I am a pensioner.  

 

If you are looking at using the bus system make sure you work out if you are going north or south.  The number 4 goes from Rosia to the East side beaches.  Number 9  goes from Morrison’s to Rosia so you have to ask the helpful drivers.  You need to have the correct money - they do not have a lot of change because few people actually pay (with a local id card you use the buses for free - an initiative that is intended to cut down on traffic in town).  

 

So I will go to the Tourist Office later.  

[ollienbertsmum]

4 hours ago, ethan1171 said:

 

Thank you so much for the answer!! we do not mind sharing a tour with others. Any guidance you can offer regarding where exactly we need to go to queue up at the port for the taxis?

 

Finally I got an answer from the Gibraltar tax association:

 

> Standard Tour - 2 hours 
>£330.00 for up to 6 people per car (tickets included) 
>Sites: Pillars Of Hercules, St Michaels Cave, Apes & Views, Great Siege Tunnels, Sky Walk 

 

Does this mean - if we were to queue up as you mention above - we will share a car with 6 other random people at £55pp?

 

Thank you much!

 

Not sure where in the port you need to go.  It must be reasonably obvious.  You cannot wander around the port so I cannot recce it for you.  

 

The taxi drivers sort out filling up the cars with the random people.  I always thought it was 8 per taxi - and it might be more than 2 hours if you are off a ship when there is a lot of traffic up the rock.  The taxi drivers act as your guide along the route.  They can be quite interesting.   

 

The route the taxis have misses out the WWII tunnels and the Tower of Homage, I always think that is a shame).  I think that if you have plenty of time and energy left you could ask to be dropped off at the Tunnels (I think that they are now open again) and then walk down to the Tower of Homage.  It is a further walk down through the old town (there are steps and signs but as long as you are going down you are going in the right direction) and back to Main Street.    From the North end of Main Street it is a flat 1 km walk to where the ship is docked.  

[John Bull]

7 hours ago, ethan1171 said:

 

Thank you so much for the answer!! we do not mind sharing a tour with others. Any guidance you can offer regarding where exactly we need to go to queue up at the port for the taxis?

 

Finally I got an answer from the Gibraltar tax association:

 

> Standard Tour - 2 hours 
>£330.00 for up to 6 people per car (tickets included) 
>Sites: Pillars Of Hercules, St Michaels Cave, Apes & Views, Great Siege Tunnels, Sky Walk 

 

Does this mean - if we were to queue up as you mention above - we will share a car with 6 other random people at £55pp?

 

Thank you much!

 

You can't miss the taxis & vans (nearly all are vans) available on-spec at the cruise terminal.

If you get off the ship with or just ahead of the herd you won't have a long wait in line for a tour or in a van waiting for it to fill. It's pot-luck who you'll be sharing with.

Like @ollienbertsmum I think the vans - or at least the vast majority of them - seat 8.

 

It seems that the excellent new "sky walk" is now part of the standard tour. The taxi assoc. has just tagged it onto the end of their list, but it's actually between St Michael's cave and "apes & views" (the Macaques' feeding station). I can see nowhere there to park - possibly passengers get out there, the van joins the line at the feeding station, and passengers split their time between the sky walk & the feeding station which is a 100-yard walk further along the road. No parking at the feeding station either - just a small pull-in for any vehicle which has a problem. Vans simply join the line on the road and passengers get back in at a set time or when their van is at the front. Sounds make-shift but it works. Those who are super-afraid of the monkeys can stay safe in the van - they still get the views and the monkeys tend to climb all over the vans.

 

Those who have the time & energy can ask to be dropped off at the WW2 tunnels.

At the end of the WW2 tunnel tour, ask to go back to the entrance with the guide (the exit is further up than the entrance), the Tower of Homage (aka the Moorish castle) is just a hundred yards down the road from the WW2 tunnels entrance.

You can catch a bus from the junction a couple of hundred yards down from the Moorish castle. Buses (route 1) are half-hourly (hourly at weekends). The bus's route down to Main Street is slow and tortuous because of the narrow one-way streets, probably the reason why our local correspondent ollie&bertiesmum suggests walking down.

I've only ever taken the bus - fear of getting lost in blind alleys, but since the steps down to town are well-signed I'll give it a try next time 🙂.

 

@DUTRAVEL - It's only a short uphill walk from the bus-stop to the Moorish castle and an even shorter walk beyond to the entrance to the WW2 tunnels. You pay the Nature Reserve fee at the Moorish castle, it used to be just pennies but I think it's now £18 (the governors cashing-in on Gib's biggest attraction) - the biggest reason for the big hike in the tour costs.

WW2 tunnels are a separate entry fee, those tours are guided - the tunnels are complicated and way more extensive than the tour, so a big risk of getting lost if not in a guided group. I don't recall if there are any steps.

It's only a stiff 5-minute walk from the WW2 tunnels exit (higher than the entrance) up to the Great Siege Tunnels. No steps in the Great Siege Tunnels, but quite a steep incline. Then a 15 - 20 minute walk down the road back to the bus stop.

 

But a  20-minute  hike across the saddle of the ridge from the Great Siege Tunnels to the Top of the Rock, macaque feeding station, & sky walk (steps?), and a further 10  minutes to St Michael's cave (cave has steps), then back to the Top of the Rock for the cablecar back down to  the town at Alameda Gardens. 

If you decided to do the whole hog independently it would be better to do the whole think in reverse - ie cablecar up to Top of the Rock, then most of the walking is downhill.

 

JB 🙂

 

 

[DUTRAVEL]

Thanks @ollienbertsmum and @John Bull for your helpful information.

[Malleykatt]

Hi.

We visited the WW2 tunnels at the beginning of August they had reopened about 6 days before our visit. They have had a lot of work completed in them but I'm guessing that what is now open to the public is a lot less than previously. There was no guided tour you are just asked to wear a hard hat. It was actually underwhelming....sorry.... Having read all about it we were expecting a bit more than we actually saw.

We walked from the ship to the tunnels ,that was a workout and a half. I'm asthmatic so we had a couple of rest stops as well walked the steps. Then walked back down to the cable car, back up by cable and walked the apes area to skywalk. Back down by cable car and through town for an ice cream stop before heading back to ship.

Look into a Gibraltar one day pass. You can use on some bus routes and entry into lots of places. It was a shorter line for the cable car as well.

[John Bull]

8 hours ago, Malleykatt said:

Hi.

We visited the WW2 tunnels at the beginning of August they had reopened about 6 days before our visit. They have had a lot of work completed in them but I'm guessing that what is now open to the public is a lot less than previously. There was no guided tour you are just asked to wear a hard hat. It was actually underwhelming....sorry.... Having read all about it we were expecting a bit more than we actually saw.

We walked from the ship to the tunnels ,that was a workout and a half. I'm asthmatic so we had a couple of rest stops as well walked the steps. Then walked back down to the cable car, back up by cable and walked the apes area to skywalk. Back down by cable car and through town for an ice cream stop before heading back to ship.

Look into a Gibraltar one day pass. You can use on some bus routes and entry into lots of places. It was a shorter line for the cable car as well.

 

 

We too were  underwhelmed - whereas others on CC found it very interesting and worthwhile.

Our guide was a lad who was working during his college recess, very pleasant but he knew very little.

Their guide was a veteran who brought the place to life with background and stories.

That surely demonstrates the value of a good guide.

Thanks for up-dating on the switch to self-guided - that's not good news.

 

JB 🙂

[ollienbertsmum]

I’m away from home but promise to get back to this thread.  I went into the tourist office on Thursday and got some helpful info. I need to share.

[ollienbertsmum]

On 9/1/2023 at 8:07 PM, John Bull said:

 

 

We too were  underwhelmed - whereas others on CC found it very interesting and worthwhile.

Our guide was a lad who was working during his college recess, very pleasant but he knew very little.

Their guide was a veteran who brought the place to life with background and stories.

That surely demonstrates the value of a good guide.

Thanks for up-dating on the switch to self-guided - that's not good news.

 

JB 🙂

 

I get annoyed when guides do not inspire tourists.  The stories around the WWII tunnels should keep visitors engaged.  I am too old to eretrain as a tour guide.  
 

so I went to the tourist office.  I got information about the IZI travel app that has ‘old town heritage trail’. I am not at home so cannot try it. Looks interesting though.

 

I talked with the tourist guide about the cost of the Nature reserve. It does not really relate to cruise visitors, but I feel it s hard to market Gibraltar as a weekend destination and Charge per day for the upper rock.  If you visit for a couple of days I think it makes sense for the se cond day to be much cheaper so then y might visit the Med Steps or the old town coupled with the Tower of Homage. 
 

the cost of the Nature Reserve is £18 whether you walk, go in a taxi or ride the cable car.  
 

The taxi tour is recommended as £40 person.  The taxi drivers can charge more if they don’t have a full taxi.  If they are charging you more you don’t have to tip.  As long as you get off the ship promptly there will be taxi availability - the drivers will fill up the cars.  
 

The longer (7hr ) tours will cost moreCarl Mesilio’s Inside Out tour is always popular.  I was told about John Lopez and Rocky Monkey Tours.  I’m not sure about costs but longer tours cost more.  
 

As to the number 1 bus 

[ollienbertsmum]

Sorry I usually type with a keyboard.  Today I am stuck with my finger.

 

So tourists do use the number 1  - but are still charged £18 to go in the nature reserve.  It would then be a long and strenuous walk uphill to see the other sites.  Actually I used to do this weekly with DH before we married.  I lost about 25 pounds in the first year I lived here.  
 

Even though using the bus gets you to the Upper Rock faster, it does not avoid steps and inclines.  
 

if have missed any info please ask.  

[Sail1982]

For tours in Gibraltar, there are a few options.

 

For The Top of The Rock under your own steam, it is quite a long walk up! or you can get the public bus to Willis which will cut out most of the walking but not all as it is all spread out across the top of the rock.

 

The cable car is the most popular and the view going up is spectacular on a clear day! Or there are taxi tours.

 

If you do not fancy the top of the rock there is plenty more to do, like Dolphin Trips at Ocean Village Marina, The Spirit of The Rock Gin Experience for the adults in your party, Historic walking tours and The Gibraltar Museum, sit and relax at either of the marinas or check out the beaches or check out the views across to Africa and Spain from Europa point. (Get a bust to Europa Point it is a long walk)

 

I have done most of it and the most interesting were the World War Two tunnels and The Gibraltar Gin Experience!

 

Have a great trip to Gibraltar.

 

 

 

[Senga]

We booked Rock Tours with John Lopez and it was EXCELLENT.  Our 3 hour tour headed out at 8:30 BEFORE all the larger tours so we didn't have a wait anywhere and no crowds.  The cost was 90 euros per person (8 in our group) and it was well worth the money.  

1. Pillars of Hercules/Jews Gate
2. St. Michael’s Cave - awesome
3. Skywalk
4. Great Siege Tunnel - gorgeous views over the border to Spain, across a live runway
5. Apes Den
6. 100 Ton Gun - bathroom break
7. Europa Point
8. Napolian community/eastern beach

Since the shops were all closed there was no point staying in town then walking 25 minutes in the heat so we opted for a drop off right at the ship at noon instead of Casemates Square. We were so fortunate to have a PERFECT day with a lovely breeze off the Atlantic instead of a hot, humid breeze off the Mediterranean.

Gibraltar is very clean and scenic and I, of course, LOVED the Barbary apes. There is a £1000 fine for not cleaning up after your dog which is STRICTLY enforced. Everyone we saw with a dog was carrying poop bags and a spray bottle! 

We saw tourists who opted to use the cable car but it is a LONG walk uphill to get to the sights.  Do yourself a favour and book a small private tour.  It's worth it.