Gibraltar - Things to do

If you are travelling by road, Gibraltar adjoins the southern Spanish Costa del Sol. The coastal highways N-340 and the A-7 (Cadiz -Malaga highway) turn at the exit 119 in San Roque into the N-351, which takes you to La Linea , the border town between Spain and Gibraltar. The frontier is just a five minute walk away from La Linea Bus Station. Here arrive as well the regular busses from the resorts along the Costa del Sol (Manilva, Sotogrande, Estepona, San Pedro, Marbella, Fuengirola and Torremolinos), Malaga city and province and Granada.

There are no trains available to Gibraltar. The next train station is situated in Algeciras, about 30 km from the Rock. Buses leave every half hour to La Linea, taking about 30 minutes. From here, simply walk across the border into Gibraltar. Information about the Spanish railway is available at www.renfe.es. Being Gibraltar the gateway to the Mediterranean Sea, it is an ideal port of call for cruise ships and yachts.

The border between Spain and Gibraltar is open 24 hours a day, throughout the year.

Passports and visas

Citizens belonging to the European Union may enter Gibraltar with a valid identity card or passport. All other nationalities require a passport or other travel documents. As a general rule, those who require a visa for entry to the UK also require a separate visa to enter Gibraltar.

Customs and Importation from Gibraltar to Spain
Snuff Products: 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250 grams of snuff.
Drinks: 1 liter of spirits or liqueur (exceeding 22% vol.) or 2 liters of wine.
Goods valued at up to 171 Euros, including perfumes and colognes
Children aged 17 years does not exceed the amount permitted to import half of this section

The currency of Gibraltar is the Gibraltar pound, whose value is on par with the Pound Sterling; use our currency exchange if you need to convert euros to pounds or viceversa. Most establishments in Gibraltar accept Euros, but you can get better exchange rates if you make the foreign exchange in one of the many banks or exchange bureaus in town. The public opening hours for banks are from 9.00 to 15.30 hours Monday to Thursday and until 16:30 hours on Fridays. The exchange offices are open from 9.00 to 18.00. The most widespread credit cards are accepted in shops, restaurants and hotels.

Gibraltar shopping

Main Street, with its adjacent streets, offers a wide selection of items. The range of gifts is huge: from delicately carved glass, porcelain, original pottery, leather goods, perfumes, jewelry, silk and even cashmere.

Main Street, concentrates most of the shops. It is a lively and extraordinarily colorful pedestrian street. Gibraltar´s strength comes in large part through the many different nationalities living in such a small space (the peninsula is six km long and 1.2 km wide). The current population of Gibraltar is the result of centuries of contributions of Jewish, Indian, Spanish, Maltese, Genoese and British settlements. The result is friendly, polite and conservative people. They are good traders. Visitors can even bargain prices, it will almost always result.

Gilbraltar cuisine

As a natural result of Gibraltar's multi-cultural environment, you will also find foods of many nations such as Morocco, Israel, France, Italy, India, Spain and of course Britain, along with many pubs, cafés and coffee houses. At Casemates Square, situated at the end of Main Street in the heart of Gibraltar’s shopping district, you can find trendy outdoor restaurants, cafés and bars, and it is as well the centre of nightlife in Gibraltar.

Leisure in Gibraltar

There is a cinema in Gibraltar which also offers other types of events such as Tai Chi, Pilates and Salsa dancing on a regular weekly schedule and where you can participate. You can play Bowling at King´s Bowl or go Ice skating at Kings Bastion. The Ice Skating rink opens at 10 am and remains open all day long, until 11 pm every day.

Gibraltar tours and excursions

In Gibraltar is available an ample choice of activities such as rock touring, sailing, diving, fishing or bird watching. The Rock has a fantastic underwater world with more than 30 wrecks and reefs and there are three established diving schools providing classes and equipment. Book a fishing trip or a Dolphin tour.

You can book tours through the St. Michaels cave, which last about three hours. Here you can find spectacular stalagmites and even an underwater lake. You should wear stout shoes and casual clothing. Due to the unusual nature of this tour, children under the age of ten years are not allowed. Three days prior notice is also necessary for bookings.

Other tours include a tour of the city centre by licensed tour guides.

A classic tour is taking the cable car to the Upper Rock with stunning views over the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic and the North African coast.

The Cable Car runs continuously throughout the day, approximately every 10 minutes. No reservation is required. Another comfortable option is a private taxi tour. The regular tour lasts around 90 minutes, visiting several of the main tourist sites. The price is about £7 (Minimum 4 persons).

Besides the attractions of the Rock itself, Gibraltar is as well an ideal base from which to explore nearby Spain and Morocco. Nearby Spanish cities are Jerez, famous for its sherry, horses and Flamenco and Cadiz for its large, unspoilt beaches. The port of Algeciras is about 12km by road to the west of Gibraltar. The town has a rail terminal and regular trains run into the beautiful Andalusian countryside giving access to Ronda, Cordoba and Madrid. Well known tourist resorts along the Costa del Sol, such as Estepona or Marbella and the famous marina of Puerto Banus are just forty or sixty minutes away respectively.

And if you feel like diving into completely different culture and discovering oriental souks, there are ferries crossing over to Morocco.

tourist tips

People from Gibraltar refer to themselves as Gibraltarian or 'Llanito' (pronounced Ya-ni-to). Through their veins runs Maltese, Jewish, Spanish, British, Genoese, Indian or Moroccan Blood. A peculiar feature of the Gibraltarians is the habit of randomly alternating between English and Spanish words all the way through a sentence, which is called “gibberish” in Gibraltarian terminology.

To this mixture of races, adds its peculiarity. The sun shines like in the rest of Andalusia, but the scenario is completely different. We are in an English town, with Bobbys (police), cars have the steering wheel to the left or the right and the two-storey red bus travels the city constantly.