English Chess Forum

I've been asked to give the following event a plug: www.gibchess.com/junior

I haven’t been to Gibraltar but the junior events in August are obviously popular. If one goes for the offered package (let’s take a family of three by way of illustration) it’s £1416 for a triple room with half board plus, if one goes for the most obvious travel method, around £800 for direct flights between London and Gibraltar. Throw in a few incidentals and one’s looking at £2500 or thereabouts for a five-day holiday. I’m not suggesting that’s unreasonable but it may be a deterrent for budget-conscious families.

First point that comes to mind – the cost of return flights to and from Madrid is around £300 rather than £800. The “meet and greet” ceremony is timed for 1730 on Thursday 17 August. One could fly to Madrid the previous day, spending the day at leisure in the Spanish capital and overnighting there, before catching next morning’s 0835 train arriving 1348 in Algeciras (train fare for three currently quoted at around £100) which, for those unfamiliar with local geography, is on the Bay of Gibraltar but opposite the Rock itself. From there it’s a cheap 45-minute bus ride to La Linea, from where one can walk across the border into Gibraltar and arrive well before 1730. Of course, if August sees a major political dispute between Britain and Spain over the territory, all bets are off.

By my calculation, that’s around £500 saved on flights less £200 spent on trains, or a net £300, which should comfortably meet the cost of that overnight stay in Madrid – plus there’s the chance to view the capital. And the train journey from Madrid to Algeciras, if the Seat 61 travel site is to be believed, is picturesque.

Second point – that £1416 looks steep even compared with the cost of booking the same hotel via a competitive website. Figures aren’t directly comparable but website costs look to be around £700 for bed-and-breakfast only (and, if you don’t take the package, tournament entry costs £100 for non-residents) which seems to put a fair old price on those evening meals. Of course, independent booking means you’ll miss out on the non-chess events such as the dolphin safari but I’m willing to bet there’s no shortage of dolphin safari offers. And there’s the separate possibility of staying elsewhere.

There are other places to stay on Gibraltar but I find it hard to believe that most Spanish entrants, in particular, do anything other than use accommodation on the Spanish mainland. Accommodation in La Linea seems limited but, if you can book it, is much cheaper. Or you could stay in Algeciras but in that event it might be sensible to hire a car.

I’m tempted to advertise Gibraltar to our club members but my reason for posting is to ask of those with experience of Gibraltar – are there any flaws in any of the above?

"There are other places to stay on Gibraltar but I find it hard to believe that most Spanish entrants, in particular, do anything other than use accommodation on the Spanish mainland."

A number of British players have stayed in Spain for the tournament held in the earlier part of the year, so that is certainly an option. I'm not picking on Gibraltar - a lot of tournament venues are expensive.

Thanks for that info, Kevin. (And I'm not singling out Gibraltar either). Any background from others also appreciated.

Roger Lancaster wrote:Second point – that £1416 looks steep even compared with the cost of booking the same hotel via a competitive website. Figures aren’t directly comparable but website costs look to be around £700 for bed-and-breakfast only (and, if you don’t take the package, tournament entry costs £100 for non-residents) which seems to put a fair old price on those evening meals.

When I played in Gibraltar, admittedly a long time ago now, I was able to book the Caleta hotel through a travel agent at only slightly over half of the price quoted on the tournament entry form (both for B&B). It looks like it's still a good idea to check hotel prices offered by third-parties.