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Canary Islands

My husband and I will be on a cruise that stops at 3 Canary Islands.

I know on many cruises we've been on, when we get off the boat, there are many people trying to get you to join a tour, to just drive you around and get an overview of the port. Do you know if that is the case in the Canary Islands? We will be at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de la Palma. We arrive at 7 am and leave at 5, so I'm not as concerned about missing the boat if we get an early start in the morning. I realize museums and probably stores first open at 10, but I thought we could still get a ride to admire the scenery early in the morning. In Las Palmas I'd like to get to Christopher Columbus' museum and the market, and in Santa Cruz I'd like to get to the Naval Museum and the African market.

Any advice on what to do, what to see, and how to get about would be greatly appreciated. We also aren't afraid to use the public transportation.

We will also be stopping at Lanzarote, but we did book a cruise shore excursion for that island. Our stop there is also shorter.

Thank you.

Posted by
10427 posts

We love the Canary Islands, when on a cruise take an excursion that exposes you to the unique plant life of the islands.

Posted by
1875 posts

Geovagriffith: Which islands did you explore? I've spent about ten days on Laanzarote but not been- yet to another island...

Posted by
4797 posts

I didn't go to Santa Cruz, but did port in Las Palmas in 2017. I used public transit most ports that trip. In Las Palmas, I had arranged to go to one of the colonial towns just outside the city....Telde, I think. She had been before, so I just followed along and the. Got myself back on the bus. I also went to the market.
There always seemed to be a few rental cars for hire and tour companies on the pier, but I cannot remember specifically for this port. You could consider heading out to one of the colonial cities early and still get back with ample time for the other activities.

Posted by
1875 posts

You say you love the Canarias..which islands did you explore outside the ports where you cruise ship docked?