Active 10-Hour Gibraltar Cruise Stop

Ten hours is enough time to actually work for it in Gibraltar. This itinerary is designed for people who want to earn the views rather than ride their way to them, and who leave the port with a real feel for the place. The day starts early with the Mediterranean Steps, the most dramatic approach to the Upper Rock. The trailhead is near Europa Point in the south of the Rock, and the path climbs steeply through limestone scrub before emerging onto the ridge with views directly over both the Mediterranean and the Atlantic approaches to the Strait. It is a genuine scramble in places, boots or solid walking shoes are essential, and it takes around ninety minutes to reach the top. The reward is one of the finest coastal views in Europe. From the Upper Rock summit you walk north along the ridge, picking up the Barbary macaques at Apes Den and then continuing to the Great Siege Tunnels. The tunnels are carved directly into the limestone and date from the 1780s, when the British garrison blasted them out by hand during the longest siege in British military history. They are authentically grim and worth every minute. After coming down from the Rock, lunch in town, then the afternoon belongs to the Strait. The dolphin-watching trip from Marina Bay goes out into the bay between Gibraltar and Algeciras, one of the most productive cetacean feeding grounds in the Mediterranean. Common dolphins, bottlenose dolphins, and occasionally pilot whales are all possible. If time allows before sailing, the World War II Tunnels at the base of the Rock are a different beast from the Great Siege Tunnels: a full underground city bored out between 1939 and 1944, capable of housing the entire civilian population. The combined scale of what is inside the Rock is hard to believe until you are standing inside it. NOTE: The Gibraltar Cable Car is currently closed for refurbishment (no reopening date). The Upper Rock is best reached via the Mediterranean Steps hike or by taxi. We update this guide as soon as the cable car reopens.