Gibralter - do we take a taxi or cable car to the top

Hi

There are three of us so which is the best option,

shuttle to the square then walk to cable car or

just take a taxi direct from the port to the top?

I know the cable car is £12.75 return or more if you add the nature reserve (what is to see there as sounds like a lot of walking) any ideas on the price of a taxi. Do they wait for you or do you get any taxi back?

We have been before but last time the weather was so poor and no visibility so we just did the shops and a local bus to Europa point.

We took taxi tour in little mini buses. They leave from the dock and take 8 passengers. I think it's about £25 pp I think . They take you up to the Rock and to see the monkeys and st Michaels cave. They'll drop you back at the port or we asked them to drop us at the top end of the Main Street and we walked all the way down and caught a taxi shuttle back the short distance to the ship (you could walk - it's about 10/15mins). It was really good and we enjoyed it very much. We will do the same this year when we stop there. Also it's possible to do even with a very short port stop as long as you get off the ship promptly.

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Hi

 

There are three of us so which is the best option,

shuttle to the square then walk to cable car or

just take a taxi direct from the port to the top?

 

I know the cable car is £12.75 return or more if you add the nature reserve (what is to see there as sounds like a lot of walking) any ideas on the price of a taxi. Do they wait for you or do you get any taxi back?

 

We have been before but last time the weather was so poor and no visibility so we just did the shops and a local bus to Europa point.

It's pretty easy to just walk the whole way (to the cable car. Maybe 30 minutes 2/3 of which is walking through the town and even the "industrial" part isn't isn't dangerous or unpleasant.

You will make much better use of your time if you take a taxi tour from the pier.

The tour will include 4 stops which are hop on / hop off with the same driver and will take about 90 minutes.

The cost will be in the region of £22 or €30.

you will be driven by an authorised guide and will include historical and social commentary.

Enjoy

Take the taxi tour. It requires no pre planning and leaves directly from the pier. Unless you "must" see one of the other spots that is not covered this will give you a good introduction to Gibraltar.

Depends on your attitude to fitting in as much as you can, to walking, & to doing things in your own time.

We've done both, but for a first time I'd say take the van tour.

The drivers have been doing it for years, they have a good reputation, they're friendly & helpful, they have the answers to most questions, they know how long folk want at the different stops, and they give good value.

Taking a cab to the bottom cablecar station (it's about 35 mins on foot) plus the cable car fare is about the same cost as the van tour.

There can be long lines for the cable car, so make an early start to beat the coachloads of cross-border day-trippers. And if your ship's itinerary is for an afternoon arrival at Gib, think very carefully about whether you want to risk those long lines.

I've never known of long lines at the top to come back down. Perhaps a lot choose to walk down, though whichever route down involves a lot of zigging and a lot of zagging.

One other risk - in moderately high winds the cable car service is suspended (awful pun intended ;))

But taking the cable car up is fine for those who are fit, who like rambling, & like their own time-scale.

The intermediate station is closed thru the main season, in order to cope with the numbers.

The top station has great views both east & west, and the apes den is only a few hundred yards away (east & west views there too for those who use the vans). But St Michael's cave is a fifteen minute walk to the south, then it's back past the apes den and a further half-hour walk to the Great Siege tunnels & northerly views. From the Great Siege tunnels it's a bit pointless re-tracing that 30 minute walk back to the cable car, because walking down to town from the Great Siege tunnels takes about the same time.

So you need to allow 90 minutes & more of walking from the top cable car station to the town, or skip the cave.

If you take the cable car up, the walking is mainly level or down, with just a couple of fairly long but not-desperately-steep uphill sections.

An alternative is to take the Mediterranean Steps down from near the Peak - not done it, though folk tell me it's actually easier to go up. And then it's a half-hour walk from the bottom to town.

To see the most of the upper Rock and have plenty of time afterwards to explore the town, a van tour is the way to do it.

But there are those who prefer to stretch their legs & do their own thing.

Each to their own.

JB :)