The 14-day tourist data SIM
Gibtelecom advertises a Tourist Data SIM in physical and eSIM formats. At the time of checking it showed 15 GB for £10 and 30 GB for £20, each valid for 14 days. Its purchase page lists local outlets including its John Mackintosh Square shop and shops at Waterport Terraces and Main Street. Check current stock and opening hours before making a special journey for a physical card.
The operator's terms are as important as the headline data. The 14 days begin when a physical card is inserted or when the eSIM QR code is scanned and activated. Service ends when the allowance is exhausted or the period expires. Unused data is lost, and a tourist card cannot be topped up, extended or reused; more data requires another tourist SIM or eSIM. For an itinerary with a late arrival, avoid activating it days before the trip begins.
This product is data-only for ordinary use, so it does not provide routine voice calls or texts. Anyone needing a Gibraltar phone number for calls should compare the regular prepaid line instead.
What happens on the walk into Spain
Gibtelecom says its tourist product can roam in Spain for short personal visits while based in Gibraltar. It says roaming is unavailable in other countries and is not meant for permanent use in Spain. This makes it useful for a day trip to La Línea de la Concepción, but it should not be treated as a general Europe pass for an onward journey to Portugal or France.
The operator's ordinary roaming page describes a separate Roam Like at Home arrangement for eligible Gibraltar mobile plans in the UK and listed EEA destinations, including Spain. That page says the benefit depends on the plan's own allowance and fair usage terms. Do not apply those ordinary plan conditions to the 14-day tourist SIM; use the tourist product's narrower Spain-only rule.
The UK government's entry guidance says the July 2026 UK-EU agreement provisionally aligns Gibraltar's short-stay entry conditions with Schengen rules. It also describes airport immigration checks and travel over the land border. Check the current entry rules for your passport separately from mobile roaming: border permission and a SIM's coverage area are different questions.
A Gibraltar line for calls and texts
Gibtelecom's Pay As You Go page lists data bundles for an ordinary prepaid mobile line. At the time of checking, it showed 2 GB for £10, 10 GB for £15, 20 GB for £20 and 30 GB for £25. Unlike the tourist product, this page also sets out local call and text charges, so it is the more relevant route when a local voice number is essential.
The operator says its ordinary data bundles, apart from a seven-day pass, expire after 30 days or once used, without rolling unused data forward. Bundles can be bought through its listed channels, including a text command to 8100. Check the activation and identification steps with Gibtelecom before purchase if you are arriving with only a foreign passport; the pages examined here do not settle every document requirement for a new line.
Be careful when comparing a pay-as-you-go bundle with the tourist eSIM. They have different periods, different top-up rights and different calling features. The cheaper headline allowance may not be the right product if you need an SMS for a booking or account login.
Install the eSIM and check the signal
Gibtelecom instructs eSIM buyers to scan the QR code on the product packaging and add the mobile plan in phone settings. Its terms place responsibility for checking that the device is eSIM compatible and unrestricted on the buyer. Confirm both points before paying, and keep an internet connection available while installing the profile. Do not delete the QR information until the phone has attached to the network.
The tourist terms say the handset needs usable 5G, 4G or 3G coverage for data. Gibtelecom's 5G page describes its network across Gibraltar, but a coverage statement is not a promise for every interior room, rock face or tunnel. If the intended trip includes the Upper Rock, the waterfront or a crossing into Spain, test the connection after activation and save essential directions offline.
Our Gibraltar plan page offers another way to compare data products after checking their actual destination lists.
A first connection at Gibraltar Airport
Gibraltar International Airport says it provides complimentary Wi-Fi throughout its terminal. Its instructions name the GIB_PUBLIC network and a browser step to accept terms and obtain the displayed credentials. This can help retrieve an eSIM message, inform someone of your arrival or open an online map before the new mobile line is ready.
Download a copy of the activation QR, your destination and any border documents before flying as well. Airport Wi-Fi is a useful backup, but a phone that is locked or lacks eSIM support still will not accept the Gibtelecom tourist profile. If arriving late, check the tourist SIM sales locations in advance rather than assuming a staffed counter will be open.
Use data for Gibraltar's bus routes
Gibraltar's Ministry of Transport says its bus routes and timetables were added to Google Maps, including route planning and transfers. A live connection is helpful when choosing between a walk and a bus or checking a connection near the border, while an offline map remains useful if the signal drops. The published information is a route-planning aid; verify current service notices before setting out.
The tourist SIM's 14-day clock continues whether or not you use the bus. If the stay is only a day or two before moving through Spain, compare the quantity you will realistically need with the period of your itinerary. For more than 14 days in Gibraltar, the inability to renew that tourist profile matters more than its initial allowance.
An explicit emergency call exception
Gibraltar's police service lists 999 for emergencies. Gibtelecom's Tourist Data SIM terms make a specific exception to their no-voice rule: the product permits emergency calls to police, fire and ambulance services on 999. This is unusually clear for a data-focused product, but it applies to that operator's named tourist SIM or eSIM rather than proving that every travel data profile will behave identically.
Save 999 and keep the phone charged. If ordinary calls or texts are part of your trip, select a voice-capable service rather than relying on the emergency exception. Check the handset's calling settings after activation without placing a test call to an emergency number.
Networks our Gibraltar plans use
These are the operators named on our plans for Gibraltar, taken from the plan data, so the list follows the catalogue.
- GibTel5G
- GIBTEL5G
- Gibtelecom5G
- Gibtelecom Ltd.5G