Gibraltar
- Admission:Free
There's really nowhere quite like Gibraltar. A little piece of England looking out from Spain to the coast of Africa, with a rock fabled in ancient mythology and the only wild monkey population in Europe. Quite a cocktail, huh?
Gibraltar was handed over to the British by Spain in the 18th century, and British - if its very own brand of hybridized, flashback British - it has remained ever since, despite Spain's best efforts to browbeat it into accepting its sovereignty.
The Rock of Gibraltar is a fabulous chunk of
limestone rearing up over the city and overrun by Barbary macaques.
There is a legend that if these monkeys leave the rock, so will the
British leave Gibraltar. Winston Churchill obviously subscribed to this
superstition - he requested that the macaque population be topped up
during WWII.
But there are older legends than this concerning the rock. The ancients thought it to be one of the Pillars of Hercules, with the other standing across the sea in Morocco. If climbing the rock looks to you like a modern-day Labor of Hercules, fear not: there's a cable car that will take you the 425m (1,396ft) to the top.
Cross the border from Spain into British territory, where you can see British policemen, spend British money and enjoy the duty free shopping. After touring the city, journey to the top of the famous Rock of Gibraltar itself, where you can take in the views of the Spanish and Moroccan coastlines. Also spend some time getting to know the locals - the semi wild troop of Barbary "Apes" (a.k.a. Barbary macaque monkeys). Hang on to your belongings though, they are cheeky little monkeys!Latest Reviews All Gibraltar Reviews »
An excellant tour that I would recommend to anyone wishing to go to Gibraltar for the first time. We were picked up at our hotel which was a pleasant surprise, I had thought that there was a central point that we would have to meet at. It did mean however that there are lots of stops at different locations which adds to the amount of time spent on the coach. I for 1 enjoyed that part of it, as I got to see areas in the Costa that I wouldn't have seen otherwise. The tour guide on the main coach was very good once everyone was on board in letting us know the itinery for the trip in 4 different languages I believe. (Pretty impressive). On arriving to Gibraltar we had almost 2 hours to wonder around by ourselves and do some shopping, have a spot of lunch etc. You pay no duty on goods so everythings really cheap, and a lot of things priced in GBP. For the actual tour we were separated into smaller minibuses, and I must say we had a fantastic tour guide. He fore-warned you before reaching a point of interest so that you could get your camera's ready. There were plenty of stops along the way at different view points - which enabled you to take personal pictures. The monkies, the caves and the rock were fantastic. Overall the trip was very good value and well put together. I will certainly be using Viator tours in the future.
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the only thing we would change is the time spent on the bus versus time allotted to the tour.
We would find a way to spend more proportional time on the tour. We spent as much time getting to tan d from Gibraltar from Malaga, as we were allotted on the tour of Gibraltar.
The tour was excellent and our guide made it very enjoyable.
We recommend finding a less time consuming way to join the tour, than the bus, which makes many stops as it fills with tourists.
Practical Info
Gibraltar is on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula, facing northern Africa over the Straits of Gibraltar. All land entries will be via the Spanish town of Línea. If you want to avoid the sometimes tedious border formalities, take a flight from London straight to Gibraltar.
