You have a few hours, maybe an afternoon. The launch goes back at a time somebody else decided. This is what is actually worth doing with that, written for people working the ship rather than for tourists with a week. Gibraltar is one of the better ports in this respect. [Shore leave is under pressure across the industry](https://www.missiontoseafarers.org/about/our-issues/shore-leave), with tight turnarounds and terminals a long way from anywhere, but here the town starts a few minutes from the quay and you can be in it on foot. There is a [seafarers centre](https://www.gibraltarportwelfare.com/facilities.html) and it is worth knowing about before you need it. The Flying Angel Club at North Mole runs Monday to Friday, roughly 08:30 to 16:00, with hot and cold food served until around 15:00, a bar, a pool table, a dart board and free wifi. There is also an air conditioned cabin with free wifi next to the mission building by the main entrance to Gibdock, and that one is open around the clock. If your leave falls at three in the morning, which happens, that is where you go to call home. The [Mediterranean Mission to Seafarers](https://www.holytrinitygibraltar.org/seafarers.htm) covers Gibraltar and will help any seafarer regardless of faith or nationality, on board, at the centre, at the cruise terminal or by phone. The [Gibraltar Port Authority](https://www.gibraltarport.com/port-information/seafarers-welfare) also publishes what welfare provision exists here. Gibraltar uses **pounds sterling**, not euros. Gibraltar issues its own notes which are worth the same as sterling, but they are not accepted in ordinary shops in the UK, so spend them or change them before you leave rather than carrying them home. Euros are widely taken and the rate you get is poor. If you are ashore for a few hours and have euros, use a card instead. Cards work everywhere. Contactless is normal. There are cash machines on Main Street and around Casemates. UK roaming does not automatically apply. Gibraltar is not part of the UK for mobile purposes and it is not in the EU, so check your plan before you use data, or use the wifi at the centre. |Time ashore|What fits| |Under 2 hours|Main Street, Casemates Square, a meal, a SIM or a phone call| |Half a day|The Upper Rock, the macaques, St Michael's Cave| |A full day|Upper Rock plus Europa Point and the eastern beaches| |Overnight|All of the above without rushing, and a proper sleep| If you have half a day, the [Upper Rock Nature Reserve](https://naturereserve.gi/) is the thing to do. It covers the Barbary macaques, which are the only wild monkey population in Europe, St Michael's Cave, the Great Siege Tunnels and the Skywalk. Adult admission is 30 GBP. One important thing: **the cable car is closed** and has been since November 2025 for a full rebuild, with reopening expected in 2027. Anything you read about riding up is out of date. You go up by taxi tour or on foot, and on foot from town is a serious walk in heat. From Europa Point on a clear day you can see the Rif mountains of Morocco, fourteen kilometres across the Strait. If you have spent the last three weeks looking at that coastline from a bridge window, standing on the other side of it is a strange and good feeling. The macaques are worth a word of warning. They are wild, they are quick, and they will take a bag, a phone or a packet of cigarettes straight out of your hand. Do not feed them, which carries a fine, and do not hold food where one can see it. People lose things here every single day. Walk into town. Casemates Square is the open square at the north end of Main Street and it is five minutes from the port gate. There is food, there is wifi, there are shops, and there is somewhere to sit that is not the mess. Gibraltar has no VAT, so tobacco, alcohol, perfume and electronics are genuinely cheaper here than in most European ports. This is the port where crew do their shopping, and there is a reason for that. Main Street shops generally run 09:00 to 17:00 Monday to Friday and close around 13:30 on Saturday. Sundays are mostly shut unless a cruise ship is in. This is the least pleasant reason to be here and the one people are least prepared for. St Bernard's Hospital is on Harbour Views Road at Europort, close to the port, and it has a 24 hour accident and emergency department. **112 works for any emergency** from any phone, and you do not need a local SIM to dial it. Pharmacies keep ordinary shop hours, but there is a duty pharmacy rota covering evenings and weekends, published by the health authority. Ask at the seafarers centre or your agent will know. If you are being held ashore for fit to fly certification, expect it to take longer than anyone tells you at the start. Appointments, results and flight availability rarely line up neatly, and a two day hold turning into a week is common. Tell whoever is arranging your accommodation early that the dates may move, rather than the night before. Talk to people working this po