allowed with conditions
Gibraltar does something almost nobody does: it defines “camping” so as to expressly include sleeping in the open, with or without a sleeping bag. So there’s no gap here between tent and bivouac. On Crown land you need the previous written permission of the Minister for the environment — or the Ministry of Defence where it occupies — and on private land, the owner’s.
Checked July 2026
This is not legal advice: it's what the official sources say, checked by hand, plus what I lived myself. Verify before you bet the fine on it.
Forest and ordinary ground
Crown land: previous written permission
On Crown land — broadly defined — you need the previous written permission of the Minister responsible for the environment; and on land occupied by the Secretary of State for Defence, the Ministry of Defence's.
- Authorised users of the Governor's Lookout Scout Camp fall within the statutory exception.
Sources
Crimes Act 2011, sections 541–542 — current consolidated version — Government of Gibraltar
Checked July 2026
Gibraltar names the sleeping bag
Unlike almost everywhere, Gibraltar's Crimes Act defines "camping" so as to expressly include sleeping in the open, with or without a sleeping bag. So there's no gap here between tent and bivouac: on private land you need the owner's or their agent's previous permission, full stop.
Sources
Crimes Act 2011, sections 541–542 — current consolidated version — Government of Gibraltar
Checked July 2026
Van and motorhome
The removal power
The Commissioner of Police may direct people residing in vehicles to leave and remove them from highways, unoccupied land or occupied land used without consent. What the provision doesn't define is when a single night becomes "residing" — so it's a removal risk, not a clean classification.
Sources
Crimes Act 2011, section 543 — persons residing in vehicles — Government of Gibraltar
Checked July 2026
Before you go
Sleeping for free was half the budget
€3.16 per person, per day. The trip's full accounts — and the playbook to do it yourself — are in the budget dossier.