How do I travel by ferry to the Canary Islands?

Are you leaving for the Canary Islands? Discover how to navigate from island to island with this mini-guide!

How do I travel by ferry to the Canary Islands? The Atlantic Ocean Archipelago attached to Spain, located off the coast of Morocco and Western Sahara, the Canary Islands are composed of seven main islands of volcanic origin, spread from east to west between Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, La Gomera, La Palma and El Hierro. Located at the edge of Europe, 960 kilometres from the coast of Portugal, they are one of the major tourist destinations for Europeans, and because of their sunny tropical climate, more than 13 million travellers go there each year, especially to visit beaches, volcanoes, enjoy the sun, celebrate or discover the contrasts between Spanish culture and Aboriginal culture. Possed in the ocean between Africa and Europe, the Canary Islands attract for Tenerife – the island of eternal spring -, the Gran Canaria - for its steep relief -, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro - classified as a biosphere reserve by UNESCO.

Would you like to sail from island to island and visit the Canary Islands without taking the plane? Several companies allow to take on the different ports of the seven islands of the archipelago. Here is a mini guide to make your ferry trip to the Canary Islands.

See ferries to travel in the Canary Islands

Ferries companies in the Canary Islands

How does it work?

Travelling by ferry between the Canary Islands is a more economical way of travel than the aeroplane, allowing a unique panorama, observing the dolphins and many other species. We need to know that there are several ferry companies to carry out a boat-trip through the Canary Islands. To go from Santa Cruz de Tenerife to Las Palmas (Grande Canarie), from Los Cristianos (Tenerife) to Santa Cruz de La Palma, from Santa Cruz de Tenerife to Arrecife (Lanzarote), from Tenerife to Puerto del Rosario (Fuerteventura), etc., many are the maritime routes. The site Hi Canary Islands allows you to have an overview of the maritime routes that allow you to go from one island to another, thanks to an interactive map inviting you to choose the island of departure and the destination, and to teach the shipping companies or flights to connect. The advantage is that the distances from one port to another are often short, allowing for a ferry ride to the Canary Islands quickly.

What are the main companies?

There are three main shipping companies to navigate from island to island in the Canary Islands. Environmental activists and sympathizers will unfortunately put their convictions aside during their stay: the ferry is one of the world’s leading greenhouse gas emissions. If we forget pollution, here are the six most important shipping companies operating in the Spanish archipelago:

• Naviera Armas10 roads in the seven islands of the Canary Islands;
• Trasmediterraneafor the islands of Gran Canaria, La Palma, Lanzarote, Tenerife;
• Biosfera Expressfor a ferry ride from La Graciosa to Orzola;
• Fred Olsen Express9 routes between Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Spain, La Gomera, La Palma, Tenerife;
• Lineas Romero2 routes from Corralejo to Playa Blanca and La Graciosa to Orzola;
• Naviera Nortour1 road from Corralejo to Lobos.

All the islands have at least one port where accoster: there are several crossings a day but the rates fluctuate a lot!

Plan a ferry ride in the Canary Islands with Direct Ferries

In order to compare rates and schedules to the ports of each of the islands for each shipping company, it is better to go ahead. Because probeing offers from four or five companies can be long and tedious, especially since you may not have the best offer by doing so. Imagine: you find a boat on August 10 which is cheaper than August 11. You didn't see it, but maybe 8 or 9, the crossings were even more affordable. To avoid this coffin, we invite you to use a ferry route comparison: Direct Ferries .

On Direct Ferries, it is enough to inquire his travel dates and return, the desired schedules, the means of locomotion (car or without a vehicle), the number of passengers and their age, and the hierarchical comparison for you all the available crossings to make your ferry trip to the Canary Islands.

Many choices are possible:

• Santa Cruz de Tenerife-Las Palmas,
• Los Cristianos-San Sebastian de la Gomera,
• Los Cristianos-Santa Cruz de La Palma,
• Los Cristianos-Valle Gran Rey,
• Santa Cruz de Tenerife-Arrecife,
• Agaete-Santa Cruz de Tenerife,
• Las Palmas-Santa Cruz de Tenerife,
• Puerto del Rosario-Santa Cruz de Tenerife, etc.

Among the most popular routes are Los Cristianos-San Sebastian de la Gomera or Las Palmas-Santa Cruz de Tenerife. It is logically the ports of the most frequented and popular islands of tourists.

How do I book your ferry trip to the Canary Islands?

From the ports of Spain or from the ports of the Canary Islands, there are many direct connections. Thus, for example, it is possible to part of Barcelona to get to Ibiza , or join Ibiza from Valencia . To book a ticket and take a ferry ride in the Canary Islands, you will have to think about the crossing time because the islands of the archipelago are stretched from west to east over several hundred kilometers. For example, it takes 6 hours to connect Las Palmas to Puerto del Rosario, but only 1h50 to go from Las Palmas to Santa Cruz de Tenerife. It takes 3h30 to make Los Cristianos-Santa Cruz de La Palma. To book a ticket to make a ferry trip to the Canary Islands, the procedure is very simple:

• Go to the Direct Ferries website to find your ferry journey by comparing the crossing offers according to the price and the schedules;
• Choose your seat, private cabin or no, your meals online;
• Enter your name, first name, telephone number, and e-mail address, ID number, date of birth;
• Choose or not the cancellation insurance without charge, and go to the payment.

A confirmation email will be sent to you as soon as the payment is made.