We are staying in Seville in June with our 13 and 11 year old. I had initially planned a day trip through a tour company to Gibraltar one of those days. I thought the total change of environment and doing something more nature/outdoorsy would be a good break from history, architecture, etc. (Lisbon, Seville, Barcelona and Paris are our stops). The rock, cave and monkeys sounded pretty neat to me and would appeal to our kids. I knew it would be a long day, but since none of us have to drive I figured doable. I'm now hearing a lot of mixed reviews as to if it is worth such a long day and maybe a day trip elsewhere would better fit our plans. Opinions on Gibraltar? Will it give me the difference in culture that I am looking for? Or is it too long of a day for what there is there? If so, other day trip suggestions? We will most likely use a tour group as we don't want to rent a car during this part of the trip. Someone on another site told me Ronda has the most romantic views and I had to gently point out that 13 and 11 year old boys aren't really into romance. :)
Posted by
TN, USA
2158 posts
Your sons might really enjoy Gibraltar. We didn't spend any time in the shopping area there, so I can't weigh in on that.
But, the Rock itself was quite fascinating (riding the cable car up, the view from the top, going in the cave, and the siege tunnels were a HUGE highlights) along with our drive out to the point.
Since you are interesting in using group tours and/or having someone else drive, do check out South Ole Spain Tours.
http://www.southolespaintours.com/
Emily, who owns/runs the company is an American who fell in love with Spain and now lives there.
She can arrange group day tours, or you can arrange an individual driver/car through her to take you where you want to go, and she can arrange guides are some or all tops. She handled a day trip for us from Granada (where on our own we had stayed two nights at The Parador at Alhambra), from there the driver took us to Ronda where we had lunch and enjoyed the views (but I would suggest also taking in the bull ring, as your sons might find that fascinating), then the driver took us down to Gibraltar (must-see for my husband) where we had an individually guided tour by a gentleman Emily arranged, then we were taken to Old Town Marbella for the overnight we arranged on our own.
You may know that when you cross the border into Gibraltar, you will actually walk across the landing strip for planes. When I showed the YouTube videos to my husband, he reverted to a 10-year old boy and said, "Cool!!!" He also said, "Cool!!" when I showed him YouTube videos of the siege tunnels (which are inside the actual Rock of Gibraltar). The apes are also fun, as is enjoying the views from the top. The guide also shared history and what life is currently like on Gibraltar. We were there about 3 hours total (driver handed us off to the guide at the border and ditto when leaving....all very, very seamless).
Probably 4-5 hours would be better, but the limit on time was self-imposed by us NOT the guide, who would have taken much more time with us for the flat rate. He drove us from place to place in order to save time for us. If you contact Emily, ask if she can arrange the exact same guide that Margaret and her husband from Nashville had last March. Seems he was a retired police captain, city administrator, or something like that. Incredibly nice guy, knowledgeable and very attuned to our needs. My husband LOVED the siege tunnels....way beyond his expectations. We were there on a really nice, clear day in early March. We went because my husband wanted to see Gibraltar, but I actually wound up enjoying it, too.
If you have never been to the Alhambra, I really do think it is worth visiting. And, definitely don't miss Ronda.....the views are wonderful. Your boys would probably enjoy walking down into the gorge a bit (there are some stairs), and it's fun to have lunch overlooking it all.
But, if you can spare the time (we could not), I'd suggest not trying to do all we did in one day. It's obviously possible (we did it), but it would have been nice to have stayed overnight in Ronda, and we could have used another hour or so in Gibraltar. But, we saw it all and enjoyed it very much. And, again, it was our choice to pack all that into one day. Old Town Marbella is also charming.
Price-wise, you can't beat Emily for the quality of the experienc. I researched a lot, and I was so thrilled when I found her, and now I highly recommend her service. Check her out on Trip Advisor, too. She will also be very candid about recommending trains for places that they make more sense.
What lucky sons you have to be able to travel and see the world at such a young age. It's an education, and they will carry those memories with them for life.
Posted by
San Francisco
1008 posts
I have not been to Gibraltar, but I will say that after reading about it and watching the Rick Steves special on it, my 13 year old boy is completely sold, and I am having to rearrange our whole itinerary to make it happen! I have decided to spend 2 nights there because I couldn't work out the day trip in a reasonable way for us..... We go end of March so if you PM me or I remember I will let you know how it goes! So.... I guess I will be giving up the romantic views of Ronda.... I guess that is better saved for being there with my husband anyway, not our son! :)
Posted by
S.F. Bay Area, CA, United States
1878 posts
I don't know if you get much sense of a distinct culture in Gibraltar, although it is a little corner of Britain. It feels pretty generic culturally, although that might be because on our last visit we made a beeline for the cable car to head up onto the rock. We have visited twice, as a stop on our 1999 honeymoon cruise, and rented a car specifically to visit Gibraltar on our 2005 Spain trip. We actually did the day trip from Ronda and ended up shortchanging Ronda a bit as a result. For us Gibraltar was romantic because we had been there on our honeymoon. The view from the top of the rock is really something. We saw lots of ships, man oil tankers sailing through the straits. They did have a brass band on the main street on our 1999 visit, not sure if that is typical. The Barbary Apes and the caves are indeed very cool. There is a cafe on top of the rock also with great views, or there was in 2005. Bus tours tend to give you too little time, but if that's the best choice for you, then go for it. Ronda is also very nice – I have also visited there twice.