Hello!
We will be in Gibraltar for one day on our cruise next month, and I'm seeking recommendations for easy to moderate energy level tours or activities, please. There are only a few options still available from our cruise line, and we aren’t sure how we want to plan our time in Gibraltar.
Thanks for any ideas you can share.
Laurie
There isn't really much to Gibraltar other than the Rock of which I found the war tunnels to be the most interesting aspect. There are plenty of tour guides touting for business outside passport control and I've taken two guided tours of the Rock using guides there, one was good whilst the other was dreadful (regrettably I ignored my gut instinct about him).
What I did last time I was there on a cruise was to take a local bus down to The Europa Point Lighthouse, the WW2 Sikorski memorial
and the Shrine of Our Lady of Europe.
Then wandered back up the west side of the peninsula, where the locals live and went to the Europa Waterfall, calling into the Cathedral on the way back.
A low key sort of day, with various other sites and cemeteries of interest especially to a war historian like myself.
I'd been there before under my own steam on the coastal bus and done the usual tourist trail up the rock etc.
Several of the bus routes almost reach the port on their way to the bus station, and a day bus ticket on the comprehensive network is £6.60- https://www.gibraltarbuscompany.gi/bus-network-map/
When a cruise ship is in, the queues for the cable car can be very long, so a taxi tour as described above is a good option.
They will take you most of the way up, to the macaque feeding station (keep your hands on your bag), to the caves and some of the tunnels.
We love Gibraltar and have been there twice; last time last year. Gibraltar with a cruise ship in port is an entirely different experience than without a cruise ship in port. Since you're going by cruise ship, you don't have the option to avoid cruise-ship days. As noted, I would not bother with the cable car - the queue will take up most of your day (even with tickets in advance, we queued for over an hour).
If you can arrange a taxi tour via your cruise ship as an excursion, I would do that. If not, you'll be at the dockside competing with your thousands of shipmates for the the dozens of taxis. If you get a taxi, there is a pretty standard tour. You'll see the apes and great views. Make sure your cabbie takes you to St Michael's Cave. This is the #1 highlight in all of Gibraltar for me.
If you don't get a cab or a cruise ship excursion, I'm afraid you are limited to where you can go on foot or by bus (https://www.gibraltarbuscompany.gi/). It will be tough to get to the top of the Rock, but that is not a terrible thing. The town of Gibraltar is still a very nice place to spend a day. Casemate Square is a nice place to sit on a terrasse and eat and drink, but an even better spot is a number of bars and restaurants along the waterfront at Queensway Quay. Also near there is the Trafalgar Cemetery, a leafy oasis of quiet, where the dead of the famous battle are buried. And if you really want to get away from the crowds, take the bus to Catalan Bay, on the east side of the Rock.
Thank you for these responses. I really appreciate them! I think I might be more comfortable taking a local bus if we were staying on land. The timeliness of returning to the ship adds another level of stress for me in unfamiliar places, so maybe I need to take another look at the tour options from the ship and Shore Excursions.
Thanks!
Laurie
