Can an Indian Driver Drive in Gibraltar? — IDP Recommended + the Right-Side Switch

If you are checking whether your Indian licence works in Gibraltar, it does for a visit, and an International Driving Permit is recommended to carry with it. Carry the IDP, your Indian licence and your passport together. There is one genuinely surprising fact that this page exists to flag, and it is worth more than any speed table.

Gibraltar is a British territory, so most people assume it drives on the left like the UK and India. It does not — Gibraltar drives on the right. For an Indian driver that means the full left-to-right side switch: roundabouts run the opposite way, you keep right, and your instinct at junctions will point you the wrong direction for the first while. This is the single thing most likely to catch you out, so be deliberate until it stops feeling backwards.

The second practical reality is geography. Gibraltar is tiny — only a few square kilometres — and the road network is short and congested rather than open. Realistically, the meaningful driving on most trips is crossing the land border with Spain, where vehicle queues can be long and unpredictable. The moment you drive off the Rock into Spain you are on Spanish roads and Spanish limits, which is where the real route planning happens.

I will not invent posted speed limits or an alcohol figure for Gibraltar that I cannot source — they are not in the verified data, and a number you cannot trust is worse than none. What is solid: it drives on the right, an IDP is recommended, the general emergency number is 112, and any onward trip is effectively a Spanish driving trip.

Because so much of the journey happens across the border, plan the Spanish side too: check the Driving Permit Checker for exactly what you must carry, review Spain’s low-emission rules in the Spain ZBE fines guide if you are heading to cities like Málaga, and read Driving Fines Abroad — Who Pays? before you set off.