Do not waste time in long waits during our holidays. Knowing how to getting around Tenerife is essential when starting your trip.
Depending on your preferences and budget, you can choose the means of transport that best suits your needs to explore Tenerife. Whether you prefer the freedom and flexibility of renting a car, the comfort of a taxi or the economy and accessibility of buses and trams, Tenerife has options for everyone. With a wide variety of prices and availability. Today we are going to learn how to getting around Tenerife.
Means of transport in Tenerife
We are going to try to briefly analyse the options that exist on how to getting around Tenerife so that you can evaluate what best suits your style of travel.
By plane
Tenerife has two airports, Los Rodeos airport in the north of the island and Reina Sofía airport in the south. These two airports do not communicate with each other, as road transport takes less than an hour between them.
So you will usually only visit either of these airports on your arrival and departure from the island. Alternatively, you can travel to any of the other islands on a quick visit. Trips to any of them range from half an hour to an hour by plane.
Boat
An island surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean must have very fluid boat transport. Logic would lead one to think so, but Tenerife’s road system connects almost any point on the island in a very short time. Therefore, the boat takes on a recreational, rather than a productive role in our daily lives. Whale-watching, boat parties and water sports are the main attractions of Tenerife’s maritime space.
Another option, as we mentioned when travelling by plane, is to visit other islands. Transport to La Palma, La Gomera or Gran Canaria is fast and inexpensive. You can reach any of these islands by ferry in just a few hours.
Guagua (Bus)
The transport system on our island has improved in recent years, both in terms of price and frequency. It is true that if you want to visit more remote places, communications are not as good as in a big city, but the connections between the main tourist centres and the most important cities are abundant and at reasonable prices.
By the way, if you want to ask about this means of transport, it’s best to refer to it as the guagua, one of our favourite Canarianisms.
Car
The most comfortable way to get around the island. Tenerife has a road system that allows you to connect the two furthest points in less than two hours. This is a great advantage for drivers because of the freedom of timetables, availability and comfort that renting your own car gives you.
There are many car rental companies on the island with a wide range of vehicles to suit your budget and personal tastes. The roads are of good quality and are well surfaced and signposted, which can be a good thing for less experienced or less skilled drivers.
Tramway
There is a tramway in Tenerife, which runs between the municipalities of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and San Cristóbal de La Laguna. This route covers the entire metropolitan area of the city and the peripheral neighbourhoods of these two large cities. You can use this line with the same season ticket as on the buses.
In the rest of the island there are no such transport or train stations. Tenerife is an island without rail transport.
Cable car
And as a curiosity, we would like to highlight the cable car. This curious method of transport is used on Mount Teide and connects its base with its summit. Spain’s highest mountain at 3,718 metres allows access to the summit in a comfortable way for everyone.
There are also a multitude of organised excursions that include stargazing, dinner, hiking in the area and many other complementary activities.
