My days in gran canaria and tenerife

[jean87510]

These ports were literally known to us 1 week before due to an itinerary change last minute. First day is gran canaria. We were lucky to rent an automatic from cicar. Cicar has a couple of locations in las palmas that are close to the port. One across the street from ship. One in town .8 miles away. You can drop it off at port if you rent from further location. We headed out around 9-930am. Our goal was as we've been to this port now 3 times, to head to roque nublo. This is in the middle of the island, about 1 hour away, and involves some hiking so wear correct shoes. I saw a few women in sandals and one in heels and a dress. To get to the summit it takes about 30 minutes to an hour based on stopping for photo ops. This place was truly breathtaking. Next we drove to cocodrilo park which is a rescue center for animals on the island. The people working there were very nice and kind to the animals. There were crocodiles, deer, birds, monkeys, and other animals. This cost 10 euros a person. Just a nice little side trip. Of course getting gas is a nightmare in gran canaria on the way back so plan accordingly. Cicar is only open at airport on weekends as we discovered today in tenerife. The south airport is 36 kilometers away from the cruise port. No cars were available at the north airport which is closer to cruise port. We decided to hire a cab at the last second for 150 euros to take us to teide as we had cable car tickets for the top. You can buy these online. But 2 things.  Make sure you buy one down. And don't try to get in earlier than your time. They do check. You can download the ticket to your phone. The view is breathtaking at the top. The altitude is 11700 (we checked) so you can get a little dizzy. There is the park near teide volcano but we did it before and wanted to get back to ship. You can get a permit to hike to the very top online. You can hike down but its 3 hours.  The views are simply breathtaking. If you make it here, get a cable car ticket to the top.  My first picture is roque nuble in gran canaria and the 2nd and 3rd are Teide volcano in tenerife.

[roothy123]

Awesome, thank you!  The Canary Islands were totally unknown to me before I researched for my Iberian cruise.  We visited Palma and Lanzarote, and both were fabulous. If I ever get to Tenerife and Gran Canaria (hope to!) I'll look at the places you've mentioned. 

[Rafa]

On 11/10/2018 at 2:09 PM, jean87510 said:

These ports were literally known to us 1 week before due to an itinerary change last minute. First day is gran canaria. We were lucky to rent an automatic from cicar. Cicar has a couple of locations in las palmas that are close to the port. One across the street from ship. One in town .8 miles away. You can drop it off at port if you rent from further location. We headed out around 9-930am. Our goal was as we've been to this port now 3 times, to head to roque nublo. This is in the middle of the island, about 1 hour away, and involves some hiking so wear correct shoes. I saw a few women in sandals and one in heels and a dress. To get to the summit it takes about 30 minutes to an hour based on stopping for photo ops. This place was truly breathtaking. Next we drove to cocodrilo park which is a rescue center for animals on the island. The people working there were very nice and kind to the animals. There were crocodiles, deer, birds, monkeys, and other animals. This cost 10 euros a person. Just a nice little side trip. Of course getting gas is a nightmare in gran canaria on the way back so plan accordingly. Cicar is only open at airport on weekends as we discovered today in tenerife. The south airport is 36 kilometers away from the cruise port. No cars were available at the north airport which is closer to cruise port. We decided to hire a cab at the last second for 150 euros to take us to teide as we had cable car tickets for the top. You can buy these online. But 2 things.  Make sure you buy one down. And don't try to get in earlier than your time. They do check. You can download the ticket to your phone. The view is breathtaking at the top. The altitude is 11700 (we checked) so you can get a little dizzy. There is the park near teide volcano but we did it before and wanted to get back to ship. You can get a permit to hike to the very top online. You can hike down but its 3 hours.  The views are simply breathtaking. If you make it here, get a cable car ticket to the top.  My first picture is roque nuble in gran canaria and the 2nd and 3rd are Teide volcano in tenerife.

Good pictures and info, thanks for sharing. We will be there in a few days and we want go up to Mt. Teide or just cable cart, we hope weather allows and we can make it. We are booked thru the cruise at $99pp, is that too much? Anyways, we booked thru them to make sure all goes well, on time and not a chance we'll miss sail away.

[jean87510]

35 minutes ago, Rafa said:

Good pictures and info, thanks for sharing. We will be there in a few days and we want go up to Mt. Teide or just cable cart, we hope weather allows and we can make it. We are booked thru the cruise at $99pp, is that too much? Anyways, we booked thru them to make sure all goes well, on time and not a chance we'll miss sail away.

If the ship is docked for 8 hours, you can either rent a car or use a cab. Cab was 150 euros and takes you to mt teide and the park. Personally, if you arent comfortable driving, get a cab. It's 50 minutes to an hour to get there. Its still cheaper than ship and they are with you all day.

Edited November 20, 2018 by jean87510

[Rafa]

3 hours ago, jean87510 said:

If the ship is docked for 8 hours, you can either rent a car or use a cab. Cab was 150 euros and takes you to mt teide and the park. Personally, if you arent comfortable driving, get a cab. It's 50 minutes to an hour to get there. Its still cheaper than ship and they are with you all day.

Cool. The ship is docked for 8hrs, best way to go seems to be a car rental. I have yet to drive in Europe but that shouldn't be a problem at all for me. The cab option will cost me about the same after buying the cable car tickets but is the second best option. Thanks.

Edited November 20, 2018 by Rafa

[jean87510]

10 hours ago, Rafa said:

Cool. The ship is docked for 8hrs, best way to go seems to be a car rental. I have yet to drive in Europe but that shouldn't be a problem at all for me. The cab option will cost me about the same after buying the cable car tickets but is the second best option. Thanks.

It is really easy driving in the canaries.  Just some winding roads but they are in good condition.  We have driven in tenerife, gran canaria, lanzarote and la palma and honestly never had a problem. Plus you really have the freedom to do and go as you like.  Just do yourself a favor and drop a pin or have your petrol/gas station for the return marked.  We pinned locations to google maps and downloaded it to my husbands phone.  We used that as our GPS.  You should have a great day!

[Rafa]

T

11 hours ago, jean87510 said:

It is really easy driving in the canaries.  Just some winding roads but they are in good condition.  We have driven in tenerife, gran canaria, lanzarote and la palma and honestly never had a problem. Plus you really have the freedom to do and go as you like.  Just do yourself a favor and drop a pin or have your petrol/gas station for the return marked.  We pinned locations to google maps and downloaded it to my husbands phone.  We used that as our GPS.  You should have a great day!

👌great, thanks!