Should We Go to Gibraltar?
 

We are going to be spending two days in Ronda on a group tour of Spain and Portugal. One of those is an all-day trip to Gibraltar. Is it worth-while to spend the day going to Gibraltar or would we be better off staying behind in Ronda and exploring there?

Monkey see - monkey do (x-rated lyrics by Eminem) - great photos of the Gibraltar monkeys at

http://www.pbase.com/misterp17/gibraltar_monkeys

I would completely avoid Gibraltar, as I think it is a pretty vapid place, but that said, if you want to hike, see monkeys, and get an amazing view from up top, it is good. I would prefer Ronda, though.

Yes, it's worthwhile. One of the ports of call on my QEII cruise from last Christmas was Gibralter and it was my family's favorite on the trip. It's the perfect daytrip. Nothing to keep you beyond one day, but you can fill an entire day with a tour of the Rock and walking/shopping on the main (and only main!) drag. The Rock is fascinating, with its miles of tunnels built over the centuries. There's even a concert hall built inside the Rock. The views are spectacular and, yes, the monkeys are a memorable (albeit smelly) highlight. The harbor will be filled with ships. Gibralter brought out all the QEII passengers on deck and I still can't believe our Captain managed to steer the Queen through the labyrinth of ships in the harbor (according to our guide, Gibralter's economic mainstay is bunkerage, or the refueling/resupllying of ships). Gibralter is one of those stops you can check off on your list. It's famous and as long as you're in the region, why miss the oportunity to say you've climbed the Rock?

Don't forget St. Michael's Caves. I enjoyed Gibraltar, especially the views on a nice day. ((b))

Lilla:

Just driving across the airport's runway is thrill enough to include a visit to Gibraltar..only way to drive into the "Rock"...we stayed a night at The Rock Hotel, an old British establishment with great views of the harbor and close enough to monkeyland. (We had to arise early in order to catch the Morocco ferry from Algeciras the next morning).
Stu T.

We found it a major bore - but we just drove in and spent a couple of hours on the way from Seville to Marbella. Big rock, bunch of monkeys, hazy view of Africa in the distance and a bunch of tacky seemingly british owned shops and restaurants with poor food.

I found Gilbraltar one of the most fascinating places i've ever visited.