How can I check that a Gibraltar tour guide or tour operator is licensed?

Short answer

Licensed tour guides in Gibraltar are issued a numbered badge and must wear it visibly and carry their licence while working, so ask to see both. If in doubt, contact the Gibraltar Tourist Board, which licenses guides.

Detailed answer

Under Gibraltar's Licensing (Tour Guides) Rules 1989, anyone working as a tour guide must hold a licence, and it is an offence to present yourself as a guide without one. Each licensed guide receives a badge carrying the same number as their licence. The badge must be clearly visible whenever the guide is working, and the guide must carry the licence and produce it on request.

The Gibraltar Tourist Board runs the licensing process. Applicants complete the Board's Tourist Guide Course, covering Gibraltar's history and geography, guiding techniques, the Barbary macaques, health and safety and customer service, and must pass a written exam and an oral assessment. Licences are renewed every two years.

To check a guide:

Ask to see the badge and licence before the tour starts, and note the number.

If you have any doubt, contact the Gibraltar Tourist Board on +350 200 45000 or [email protected], or ask at a tourist information office at John Mackintosh Square, the land frontier, the Cruise Terminal or the Coach Terminus.

For Rock tours, the official Gibraltar Nature Reserve website directs visitors to private tours with tourist board certified taxi drivers and links to the Gibraltar Taxi Association (Official Tours), Inside-Out Rock Tours, Gibraltar Rock Tours and Gibraltar Tours. Booking through these channels, or through your hotel or cruise line, is the simplest way to avoid unlicensed operators.

If a guide cannot show a badge, do not book with them. If a taxi driver refuses a short fare or pressures you into a tour, you can report it.