There are two different airports in Tenerife. Los Rodeos airport, located in the north-east part of the island receives mostly domestic flights from other Spanish airports, it is specially recommended if you are staying in Puerto de la Cruz or in Santa Cruz since it is the closest airport to these two destinations. Companies flying to Los Rodeos include: Iberia, British Airways, Finnair, Air Berlin, Air Europa, Binter Canarias and Vueling.
Reina Sofia airport is the one located in the south of the island, and is convenient if you are travelling to the southern resorts: Los Cristianos, Playa de las Américas (Las Americas Beach), Playa Paraíso or las Galletas. Most international flights arrive to the southern airport. Companies flying to Reina Sofia Airport include: Aer Lingus, Air Berlin, Air Europa, Binter Canarias, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia, Transavia, SAS, among many others.
Tenerife by sea
Santa Cruz de Tenerife’s harbour receives a large number of tourist cruises throughout the year. It is also a port of departure for regular shipping lines that link Tenerife with the other islands and with mainland Spain. There are fast jet links to the other capital city of the Canary Islands, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
The shipping lines that connect Tenerife with other western Canary Islands such as La Gomera, El Hierro and La Palma, depart usually from the port in Los Cristianos in the south of the island.
Tenerife by road
Tenerife being a small island, it is easy to travel by car from one corner of the island to another within a couple of hours. A highway links the south of the island with the north following the eastern coast of the island, making it easy for visitors to drive from one city to another, and from the southern resorts to the cities in the north. Be ready, however, if you are going to the Teide mountain by car, the road is full of bends and you are likely to find some snow on the highest parts of the mountain during the winter months.
In Tenerife you will find a plethora of car hire companies, cars are cheaper to buy here than in Spain (less taxes) and petrol is also quite cheap, making the car rental a very profitable business in the island. We advise you anyway to compare prices, to book the car a day or two in advance and also to check the state of the cars before renting, some are quite damaged.
Also, if you are renting a car, remember not to leave any belongings in the car, some car hire companies will advise you to leave the car unlocked. In Tenerife nobody would steal a car (how would they ever get it out of the island?) but thieves are likely to break into the cars if they see anything valuable inside.
Visit our rent a car section for more information on renting vehicles in Tenerife.
As for public transport, there is no train or underground in Tenerife, but an efficient network of public buses, called “guaguas” by the locals, connects most towns and cities in the island.