GIBRALTA...the truth

[colvic]

Have just spent our first week here and are very dissapointed. Yes diesel is only 19p a litre and cigarettes only £7 for 200, BUT anything for the boat is way above UK prices, ie. Garmin 128 at £294, hand held VHF all at £300+. Food in Safeway or Tesco has to be higher than UK and papers and magazines attract a 50% surcharge to cover delivery. Estapona, Fuengirola etc. all pa;ers and mags much much cheaper.

Queensway marina doesn't have finger pontoons as per pilot and almanac and charges for water and electricity. 12mtr at £8 a night.

Marina Bay and Shephards don't charge for water or electric and cost the same as Queensway. Marina bay has higher fixed concrete pontoons whereas the other two are very low floating pontoons.

Britiah Airways and Monarch fly in twice a day and are only a 10 min walk from Marina Bay.

If comming from the UK, I expect you'll find the high street prices about the same but electronic goods are more expensive than UK. Lots of places to eat out but mostly snack type meals and UK prices...beer £2 a pint, spirits and splash upto £4.50. Cross into La Linea, 800yds away, and Macdonalds are less than 1/2 the price of here. Locals all catch bus from border to Carrefour to shop and walk back through customs and bus into the carpark.


Phil

 

[Guest]

Thanks we are heading that way ourselves at the end of the month, so useful to get advice from someone who is there.

 

[ccscott49]

Quite right in some ways, where were you pricing your handheld? I got mine 70 quid cheaper than UK at duty free price. I only stop for the diesel and to shop for none available in Spain food goodies. My video camera was also cheaper by a large margin than UK. Still like the place! For a day or two.

 

[Noonin]

Your info is very helpful to me, we are getting our boat delivered to Gib mid August and want a safe mooring for overwintereing, for returning to UK and visiting, and hopefully enjoying a bit of winter sun. We have heard that the swells can be bad (thats what the pilot says - any coment.

Are you cruising the whole med? Anyother sugestions for good places to moor for a 47 footer?

Your help would be much appreciated.
Thanks

 

[MedMan]

I suggest you try Almerimar or Agua Dulce at the other end of the Costa del Sol. Both have large liveaboard communities and, when I stayed in Almerimar in 1998/99, were very reasonably priced.

We enjoyed a couple of weeks in Gibraltar but were glad to move on. Having come 'round the outside' it was nice to be back on 'British soil' for a while, but it is somewhat run down and is by no means 'Oxford Street in the sun' as the local traders would have you believe!