In the week the King of Spain was visiting the UK to meet our Queen, we were visiting the Costa del Sol, and we felt had to take a trip to Gibraltar just in case the “talks” don’t go in the UK’s favour.
A day out in Gibraltar
We drove there, and parked in La Linea, which is the town outside the border. We walked in to Gibraltar, as our car hire agreement stated we couldn’t take the car out of Spain. There’s a McDonalds, Burger King, and all that jazz just next to the large car park adjacent to the border. Also just before you get to the passport control is a small kiosk selling tickets to the Top of the Rock cable car. If you buy tickets at this kiosk you’ll have a free shuttle minibus to the cable car base. You will also be able to skip the (substantial) queue at the entrance there.
So, that’s what we did. The walk through the border control was very quick, and we waited for a few minutes for the next minibus from the location a short distance from the border.
It’s about a 10 minute drive from the pick up to drop off at the cable car base in Gibraltar. My kids loved being in the minibus, not least because James got one of those seat that fold out into the aisle.
When we arrived we were able to miss probably an hours worth of queue at the ticket office for the cable car to the top of the rock. We still had to wait in a line for the cable car, which was approximately 20 minutes long. A wifi code allowed us to check our Facebook, etc, while we waited. We could have downloaded an app for a multimedia tour of Gibraltar’s history. Sorry, we didn’t see what it was like.
Cable car to the top of the rock – Gibraltar
The cable cars are quite large, and about 10-15 people are squished in at a time. The journey up to the top is only about 5 minutes long. The views are spectacular; of giant cruise ships, the peninsula of Gibraltar, and into Spain.
Monkeys of Gibraltar
As soon as we disembarked the cable car we saw monkeys. So many of the monkeys had tiny brown babies clinging to their tummies. We even saw one that still had its umbilical cord attached, as it was a brand new little monkey!
There is a £4,000 fine if you feed a monkey, and they can smell food in plastic bags. We did see one man have his bag swiped from him, as he was assaulted by a gang of opportunistic apes!
The top of the rock
On the top terraces of the cable car summit you can see 3 countries and 2 continents! We wandered around for a while and popped into the gift shop. We bought a cute little magnet of a monkey sitting on a chuck of stone!
There is also a cafe, and a bar. The toilets were fine, although I didn’t find the baby change; I only saw signs for it but following them was fruitless. We’re potty training so Noah is doing wees in the toilet, but not poops yet, so we were okay.
You can walk along any of the paths around the rock. We walked along to see more monkeys, this time at a sort of feeding station, and the views from there were amazing.
Gibraltar town
After our descent on the cable car we decided to walk back through the high street to leave Gibraltar and return to the car.
There’s a Marks & Spencers, Mothercare, and other well known high street shops. The town really is just like any high street in the UK, with a large concentration of tourists. In M&S I bought a 1 litre bottle of gin for a fiver, since there’s no duty to pay. Obviously you have to be mindful of the duty free limits on your return to Spain.
We stopped at a pub for a quick drink, and we were shocked at the prices of beer. It was like being home, and after a week of drinking Spanish pintos for €1,50 we decided to head back to Spain for the next round!
Noah was hungry, but as we walked along we considered that £4,000 fine, and decided he could wait for a snack. A passing policeman agreed it was better to avoid giving toddlers food since the monkeys are semi-wild, and don’t only stay in the mountain area.
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Walking out of Gibraltar was really cool; you get to walk across the airport landing strip. There are lights and a gate at each side, so that if a plane is landing then everyone waits until it’s on the ground before being allowed to cross.
A fab day out with the kids in Gibraltar, on a day trip from Spain. Have you ever been?
It’s always been somewhere on my list. Now I want to go even more – nice view!!
Sounds like a real adventure! My mam was staying in the same part of Spain as you at the same time. They were visiting relatives who live in Spain. They too took a day trip to Gibralter in the back of my Step-dad’s uncle’s Micra. They said petrol is only 79p per litre there so the trick is to try and aim for an empty tank on arrival so you can stock up.
My mam didn’t really rate Gibralter which is a shame. She said it was all high rise buildings and there wasn’t too much to see.
I quite like Gibraltar when we visited, it was only for the day on a cruise ship but I need went up to see the monkeys the thought of going near them terrifies me, thanks so much for linking up #MondayEscapes
I’ve not been to Gib but Mr Tin Box has a few times as part of his day job in the Royal Navy. I’d love to have a look around this tiny piece of the UK abroad! #MondayEscapes
I have been to Gibraltar as a teen and I was a bit scared of the monkeys, the views from the rock were rather amazing though. I remember going to M&S and it being so cheap. I would love to revisit with the children someday xx
#daysoutwithatoddler Not sure what i think about gibralter. Always wanted to go to see the monkeys, but then i watched the cruise programme when they stopped there and one bit a woman really bad. naughty monkey
#daysoutwithatoddler wow, never been to Gibraltar, but it’s near the top of my list – a place full of historical interest!
I have never been to Gibraltar and to be honest I’ve never thought about going. The view looks fabulous and that baby monkey is adorable. It sounds like you all had a good time and I hope Noah enjoyed his food back in Spain away from them cheeky monkeys.
What a great view – I have been before I had little ones and those monkeys were little tinkers!! I would love to take my girls although I know they would be petrified! They are scared of everything! #daysoutwithatoddler
I had a flatmate at uni from Gibraltar and have learnt more in this post than i did in the three years of living with him! The cable car looks amazing, however the monkeys are as terrifying as I imagined! What a great place to visit… I think i may need to get back in touch with my old roomy! #daysoutwithatoddler
This looks such an interesting place to visit, I’ve never been but have just spent ages following various wiki links. Almost forgot to come back here then. Those views are really something.
Never been but looks amazing
I can’t believe how close those monkeys were! #daysoutwithatoddler
I have never been to Gibraltar – but I have heard it is quite unique
We’ve yet to go to Spain or Gibraltar as a family. I think we will wait till the children are older to go. #daysoutwithatoddler
Would love to visit Gibraltar as I’ve never been. The monkey look so cute #daysoutwithatoddler
I visited Gibraltar many years ago and saw the Barbary Apes. I do hope that Spain doesn’t insist on annexing Gibraltar as it is so British and such a lovely place to visit.
I have never been but the architecture looks very strange for a British outpost. I hear there are lots of historical places connected to wars or am I getting confused with all the movies!?! #daysoutwithatoddler
#daysoutwithatoddler I have never traveled out of our own country, I hope to one day when the kids have all left home, and this is one place hat i would love to visit
Never been to gibralter buts its definatly up on the list of places to visit #daysoutwithatoddler
Lovely wives and monkeys too. 🙂
That looks and sounds lovely. I’ve never been, and I didn’t know that the wildlife were so in-your-face! #daysoutwithatoddler
Have always wanted to visit Gibralter – this has made it look even more amazing #daysoutwithatoddler
I’ve never been to Gibraltar. Seems an interesting place to visit.
I’d love to experience that, looks brilliant!
About 10 years ago my husband & I drove into Gibraltar when we were holidaying near Malaga. We got lost and eventually found ourselves driving in a pedestrian-only area and unable to find our way out as there seemed to be loads of small alleyways. Luckily the policeman who eventually stopped us was very understanding and directed us back to the road. We would probably have been better off doing as you di and parking in La Linea and walking across.
I’ve never been to Gibraltar, It’s never been on my list of places to visit but seeing and reading this post it sounds awesome! It could be on my list of places to get married abroad too x x x
It looks like a fab place, never been think I might look into it
You know I had never considered Gibraltar as a place I wanted to visit, but I have now changed my mind 🙂