ccrosner

I know that many here will tell me to skip Gibraltar on our trip to Southern Spain. But I think my children (11 and 14) would enjoy seeing it and being able to say that they saw it, so please bear with me.

Would it be possible to rent a car in Seville, drive to Gibraltar and see the caves, the apes and the rock and then be in Marbella by 4 p.m. on a May wednesday?

I have read a bit about the Spanish reentry being difficult. And is it possible to walk over the border and get to the sites we want to see? I don't need to spend any time in the town itself.

Thanks!

markrosy

That would take a very early start and is a big ask.

If you take the A381 it is just possible - IF the border control are playing game - if not forget it.

Do not dream about taking the direct route over through Ubrique it can to a week to travel 7 miles - if you are in a rush - as I was to get a Malaga flight - it can be life threatening.

How much time do you have? - if you can justify another day - the coast road down the Costa De La Luz is the best of Andalucia. I am going to avoid a Marbella v Costa De La Luz compare and contrast, clearly you are staying in Marbella. There is Jerez, Cadiz, Sanlucar and god knows how many great beaches down the coast.

Gibralter IS one of those do once things and the children will enjoy the experience but it will be a long day.

chanke

I think your children will enjoy Gibralter. The caves are fascinating from a history perspective. And I thought it was just fun going from Spanish atmosphere to English atmosphere then back to Spanish. The views from the top are beautiful and you can see the coast of Africa. When we were there, there was no wait to cross back into Spain. But as you've read on this site too, other people have had a different experience. This might be your kids' only time in that part of the world, so go for it! It does take a lot of time to tour the caves and the defense buildings, but worth the trip. You're probably pushing it to get to Marbella by 4:00.

amsdon

I agree. I persoally am not a big fan of Gibraltar, but the forst time I went to Spain it was fun for two reasons 1. The Apes are fun for kids 2. there is alot of shopping there (though not so cheap as years ago.

The food is not so hot though imo.
Be sure to research that & get recs or take a picnic.

ccrosner

Thanks for the encouraging replies. We are going to try to do it. Even if it means starting very early in the morning. It does look like a push....but we almost have to drive by it anyway (unless we cut through Ronda to get from Seville to Marbella....but we're doing a tour there from Marbella so no need to go that way). So I think we'll try at least the caves.

tower

CC:

Do it...we did several years ago, driving from Seville through Ronda, staying overnight at the Rock Hotel, enjoying the apes and the caves and the scenic views..even visited o of the four remaining synagogues in town when there was a community meeting going on...all speaking English...we were warmly greeted.

Had an early ferry date and car-drop in Algeciras the next morning..all worked out well.

Kids will love it...cannot answer your query on the drive back through border control. I do remember having to drive across the airport runways to reach the city!! Talk about looking both ways before crossing...yikes!

stu t.

W9London

You can either drive into Gib or cross the border on foot. Crossing time really depends--can be anything from 5min to 30min in my previous 4 visits. From the border, you can usually find a taxi.

Downtown itself is rather small--one Main St come to think of it. Cable car station is about 5min away. Pleasant walk down, cave visit strongly recommended. Make sure you don't leave open package of food--apes ARE aggressive.

Also, they have their own version of £ bills, with the picture of apes on the back.


Stu T,
the community there is fascinating. We have very close friends there, and been to 3 out of 4 synagogues. A friend of mine got engaged there, and the special heirloom bridal dress was at least 250year old, all silver and gold thread.

tower

W9:

been away for the past month..just looked up your post..fascinating.Just visited the rather new sinagoga in Belmonte, Portugal...that's a long story in itself so let me know if you want pix and I'll re-post with the pix..

stu t.

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FREDMADCEL

Went to Gibraltar yesterday. The cable car was exciting and the views were fabulous. After the experience, though, our advice is to park on the Spanish side and walk in, as it took about 45 minutes to drive in at 11 AM and and over an hour to get out at 5 PM. Some advice-if you buy only the allowed amounts, DON'T go into the line for persons with stuff to declare! That slowed down the, already slow, process. Start early in the morning if you are just going for a day visit and get out early in the afternoon. Apes-be sure not to take any plastic bags up with you-signs everywhere. The monkeys WILL run and grab them, shaking up everyone in your "not too bright" party. They also can just jump on your shoulders/head, so be aware. Also, if you want to go into the caves and the Moslim fort, the price is £8. Food in town seemed expensive to us, but if you are from the UK, it won't be a surprise. On the whole, we are glad we went, but the traffic wait on each end diminished the overall experience.

basingstoke2

We have visited Gibraltar a few times when our kids were about the age of yours because they enjoyed it so. I must admit that I liked it too. The last time we visited we parked on the Spanish side and walked in. That was the right decision and one that I would strongly recommend.

Gibraltar is very walkable. As far as the cable car is concerned, we would usually take it up and then hike down. That can be a long walk, but you do pass the caves on the way so that breaks it up. Walking down took us about 45 minutes not counting visiting the caves.

ccrosner

We've been back from our trip for two months now and I have been remiss in not writing a full trip report. Hoping to get to it soon.

But I will report that we did go to Gibraltar but not by driving as I had suggested. We ended our week long trip in Marbella at a business meeting of my husband's firm. They had a half day trip for the four of us to go to Gibraltar (there were other options as well) so we took it. Long afternoon (hour back and forth on the bus) but worth it. Kids enjoyed Gibraltar a lot. The customs piece was a bit annoying (we all had to get off the bus on the way out and file through the building and they checked our passports on the way in). We transferred to one of those local smaller tour busses who took us around The Rock. Very interesting to hear the history and current state of affairs.

Kids (and we) loved seeing Africa so close by. The caves were interesting and they loved the apes. We have lots of pictures of my husband and son with apes on them.

Didn't think much of the shopping in town (they gave us an hour to wander) and we had box lunches so can't say anything about the food.

Would definitely recommend a visit.

RAC

I would recommend Gibraltar, but only if you can do an overnight.

Your itinerary doesn't sound very doable to me.

We did Gibraltar when we visited, but skipped Marbella.