How to Get to La Gomera

Getting to know La Gomera on a trip to Tenerife is one of the essential things you must do on your holidays. It is located just 40 kilometres away and, despite its small size, has amazing landscapes that seem to be from another planet.

So, if you have a little free time in Tenerife to escape to La Gomera for a day, I'll tell you how to get there so you can start preparing your visit.

If you don't have much time to see La Gomera in a day, the most convenient and quickest way is to join an organised excursion from Tenerife. This type of activity will help you get the most out of La Gomera, as you won't have to worry about organising the logistics (finding transport, hiring the services of a guide, locating tourist attractions, finding a good place to eat...) Everything is designed for you to let yourself go, relax and focus on enjoying the experience!

What's more, compared to visiting on your own, with an organised excursion to La Gomera from Tenerife you'll save time (both in planning the visit and once on the island, where the guide will show you the most important sights) and also money (the cost of visiting La Gomera on your own is higher as you'll have to hire a vehicle to get around the island).

Depending on your tastes or your budget, there are different organised excursions to explore La Gomera. In this regard, I recommend you read the article The best excursions to La Gomera from Tenerife to find out about the best options for exploring the island.

The ferry is the most popular option for getting to La Gomera from Tenerife. Currently the ferry companies Naviera Armas and Fred Olsen cover the route. If you wish to visit the island on your own by ferry, it is advisable to buy your tickets in advance.

One thing to bear in mind when budgeting your trip is that the adult single ticket on Naviera Armas (from €40) is a little cheaper than Fred Olsen (from €41) but both boats are large, comfortable and stable.

The ship sails from the port of Los Cristianos, in the south of Tenerife, to the port of San Sebastián de La Gomera. It has daily routes and in just 50 minutes you will disembark in the island's capital.

Getting on the ferry with or without a car

If you are going to visit La Gomera on your own, it is essential that you have a car to get around the island, so I recommend renting one to move from one place to another more freely. There are many companies where you can hire this service, although if you want to simplify procedures, you can also book it together with the ferry ticket at the same company.

If you are travelling to La Gomera from Tenerife and you want to take your car with you, to board the ferry with your vehicle, you must be present well in advance of boarding, following the transport instructions that you can consult on your ticket. However, if you have any doubts about this, it is advisable to contact the ferry company beforehand.

Travelling by ferry to La Gomera with the family

If you plan to visit La Gomera as a family and you are travelling with children, they will need their own ticket to board the ferry, although the price of a child (4 to 11 years old) or baby (0 to 3 years old) ticket is lower than that paid by adults.

The journey to La Gomera from Tenerife will fly by for the little ones because the ferry has a wide range of leisure activities to keep them entertained until they reach the Port of San Sebastián de La Gomera: children's area and games, cartoons, films... they'll have such a good time on board that they won't want to get off!

Eat on the ferry and continue your route around the island

You can take advantage of the journey to La Gomera to have a snack in the ferry's cafeteria. It's a good option if you get hungry along the way and want to kill the munchies quickly, or if you're travelling with your family and prefer to eat on board so the kids don't miss their meal times. This way you don't have to worry about having to hunt for a restaurant when you disembark and you can continue your route around the island as planned.

Where the ferry drops you off and how to get to the centre of La Gomera

The ferry from Tenerife arrives at the port of San Sebastián de La Gomera, the island's capital. To get to the town you can walk, take a taxi or bus (lines 3 and 7 stop near the port).

The quickest way to get to La Gomera is to fly from Tenerife. The island has only one airport (located in the town of Alajeró) which receives planes from the international airports of Tenerife South and Tenerife North. If your plane from the mainland lands in Tenerife South, the easiest way to get to La Gomera is by boat. However, if you land in Tenerife North, apart from the ferry, you have the option of flying to La Gomera on a Binter airline, which operates two flights a day.

Compared to the ferry, this is not a very popular option, as the plane ticket is more expensive (from €100). Also, although the journey takes around 30 minutes, after landing at La Gomera airport you will have to opt for a different means of transport to get to San Sebastián de La Gomera or any other point on the island.

If you don't want to depend on the timetables and availability of public transport to get to San Sebastián de La Gomera from the island's airport, the best thing to do is to book a hire car that will allow you to move around at your own pace.

Some of the companies that provide this service on the island are Cicar and Avis. Depending on the characteristics and make of the vehicle, you can find options starting at €30 per day.

Remember that you will need the following documents to hire a car on La Gomera:

If you don't have a hire car to get to the capital when you land, the best option is to go to the airport bus station and take bus number 3 operated by the company GuaguaGomera, which costs 4€ and will take you there in approximately 1 hour.

La Gomera has 7 bus lines to connect the different towns on the island:

You can also take a taxi to San Sebastián de La Gomera in just 35 minutes. It is the quickest way but compared to the bus it is a bit more expensive as the journey costs between 40 and 55 €.

A piece of advice? Always take the taxi from the established taxi rank at the airport and avoid drivers who offer the same service outside that point.

Although in my opinion the best option is to book an organised excursion, as it is much more comfortable and includes an expert guide, the ferry trip and even lunch with the typical gastronomy of the area, here is a comparative table with the different ways to get to the island of La Gomera, so that you have all the information at a glance: