Canary Islands

Getting around

Boat

The islands are connected by ferries, ‘fast ferries’ and jetfoils. There are three main companies: Naviera Armas (902 45 65 00; www.navieraarmas.com), Fred Olsen (902 10 01 07; www.fredolsen.es) and Acciona Trasmediterránea (902 45 46 45; www.trasmediterranea.com).

Do bear in mind that times, prices – even routes – can and do change. This isn’t so important on major routes, where there’s plenty of choice, but it can mean a big delay if you’re planning to travel a route that has only a couple of boats per day, or even per week.

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Car & motorcycle

Bringing your own vehicle

Unless you’re intending to settle on the islands, there’s no advantage whatsoever in bringing your own vehicle. Transport costs on the ferry from Cádiz in mainland Spain are savage and car-hire rates on the islands are significantly cheaper than in most EU countries. If you’re one of the very rare visitors to bring your own vehicle, you will need registration papers and an International Insurance Certificate (or a Green Card). Your insurance company will issue this.

Fuel

Gasolina is much cheaper in the Canary Islands than elsewhere in Spain because it’s not taxed as heavily.

Sin plomo (lead-free) petrol is available pretty much everywhere. Prices vary slightly between service stations and fluctuate according to oil tariffs, OPEC (Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) arm twisting and tax policy. You can pay with major credit cards at most service stations.

Hire

All the big international car-rental companies are represented in the Canary Islands and there are also plenty of local operators. If you intend to stay on one island for any length of time, it might be worth booking a car in advance, for example in a fly/drive deal.

No matter what you rent, make sure you understand what is included in the price (unlimited kilometres, tax, insurance, collision damage waiver and so on) and what your liabilities are, and that you examine the rental agreement carefully – difficult if it is in Spanish only! Expect to pay €25 to €30 per day for a compact car. Long-term rental can be cheaper, while renting larger cars or 4WDs can double the price. It’s often obligatory to pay with a credit card, although the company does then have a hold over you if something goes wrong.

It’s well worth shopping around and picking up a few brochures. In the big resorts, some operators quote rates that are seductively and misleadingly low. That’s because insurance, which can more than double the cost, isn’t included. There are other incidentals (some optional) such as collision damage waiver, extra passenger cover and 5% IGIC (General Indirect Tax to the Canary Islands) to look out for.

Generally, you can’t take a hire car from one island to another without the company’s explicit permission. An exception for most companies is the Fuerteventura–Lanzarote sea crossing – most have no problem with you taking your car from one to the other, and in some cases you can hire on one island and drop the car off on the other.

Check before you drive off that the phone number of the rental company features on your copy of the rental agreement (you’re required by law to carry this with you). Some agents also offer a 24-hour mobile phone contact. Out on the road, always carry your licence, passport and rental agreement. To rent a car you need to be at least 21 years old and have held a driving licence for a minimum of two years.

Companies operating on all islands include the following:

Avis (902 18 08 54; www.avis.es)

Cicar (900 20 23 03, UK 0800 960 367, Germany 0800 182 1816; www.cicar.com) The name stands for ‘Canary Islands Car’ and this archipelago-wide company is reliable and usually represents good value.

Europcar/BC Betacar (913 43 45 12; ­www.europcar.es)

Hertz (913 72 93 00; www.hertz.es)

Insurance

For an extra fee you can usually boost the travel-insurance coverage on your vehicle – and it’s a good idea to do so. The number of dinged-up hire cars certainly makes you wonder if anyone’s getting a nasty shock when the credit-card bills come in. All the car-hire companies have insurance, and you will have to pay for it one way or another. Driving on a dirt road will generally render your policy null and void, so take this into account.

Purchase

Only residents of Spain can buy a car in the Canaries, and only those who can prove residence in the Canary Islands may avail themselves of the local tax breaks to buy a car cheaply.

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Bus & tram

Bus

A bus in the Canary Islands is called a guagua, pronounced ‘wa-wa’. If you’ve bounced around Latin America, you’ll be familiar with the term. Still, if you ask about autobuses, you’ll be understood.

Every island has its own interurban service. One way or another, they can get you to most of the main locations, but in many cases there are few runs each day. This is especially so on the smaller islands, where the population is low and most people are obliged to have their own wheels.

The bigger islands of Tenerife and Gran Canaria have an impressive public-transport system that covers the whole island. Frequency, however, varies enormously, from a regular service between major towns to a couple of runs per day for transporting workers and school kids to/from the capital.

Check the timetable carefully before you travel at the weekend. Even on the bigger islands’ major runs, a frequent weekday service can trickle off to just a few departures on Saturday and one, or none, on Sunday.

In the larger towns and cities, buses leave from an estación de guaguas (bus station). In villages and small towns, they usually terminate on a particular street or plaza. You buy your ticket on the bus. Bus companies include the following:

Arrecife Bus (928 81 15 22; www.arrecifebus.com) Frequent service around Arrecife and Lanzarote’s tourist areas; services to elsewhere are minimal or nonexistent.

Global (902 38 11 10; www.globalsu.net in Spanish) Provides Gran Canaria with a network of routes, although the service to many rural areas is pretty thin.

Servicio Insular de Guagua (922 55 07 29) Bus services on El Hierro that recently underwent a major overhaul; services are now more frequent and reliable.

Servicio Regular Gomera (922 14 11 01; www.gomera-island.com/turismo/ingles/guaguas.htm) La Gomera’s limited service.

Tiadhe (928 85 09 51, 928 85 21 62; www.tiadhe.com) Provides a limited service, with 17 lines operating around Fuerteventura.

TITSA (Transportes Interurbanos de Tenerife SA; 922 53 13 00; www.titsa.com) Runs a spider’s web of services all over Tenerife.

Transportes Insular La Palma (922 41 19 24; www.transporteslapalma.com) Services La Palma, with route prices starting at €1.

Costs

Fares, especially if you invest in a Bonobus card, are reasonable. Destinations within each island are calculated pro rata according to distance, so ticket fares vary from €1 to €10 or more.

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Local transport

Taxi

You could tour around an island by taxi but it’s a very expensive way to go, with interurban fares hovering around €1.15 per kilometre. Some routes (such as to and from airports) have set fares, so be sure to ask about them before setting off. Also, it may be possible to arrange a private taxi tour of an island; an hourly or daily fare would need to be negotiated ahead of time.

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Air

Now that all seven islands have airports, flying between them is an easy and popular option, and it can save you bundles of time if you want to see several islands. Both Binter Canarias (902 39 13 92; www.binternet.com) and the newer Islas Airways (902 47 74 78; www.islasairways.com) run regular routes between the islands. On both airlines, the ticket fees are set at €60 per leg for adult nonresidents (kids and students are cheaper), so hopping on a plane isn’t much more expensive than taking a ferry, and it’s substantially quicker.

Two other airlines serving the Spanish mainland have a few flights connecting the bigger islands: Air Europa flies to Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote; and Spanair flies to Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura.

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Bicycle

Biking around the islands is an extremely pleasant way to see the sights, but don’t necessarily expect drivers to accommodate you (or have much grasp of what it’s like to be a cyclist tackling a hairpin bend uphill). Sadly, bicycle lanes in the urban environment are nonexistent, although beachside boulevards will generally include space for bike riding.

If you plan to bring your own bike, check with the airline about any hidden costs and whether it will have to be disassembled and packed for the journey. Taking your bike on ferries is pretty straightforward – it’s either free or very cheap.

Fill all your water bottles and then add one more: it can be hot on the open road and, more often than not, you won’t find any water between villages.

Hire

You can rent mountain bikes and city bikes in various resorts and in the more tourist-orientated areas of the islands. Expect to pay €8 per day for the simplest machine and about €12 to €15 for a mountain bike. A deposit of around €50 is standard. Rental rates will include a helmet and some basic equipment.

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