How not to miss out on visiting the Rock of Gibraltar

We had a fabulous afternoon in Gibraltar on our recent cruise! I wanted to tell you all about it as we nearly didn’t get to go up the Rock and wouldn’t want anyone to miss out as we nearly did!

We disembarked as soon as the ship allowed us to at about 1pm in Gibraltar. We were only docked up until 7pm and were very aware that the attractions on the rock closed around 5:30 pm (as well as the cable car). We walked very quickly through the town to the cable car. This took about 30 minutes for us, but we’re quick walkers so some may need to allow more time. We were warned by taxi companies who were selling tours of the rock that there would be a big queue for the cable car and we were best to buy one of their minibus tours, so we could get up and see all the nature reserve had to offer. We were however disbelieving of this as they were trying to sell their service. When we arrived at the queue for the cable car however we found this to be very true. Just one cable car was running and there was a huge queue. This was in low season when just one ship was in, so I can only imagine it would be worse in peak season. We stood in the queue for 20 minutes and the queue didn’t move. We were then approached by a minibus driver selling tours. As we were then a captive audience we then had to pay above the normal price to get up the rock and see the highlights. We felt this was worth it though as we didn’t want to waste a day and miss out on the amazing sights the rock had to offer!

What are the best options to see the rock in Gibraltar?

Book a trip from the cruise-line

My parents have just had an amazing trip in Gibraltar which they booked through their cruise-line. They were taken to the cable car but as they were part of a group tour were able to get on straight away and skip the queue. They had a guide for the whole time and were able to see St Michael’s caves and the Great Siege Tunnels. The cost was not much more than getting a taxi to take them around, so they found this to be a great option! You can pre-book excursions on your cruise personaliser.

Take a mini-bus/ taxi tour from Gibraltar

This you can do as you walk out of the cruise terminal. Agree a cost with the driver and they will drive you up the rock, drop you at the main attractions and agree a time to meet to take you onto the next one. You also must agree which attractions they will take you to as a longer route will cost extra. Also check that entry and tickets in the nature reserve are included.

Walk up yourself

Allow plenty of time if you are doing this and this option is only really for the fit traveler and be aware you still need to pay entry for the nature reserve. The walk up is quite steep, and you will be walking next to many taxis and mini-buses.

What did my mini-bus tour include?

We paid 35 euros and shared a minibus with about 8 others. This included our ticket into the nature reserve and tickets into the attractions. We were driven from the bottom cable car station up the rock and first stopped at a viewpoint, so we could take in the spectacular views of surrounding Gibraltar.

We were then dropped at St Michael’s Cave. The cave is truly beautiful, and a must see in Gibraltar! The caves are used for performances as an auditorium and I can imagine watching anything in there is very special.

We then re-joined our mini-bus which drove us up to ape den. From here you’ll find many Macaques jumping and wandering around. It’s amazing to get up so close to them and funny to see them jumping on people’s backs and hitching a ride on the taxis and minibuses! Be careful around the Macaques, especially if they are with their young though as some can be aggressive and unpredictable.

We then joined our mini-bus which dropped up down to the Great Siege Tunnels! These were fascinating and had lots of historical facts to read and hear about.

Our mini-bus driver had left us at the tunnels as we would have been charged more to go any further. We were advised it was a short walk down to the centre of Gibraltar though which was very easy and pleasant. We walked down and visited the city under siege museum and the Moorish castle which were also very fascinating. Then we walked down lots of steps to get down to near the square.