# Gibraltar, Morrisons and Parking



## Annsman

Hi we are thinking of toddling along to Morrisons, like you do! And wondered if it is easy to get the van onto their carpark and can you stay overnight, or is there anywhere on Gib. that you can park up overnight.

We have heard tales that it officially an no-no, but when you're there you can find a spot fairly easy.

I have looked on a thread via the search facility but the last entry was 2005, so it ain't that topical!

Steve


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## ActiveCampers

officially no you can't camp overnight but you could get away with it at Europa Point. Not that nice a place but if you must you must.
As for Morissons - no you can't camp there. Car park was full ish - we got in but with a big van you may have issues/
We wild camped just outside Gibraltar (in Spain) on the flat sandy bit just past the passport office. Its signed (about 1/2 mile away!!) for caravans and lorries. We had no issues in 3 days and were never alone.
HTH

PS parking outside means you can go in as many times as you like to get 200 B&H for £12!!!!
PPS - drive in first time - diesel at morrisons is cheap


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## medsteps

im interested in doing the same thing, if parking at morrisons is a no no then if we parked just across the border do you think it would be ok to take a dog across with you as i saw on an old web site that dogs where not allowed in. I lived out in gib for a few years and they where always keen on the dog issue( rabies ) as some strays came through the border from spain 
cheers Edd


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## chalky9

I'm pretty sure you can take a dog across the border into Gib provided you have its passport and everything is up to date. 

As ActiveCampers say(s), the Morrisons car park is usually quite full and it would be difficult to find space for a motorhome. Also bear in mind that the roads on Gib are generally quite narrow and crowded - particularly with scooters which dart in and out with reckless abandon!


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## 38Rover

No problem taking the van into Morrison's car park but it does get quite full sometimes 3 hour limit I think.
Europa point has plenty of parking not sure about overnight.
We go to Gib about 4 times a year shopping in Morrisons always take the 3 dogs but never challenged at the border we do also take all their paperwork in case.
Avoid leaving Gib at 4.30 to 6.0pm tends to be very long queues to exit has taken us over an hour to get out at that time.


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## Patrick_Phillips

We made this trip to Morrison's about 10 days ago and concur with everything ActiveCamper has said.
The only thing I would add is that Diesel at Morrisons was priced at 63.5 pence or 72.1 Eurocents. Obviously we paid in sterling.
When we asked about the strange exchange rate, the cashier just said "Yes, it is weird, isn't it!" :roll: 
We reckon they buy from the UK and want the sterling just to avoid exchange costs... 8) 
Patrick


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## medsteps

Steve 
maybe try eastern beach when i was last in Gib 2yrs ago i saw 2 motorhomes parked there its quite a large flat area and and only 10 mins from Morrisons
ito gib turn left at the roundabout take a left after the cemetery and your there sea view and all
Edd


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## slaphead

*parking gib*

the flat sandy bit to the left of gib(la linea)loads of parking or further round the coast passed this parking area..on coast road.
check pet passport web site . :wink: not worth taking the MH in as the driving is a bit tight and very busy.


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## Annsman

Just to answer my own question and give info to anyone going there.

The parking on the spare ground next to the border was fine, if a bit noisy. There were about 10 vans all told. Lots of trucks use it too, so make sure you're not near one with a fridge trailer!

You can also use Lidl and Carrefore/Mcdonalds for overnight, we didn't but some did. It's no good as a breakfast stop though because neither open before 10.00am.

The border crossing was very easy. Just wait until about 10 ish for the rush hour to pass and we were straight over. No one mentioned the dog, or even asked if we had one, so that wasn't an issue. The drive to Morrisons was fairly easy. The roads are no narrower than some English places, but watch for the scooters. It seems if you are registered criminally insane they give you one!

Morrisons' car park wasn't empty when we arrived and we parked next to a Hymer, taking up 4 spaces between us. When we came out the car park was full so getting out was a bit more tricky, but if you've driven this far you should be OK.

The shop was dearer than the UK, (fair enough!) and for some things dearer than Spain. (Fruit, wine, and general household stuff). The things we wanted were there. Pasta sauces, breakfast cereals, etc. and were fairly reasonable. 

We didn't buy any **** or booze so can't comment on these. BUT REMEMBER THE CUSTOMS LIMITS ARE NOT THE SAME AS THE UK, SO BE CAREFUL HOW MUCH YOU BUY!

We were stopped at the customs coming out and 2 Guarda Civil people did get into the van to check. The were only after **** etc and were quite serious in their quest. Checking internal and external lockers and under the van. So if you are tempted, you have been warned!!

Overnight parking is deffo not allowed. We had to sign a customs declaration form when we came over the border that specifically forbade this. I can't comment on what happened if anyone broke this rule.

McDonalds on Gib is very dear! 

We were only there for 4 hours and that was enough! We have "done Gib. before so this wasn't the reason for the trip anyway. If you are longterming it will probably be worth your while going, just to stock up, but if you are happy with local stuff, don't bother!


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## StanDup

Likewise........ for the first time in half a dozen visits...... on entering Gib 27 Feb 09 , we were formally 'served' with a notice forbidding use of the motorhome as habitation and instructing us to be out of Gib by sunset...... (.......... whistling theme music from 'The Good, Bad and the Ugly' going through my head at the time).

My eyes narrowed as the customs official went for her pen and I growled .... (Clint Eastwood style)...... _"I'm just-a-going to big Ken's shack"_ .......... but she served me with the papers all the same.

At Morrisons we saw a couple of cars clamped for overstaying the permitted time.

What we do for some British bangers and gravy powder eh !!


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## 111764

Annsman said:


> Hi we are thinking of toddling along to Morrisons, like you do! And wondered if it is easy to get the van onto their carpark and can you stay overnight, or is there anywhere on Gib. that you can park up overnight.
> 
> We have heard tales that it officially an no-no, but when you're there you can find a spot fairly easy.
> 
> I have looked on a thread via the search facility but the last entry was 2005, so it ain't that topical!
> 
> Steve


No overnight parking in Gib now and over 3 hours in Morrisons and you get clamped also when you go through the border they give you a form to say you wont be staying and they collect it on your way out


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## DocHoliday

When I went to park on the sandy area by the border in La Linea I was immediately told by the local Police not to stay overnight "parking for the day ok, camping no". An English guy with a huge, old RV ran over and had quite an argument with them, saying he can't move because last time they tried to tow him off they damaged his brakes and he's sueing them - something like that, anyway.

The Sureuropa campsite just outside La Linea is fine, but note they don't allow dogs.

There appears to be plenty of on-road parking along the coast road on the east side of La Linea.


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## Annsman

Visit done! Just to update info.

You can't overnight on Gib, for the reasons someone has stated. We did overnight at Europa point with several other vans and the police had no problem with this. Perhaps if you stay a while they get iffy. The police in Spain seem to be stopping people "camping" on places anyway this year. It isn't them though it's "political", so a policeman told me! 

We got into Morrisons car park Ok, because we were there at 10.00, but when we came out there was only us and a Hymer, everywhere else was cars and it was full. So be early!

Spanish Customs stopped us coming off to check for ****. We didn't have any, but they did look inside the van and underneath it. I did hear later from someone that they had found some in his van and were going to impound his van. They kept him 24 hours then let him go, but his details were passed to UK customs.


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## oly

Thinking of going to Gibralter whilst we are passing. Any more recent updates and advice on this, last talked about on here in 2009!


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## eddied

Don't bother!
saluti,
eddied


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## barryd

Yep, its a dump. We went in a car a few years back with Mrs D's Disabled mother. We couldn't get parked anywhere and after queueing for an hour to get on the island decided it was so horrible we turned round and left.


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## jonse

*Gib*

parking outside no problem drive past the Gib entrance,on the main road, parking on the right opposite stadium, some hard standing, also water and waste emptying but not that defined watch for the other vans emptying can be nosy sat nights but it seems to be safe police do patrol around and not far to walk to the sea,


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## robbie3993

I stopped at Gibraltar for a week at the start of April. Parked at the waste ground mentioned. GPS co-ordinates I used were 36.15513 -5.34274. 

Generally it was well used - the number of vans fluctuated between half-a-dozen and 20. Every couple of hours patrol cars from the local police and Guardia Civil drove round the site. There is an open-air market in one of the nearby streets on a Wednesday which was busy and the only access road on to the waste ground did fill up with cars on Wed morning.

As an alternative there is Camping SurEuropa which is about 4km from the border.

For shopping in Morrisons, every time I visited it (on foot) there were always a few multiple adjacent parking spaces available which would accomodate a MH. The shop itself was always very busy.

I made no attempt to cross to Gib in the van.

Hope that helps.

Robbie


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## oly

Thanks for that. We will at least be going with low expectations if we decide to drop in for a couple of days. Not sure we need to go to Morrisons but would like to see what all the fuss over keeping it is about! wouldn't mind seeing the Falklands too!


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## oly

looking back through the thread the campsite Sur Europa you mention didn't allow dogs in 2009. Is that still the case? Any others close by anyone. Thought we could have walked from there.


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## bktayken

oly said:


> Thanks for that. We will at least be going with low expectations if we decide to drop in for a couple of days. Not sure we need to go to Morrisons but would like to see what all the fuss over keeping it is about! wouldn't mind seeing the Falklands too!


Not a lot to see on the ground you need to look from space.

Gibraltar... Gibraltans want to stay British and its stategic location

Falklands ....Falklanders want stay British and oil.


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## H1-GBV

I'm always amazed how Spain thinks Gibralter should be theirs BUT are more than happy to retain Ceuta and Melilla in North Africa :lol: 

Perhaps European governments could solve the financial problems by selling off their overseas territories?


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## Wilmannie

Hi Oly,
We stayed a couple of days at Gib border in February (at La Linea free parking - co-ordinates allready given) and had absolutely no problems at all. We'll certainly stay there again if we can, it's well lit, there were lots of MHs (many British) and we felt as safe wildcamping there as anywhere else .
We drove into Gib to Morrisons to shop and for fuel at 8am on a Saturday - when it seemed we were the only people in the world awake! No delays or problems at the border in either direction.
To sight-see we left the MH parked at La Linea and took the scooter into Gib - plenty free parking,* lots to see,* and some duty free shopping.
The bus from the border into Gib costs about 80p for a day ticket if you don't have bikes. I'd go for it if I were you! The view from up the Rock is wonderful!
Have fun!


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