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Gran Canaria Airport - "Las Palmas"
(locally known as "Gando")

Las Palmas airport is located in the middle of the east coast of Gran Canaria, about 20 minutes up the motorway to the city of Las Palmas and 40 minutes down the motorway to Puerto Rico (25 minutes to Playa del Ingles and Maspalomas).

One of the topics most common in the questions people send me is concerning getting to their apartment from the airport. So, hopefully this will answer everything.

 

 

 

Transfer Coaches

This is by far the most common method of transport and is usually made available to everyone who books a package holiday that includes flight, accommodation and a transfer. If you have this booked as part of your holiday, once you have your bags and pass through into the arrivals hall, one of the first things you'll see is a group of holiday reps in different uniforms, holding clip-boards with their company's logo. As well as the main tour operators, there are a few agencies that specialise in airport transfers only such as resorthoppa, holidaytaxis and ourselves of course!

So, head for the one that looks like yours, let them know the name your booking was made in and where you are staying and they will tell you where the coach is waiting for you. As you leave the arrivals hall, there are 8 coach bays, A1 being to the right, then A2, A3.... to A8 at the far left. The holiday rep will tell you which bay to go to and once there, which coach is yours. As there may be up to 8 buses in a bay, each has a large letter or number in the front window. Once you get to the coach, the driver may ask you again where you are staying so he can load the bags on the convenient side of the coach. Give him your bags and get on-board! All coaches are non-smoking so if the coach isn't full when you get there, you usually have time for a cigarette whilst you're waiting. There's also a no food or drink rule on the coaches so don't open a can as you get on!

 

Car Hire

Often, people book their car hire when booking their holiday with the travel agent and arrange to pick it up at the airport on arrival. If your flight arrives during the day/evening, the place to head once you're in the arrivals hall is to your right. At the far end you'll see a lounge area. If you're car's booked through "Orlando", sit in the lounge and every time their bookings are due to land, they check the lounge area every 20 minutes or so. Again, a rep from the company will come, often in uniform but always carrying a clip-board with the company logo. If you're booking is with Avis, Hertz or another major company, they have their own office a few meters past the lounge area but it closes late in the evening so night arrivals should also wait in the lounge area.

Most companies now include a basic accident insurance but offer a "super colision waiver" - without the "SCW" you are liable for around the first 500 euros is the car is damaged and you don't have written confirmation and insurance details from another driver that it was their fault. (It's advisable to take out the SCW insurance).

Be sure to have your car hire booking receipt, passport and driving licence handy and keep your passport and driving licence with you whenever you are driving for the rest of your holiday. Once you're in the car and driving, follow the blue signs "Sur" (the road is the GC1) and that will take you to San Agustin, Playa del Ingles, Maspalomas and Puerto Rico amongst other places. If you have the newer European driving license card with photo then you don't need to keep your passport with you.
(Read more about car hire)

 

Public Bus

Very handy if you're heading north to Las Palmas or to Playa del Ingles, not so handy but an option if you're heading past Playa del Ingles. The main bus stop to Las Palmas is used in the main by residents of Gran Canaria who, in the main, live in Las Palmas so the stop north is just outside the arrivals hall on the right and the service is every 20 minutes during the day, once an hour after 10pm. Playa del Ingles buses (no 66 service) leave from there at quarter past the hour from 07:15 to 22:15. You can even sit in the arrivals hall and see it arrive.

Heading further than Playa del Ingles, perhaps to Puerto Rico? Get ready to concentrate. First, the service for Puerto Rico is once an hour from 06:30 and then each '30 until 20:45. Next, to get to the stop you leave the arrivals hall and turn right and follow that pathway for a ten minute walk, passing under the motorway and coming up on the far side of it. Then, to the left you'll see the bus stop. The one good thing is it's an express service stopping only at Playa del Ingles so the journey time is around 45 minutes once you're on.
(read more about the bus service)

 

Taxi

There's a rank of licensed taxi cabs just outside the main arrivals hall of Las Palmas airport, as you leave the building, it's to your right. Depending on how many people have landed without transportation, you may find the wait in the queue to be anything from 5 minutes to 30 or more minutes. All the cabs there are metered but expect the fare to Puerto Rico to be around 45-50 euros by day and to Playa del Ingles or Maspalomas, around 30-40 euros by day. There's a 20% increase on that price daily for trips between 21:00 and 07:00, Sundays and holidays. Make sure the driver knows the apartments that you're going to before you set off, otherwise catch the cab behind. Taking a note of the cab number as you get in is always a good idea in case your drop/leave anything inside the cab after the journey which can be the case when first getting here. Tipping is around €5 for the journey but depends on how efficient you found the driver to be.

 

 

 

Flights & Flight Only

The main "UK" day in the airport is Mondays so if you're looking for a better choice or price on flight only, that's the day of the week to plan for with nice flight times all through the day. Saturday is the next main day though flights are mainly evening and late at night (or silly hours in the morning during the summer). The third day is Thursday, again aftrnoon flights. The odd airline does fly in on other days.

Good place on the Internet to look for flight only seats/sales is www.skyscanner.net

If you have to go home at short notice or decide to stay longer than the ticket you bought, you can contact these companies here on the island for one-way tickets home as well as travelling stand-by with them by dealing with their local offices in Las Palmas airport.

Usually, each coach has around 50 people, sometimes all going to the same 1 or 2 apartment complexes but often heading to around 10 different complexes or more. The stops may be split between Playa del Ingles, Maspalomas and/or Puerto Rico so expect a total transfer time lasting from 1 to 2 hours or more from collecting your bags to getting to your accommodation.

 

Looking for a flight to/from Gran Canaria
or any of the Canary Islands or Spain?

 

Useful Links

AENA

Official web site for the Spanish airport people. Excellent web site for Las Palmas even lets you search for and track flight departures and arrivals.

SALCAI/GLOBAL

Official web site for the public bus service with all their timetables etc...

FLIGHT-ONLY
Discussion on the forum

 

Need to phone Las Palmas airport for general information? Call the multi-lingual staff at airport information on (+34) 928 579130

 

 

Check our travel services web site - Islas Canarias Tours - www.islascanariastours.com