I've travelled to the south of Spain before but have never been to Gibraltar. <BR> <BR>I know that the train will take you to Algeciras, but do you, or should you, stay there or in La Linea de la Concepcion. Where is the best town to stay in and how do you get to Gibraltar. <BR> <BR>Also can it be "seen" in a day trip? <BR> <BR>Any help will be greatfully accepted. <BR> <BR>David

Algeciras is beside Gibraltar & is a hellhole.Possibly better via La Linea.How you get there depends where you are going from, plenty of buses, eg bus from Malaga passes by the road to the rock just before it gets to Algeciras. <BR>I don't think there is much public transport (if any ) across the border, you must remember the Spanish aren't happy with the situation. <BR>(so when are they going to give Ceuta back to the Morroccans?) <BR>I dont recommend the Daytrips to Morrocco. <BR>Gibraltar can be seen easily in a daytrip.You might like to stay in Tarifa,(nice little old town at Southern tip) or the Hurricane Hotel a few miles up the West coast (has website)(windsurfing country)or Cadiz(!amazing).Both of these places are more worth seeing than Gib, in my opinion.

You can easily see Gibraltar on a day trip. Try to go there on a weekday, most everything closes early on Saturday and I think much is closed all of Sunday. From La Linea, we walked across the airport runway into Gibraltar, make sure to bring your passport. I thought it was an interesting day trip, although a lot of people seem to disagree, more interesting if you know its history. <BR> <BR>Take the cable car up to the top of the rock, you can wind down the rock checking out the caves and the Barbary Apes. <BR> <BR>Don't try to drive into Gibraltar, the line of cars to get in was horrendous! We parked in La Linea and walked into Gibraltar. <BR> <BR>If you receive any change in Gibraltar currency, spend it or exchange it back before you leave, you won't be able to do this in Spain. I believe we were able to use pesatas to purchase things but we did receive Gibraltar currency as change which we took home as a souvenir, although not intentionally. <BR> <BR>I wouldn't recommend the day trip over to Tangier, Morocco either. The day would have been much better spent somewhere else.

As stated above, Gibraltar has a surplus of history and little else. It's a one-street, tacky, overcrowded mess. Shops filled with lackadaisical or pushy Hindu merchants, suspicious-looking restaurants, and a significant lack of public toilet facilities. Ah, yes. The Barbary apes. They are the smart ones. They stay up on the high slopes, away from this tourist trap. If you must go, however, do as suggested. Walk over from La Linea, clutching your passport, and keeping your valuables tucked carefully away.

With all due respect to Al, we like Gibraltar. Yes, it has a lot of retail (although I confess the mega-Safeway with its revolving roast chickens, aisles of UK cosmetics, lots of cheap books in English, and the cheapest gas/petrol in Europe, all in sight of Africa, was a real hook.) It is historic, the rock is interesting, and bangers and mash can be a nice break from tapas. Plus apes on the reverse of some coins...I passed off a Gibraltar 5p coin in Yorkshire a few days later (the coins look superficially the same, the paper notes way different from the UK), and had a shop lady convinced that Barbary Apes were now going to be on all British currency. <BR>Don't drive over unless you want to join a (pretty festive but frustrating) hours-long queue to get back into Spain. I thought I'd heard things were improving but evidently not soon.

It's been a few years since I was in gibraltar, but I remember it as an ugly, overdeveloped area. That said, it was fun to climb the rock and see the practically domesticated apes. <BR>I suggest a day trip though. I found hotel rates expensive, especialy compared to Spain.

Thanks every-one <BR> <BR>David

Dear David: <BR> <BR>Although you get a lot of naysayers on this site, I like Gibraltar. We live in southern Spain, and everytime we've had company from home, we take them to the Rock -- all have enjoyed it. I heartily second the recommendations to park in La Linea and walk over. The Spanish gov't deliberately makes it difficult to drive back into Spain because they want Gibraltar back: it once took us 2.5 hours to make it through the line of cars. Other recommendations: go to Trafalgar Cemetary and hire a taxi to take you on a tour; the best pub lunch in Gib, IMO, is The Clipper; avoid Algeciras like the plague; use pesetas and pay in exact change if possible, but you can get British Sterling Pounds at the Bank of Scotland ATM (the machine on the left, I believe). You can overnight in Gibraltar, but it's pretty pricey. As a previous poster mentioned, there are better places to stay in Andalucia (although Cadiz is quite a drive from Gibraltar); Tarifa is a good suggestion. <BR>Gibraltar makes a nice day trip. <BR>Have fun!

TR <BR> <BR>Many thanks for your input. <BR> <BR>Just what is wrong with Algeciras??? <BR> <BR>I've read quite a few postings saying exactly the same thing about it. It is causing me some concern as we will be travelling by train, hence the arrival in Algeciras. Driving on the RHS of the road holds no joy for me at all, even after 4 trips to Europe, I still have trouble converting to driving on the "wrong" side. I have also considered arriving by bus and possibly staying in La Linea. Is this a possibility or not. Or could you please suggest any alternative? <BR> <BR>Thanks again in advance <BR> <BR>David

Algeciras is full of thieves & hustlers, OK if you spend the minimum time in the place.