The Canary Islands’ eight cruise ports sit on seven islands and answer to two port authorities. Tenerife has two, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Los Cristianos; the rest are Las Palmas in Gran Canaria, Arrecife in Lanzarote, Puerto del Rosario in Fuerteventura, Santa Cruz de La Palma, San Sebastián de La Gomera and La Estaca in El Hierro.
Canary Islands cruise ports map
The Canary Islands’s 8 cruise ports run from La Estaca and Santa Cruz de La Palma in the far west to Arrecife and Puerto del Rosario in the far east. Tap a pin to open that port’s guide.
Santa Cruz de Tenerife cruise port
Ships tie up at Muelle Sur, which takes up to three at once, or Muelle de Ribera, which takes one, and some schedules throw in a third name, the South Alignment of the South Pier. Both quays sit beside Plaza de España and the shopping streets, with the Tenerife Cruise Terminal in the Dársena de Anaga handling check-in, bags and the taxi rank.
This is the busiest of the Canary Islands cruise ports and the one most likely to be where you join the ship, with Mount Teide or the Anaga mountains filling a day ashore.
Los Cristianos (Tenerife) cruise port
Los Cristianos is Tenerife’s second cruise port, down on the south coast, where ships anchor about a mile offshore and land you at a 16 m tender pier instead of tying up alongside. The town is five minutes from the landing stage on foot, and Tenerife South airport is 15 minutes by road against 55 minutes from Tenerife North.
It’s a separate call from Santa Cruz de Tenerife at the other end of the island, and one where the town starts a few minutes from the tender rather than at the end of a transfer.
Las Palmas (Gran Canaria) cruise port
Every cruise ship in Gran Canaria ties up at Muelle de Santa Catalina inside Puerto de la Luz, at a terminal with three boarding bridges that can work four ships at once. The flat northern district around Parque Santa Catalina and Las Canteras beach is walkable straight from the terminal, with El Muelle shopping centre across the road, while the old town of Vegueta is 6 to 8 km south and about a 10-minute taxi ride.
It’s the Canaries’ other big turnaround port, and the northern half of the city is flat enough to walk from the gangway.
Arrecife (Lanzarote) cruise port
Lanzarote’s cruise port is at Arrecife, with two terminals on opposite sides of the harbour: Naos, beside Marina Lanzarote and roughly 1.2 km from the centre along the Paseo de Puerto de Naos, and Los Mármoles, the commercial quay about 3 km out along an exposed port road.
Both can be in use on the same day, and which one you get is decided by the ship and its agent rather than by the line. From Naos you walk in.
From Los Mármoles it’s 30 to 50 minutes on foot, the terminal operator runs no shuttle of its own, and any coach into town comes from the ship, so take that or a taxi. Arrecife is also the island’s only port with passport control for passengers arriving from outside Schengen, which catches itineraries coming up from Morocco.
Puerto del Rosario (Fuerteventura) cruise port
Fuerteventura’s ships come into Puerto del Rosario, at the Muelle de Cruceros, with the city centre about 500 m away: 15 to 20 minutes on foot through the authorised passenger exit and along the waterfront, with the Church of Nuestra Señora del Rosario as the landmark.
Only one cruise ship fits the main terminal, so on a two-ship day the second berths opposite and the line runs a link bus to the port exit, still about 500 m from the gate. The route into town is flat, paved and wide, and taxis, local buses and car hire are all within a few minutes of the berth.
Santa Cruz de La Palma cruise port
Ships berth on the Dique Este, the east breakwater, at one of three alignments, and current schedules list the berth simply as Dique. You walk into town through the Maritime Station opposite the marina and along the Avenida Marítima to Plaza de España and Calle O’Daly, a flat 10 to 15 minutes marked with a blue line.
Reboarding means passing through security in the Maritime Station even on that short walk, so leave the margin. And treat Roque de los Muchachos as a long day out: it’s 90 minutes each way on a winding mountain road.
San Sebastián de La Gomera cruise port
La Gomera’s cruise port is San Sebastián de La Gomera, with about 400 m of berthing along the breakwater, depths of 8 to 10 m and a shared passenger terminal. The old town is a few minutes from the berth on foot, though some ships anchor and tender in rather than berth, so your ship’s programme decides the day.
Garajonay and the island’s interior need a vehicle on steep, winding roads, which a few hours ashore rarely stretches to.
La Estaca (El Hierro) cruise port
El Hierro’s cruise port is La Estaca, with an alongside berth and a shared passenger terminal where the Dique Este is used as the passenger collection point. Valverde, the island’s capital, is inland, so this isn’t a step-off-and-wander port: you need transport from the quay to get anywhere. It’s also the rarest call in the archipelago, with 22 ships across a season against 412 at Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Santa Cruz de La Palma are different islands
Two of the eight ports share the name Santa Cruz, and they sit on different islands with nothing in common but the words: Santa Cruz de Tenerife is the big turnaround port on Tenerife, Santa Cruz de La Palma is a call on La Palma.
Read the island name on your itinerary rather than the town name before you plan a day around it. Los Cristianos catches people the same way, since it’s on Tenerife too but a tender call in the south rather than a berth in the capital.
The administrative split runs the same way as the geography. The Port Authority of Santa Cruz de Tenerife runs Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Santa Cruz de La Palma, San Sebastián de La Gomera, La Estaca and Los Cristianos, while the Port Authority of Las Palmas runs Las Palmas, Arrecife and Puerto del Rosario.
How to find out what’s in port, and at which quay
Your berth in the Canaries is confirmed on the port’s own call list rather than on a line’s brochure map, because berths are assigned ship by ship and can change from sailing to sailing. The Port Authority of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, which runs four of the eight ports, publishes a 12-month call forecast and a 24-month occupancy calendar, and the berth name there settles whether you walk into Santa Cruz or get bussed.
At Santa Cruz de Tenerife the split is between Muelle Sur, which takes up to three ships, and Muelle de Ribera, which takes one, and it isn’t fixed by line: Iona berths at Ribera while MSC Virtuosa uses Sur. Some schedules name the South Alignment of the South Pier where others say Muelle Sur, so match the words on your boarding documents rather than assuming.
Canary Islands cruise routes: homeports, calls and no-fly sailings
Tenerife is where most Canary Islands cruises begin and end, with eight lines running regular turnarounds from Santa Cruz, while MSC uses Arrecife and AIDA uses Gran Canaria as their Canary home ports. La Palma, La Gomera, El Hierro and Fuerteventura are calls on the way round rather than places you join the ship.
From the UK, flying in is one way to do it and sailing down is the other: the round trips from Southampton to the Canaries take the airport out of both ends of the holiday. If the flight is the part you’d rather lose than the destination, the no-fly cruises from the UK are where to look.
Canary Islands cruise ports FAQs
What cruise lines go to the Canary Islands?
Six lines run Canary Islands itineraries as standard: AIDA, MSC, TUI Cruises, Marella, Costa and P&O, with Cunard, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Princess and Oceania on occasional calls.
Which Canary Islands port is closest to the airport?
Santa Cruz de La Palma is the closest, with the airport 9 km and about 10 minutes from the berth, and public bus line 500 taking around 40 minutes into town.
Which cruise port do you use for Mount Teide?
Santa Cruz de Tenerife is the one, and its two quays are the departure point for Teide excursions; the mountain is worked as a 5 to 7 hour outing from there, which is most of a port day.
How often do cruise ships call at Los Cristianos?
Not often. It drew six calls in a season when Santa Cruz de Tenerife took 412, so most Canary Islands itineraries never include it.
Last Updated: 14 November 2026