Gilbraltar Taxi/ Van tours- how many passengers?

Hello,

I have been reading about the taxi/Van tours that you can line up for at the pier in Gilbrator, and they are a little cheaper than arranging for private tours with a private tour company.

We are a group of 6 friends visiting Gilbrator in July 2016 from the Oceania Sirena. How many people does the minivans carry? Do you think we might be able to have a minivan for just the 6 of us?

Thanks for any insight.

Hello,

 

I have been reading about the taxi/Van tours that you can line up for at the pier in Gilbrator, and they are a little cheaper than arranging for private tours with a private tour company.

 

We are a group of 6 friends visiting Gilbrator in July 2016 from the Oceania Sirena. How many people does the minivans carry? Do you think we might be able to have a minivan for just the 6 of us?

 

Thanks for any insight.

Most taxis will take at least 6 people. The drivers are knowledgeable about Gibraltar. They do not accompany you into the sites but they give you lots of information.

You can easily get a mini van private tour for the six of you.

Keith

Ollienbertsmum, and Keith1010,

Thank you for your responses. We will just plan on taking the taxi van tour from the pier and not bother with a private tour company. Saves money for private tours in other ports!

Thanks again.

CC88

You are very welcome..

Keith

Ollienbertsmum, and Keith1010,

 

Thank you for your responses. We will just plan on taking the taxi van tour from the pier and not bother with a private tour company. Saves money for private tours in other ports!

 

Thanks again.

 

CC88

Six isn't a good number. Taxis take 4, vans take around 8 to 12.

You can have a van to yourselves, but you'll probably have to pay for the empty seats. But still likely to be cheaper than a private tour.:)

JB :)

Six isn't a good number. Taxis take 4, vans take around 8 to 12.

 

You can have a van to yourselves, but you'll probably have to pay for the empty seats. But still likely to be cheaper than a private tour.:)

 

JB :)

Hi John Bull,

I have read your prior posts information on the taxi van tours and think it is comparable to a private 1.5 hr 4 stop basic private tour - if you think we will have to pay for the extra 2 seats ( assuming 8 seater van), it will actually be marginally cheaper for us to hire the private tour company! For private - six pax basic tour is £160 (£26.50 pax) compared to £22 for the taxi tour times 8 = £176!

Hi John Bull,

 

I have read your prior posts information on the taxi van tours and think it is comparable to a private 1.5 hr 4 stop basic private tour - if you think we will have to pay for the extra 2 seats ( assuming 8 seater van), it will actually be marginally cheaper for us to hire the private tour company! For private - six pax basic tour is £160 (£26.50 pax) compared to £22 for the taxi tour times 8 = £176!

Yes, four stops, about 90 minutes, sounds very much like a standard tour hired from the pier.

The one thing I'm uncertain about is the number of seats in a van. They're quite small because of the narrow twisty road, so certainly no bigger than 12-seater.

I guess you could decide on-the-spot whether to go for sole occupancy depending how many seats & how the maths work out.

Sole occupancy would give you a degree of flexibility to spend a little more time here & a little less time there, but the time usually allowed at each stop works well (should do, they've been doing it for years ;)) and time at the apes den is pretty inflexible because it's a single-lane one-way road so you can't move before the goys in front or hold up the guys behind. When there's a line, you walk up the line of vans to the den (don't forget to climb the few steps to look over the Mediterranean side) and your van will move with the line to join you.

The £22 (or €25) price is the 2015 season, don't know whether that'll go up a little.

Whether you share or hog or book a private tour, you can ask the driver how much to add a circumnavigation at sea-level - Europa Point, the Med road & tunnel, Caleta Bay, the airport, the Spanish border & back to Casemates Square or ship. About 30 minutes plus one or two short stops.

JB :)

John Bull,

Thanks for the additional information re taxi tours. You've given me some things to think about and we may have to consider booking a private tour company instead after all - esp if we have to pay for 12 seats!😱 LOL

BTW, I recognize your name from other cruise critic forums (such as Western Europe and Baltics) that I have lurked in over the years and I wanted to say thank you for all of the helpful information you have posted in response to all of the questions from people. Thank you for your time. 👍😊

taxi van tours accommodate 8 persons max and are the best way to see the rock and it's attractions

in high season the driver may want to get the return on all 8 seats

the ticket for the tour is 22 pounds sterling , which is composed of 12 pounds for the driver and 10 pounds for the nature reserve ticket(including all attractions)

so if you are 6 you may able to negotiate to pay for the 6 seats that you will occupy,(I am sure you will be able to do this) , if it comes to the worst you can ask to pay the 12 pounds for the 2 extra seats (but not the nature reserve tickets)

so your total for the tour in a taxi van should be either 6 pax x £22 = £132 or wort case scenario 6 pax x £22 + 2 pax x 12 gbp = £156 pounds

enjoy!!!

taxi van tours accommodate 8 persons max and are the best way to see the rock and it's attractions

in high season the driver may want to get the return on all 8 seats

the ticket for the tour is 22 pounds sterling , which is composed of 12 pounds for the driver and 10 pounds for the nature reserve ticket(including all attractions)

so if you are 6 you may able to negotiate to pay for the 6 seats that you will occupy,(I am sure you will be able to do this) , if it comes to the worst you can ask to pay the 12 pounds for the 2 extra seats (but not the nature reserve tickets)

so your total for the tour in a taxi van should be either 6 pax x £22 = £132 or wort case scenario 6 pax x £22 + 2 pax x 12 gbp = £156 pounds

enjoy!!!

Namdert,

Thank you so much for the additional information! Our cruise is not until July, so we'll see if people start posting about price increases or not this Spring. But I really appreciate the additional information!

Thanks again. 😊

What 4 stops does the taxi tour make? Does it bring you back to the pier afterwards or can you stop in town?

What 4 stops does the taxi tour make? Does it bring you back to the pier afterwards or can you stop in town?

Info from JB's prior posts:

Photo stop near top of Rock

St Michael's Cave

Apes Den

Great Siege Tunnels

Private basic tour -

Pillars of Hercules

St Michael's Cave

Apes Den

Great Siege Tunnels

I think in both cases, you can decide where to be dropped off.

Info from JB's prior posts:

Photo stop near top of Rock

St Michael's Cave

Apes Den

Great Siege Tunnels

 

Private basic tour -

Pillars of Hercules

St Michael's Cave

Apes Den

Great Siege Tunnels

 

I think in both cases, you can decide where to be dropped off.

Not quite as my posts, but close ;)

The two tours are identical, first stop on both is the "Pillars of Hercules" monument, with views across to Morocco on the north African side of the straits. A mountain that can be seen in Morocco, Jebel Musa, is probably one of the Pillars of Hercules, the other "pillar" is Gibraltar itself, Gibraltar's name being a corruption of Jebel Tariq.

Yes, most folk ask to be dropped in town - Casemates Square, at the northern end of mainly-pedestrianized Main Street. Or can be taken back to the ship.

JB :)

Perfect. Thanks!

I too have been looking at the semi-private tour companies for Gibralter. After reading some of JB's comments I might re-think the taxi option. We will be there on May 10, 2016 till 16:30. Our itinerary from RCCL says arrival is at 0930 but the tour operators I'm hearing from say their port schedule says we arrive at 0730 - who to believe?

Do you think I can get a tour of my choice of options or are these drivers pretty dead set on their routes?

DH and I want to basically see the 100-Ton Gun, Europa Point, Pillars of Hercules, O'Hara's Battery, WWII Tunnels, Great Siege Tunnels, and top of the Rock (not necessarily the apes, though).

How much time do you think this itinerary would take?

What kind of rate would be a fair offering? Realize there is an 8GBP charge for the WWII Tunnels.

I remember doing a TA out Southampton back in '09 I think you were on that one! It was a really fun CC thread.

Susan