Five day trips from the south: La Gomera, Teide, La Laguna, Anaga and the stars
What each one costs, how long it takes, and the 2026 booking rules that catch people out.
A season in the south gives you time to do these properly — one a week rather than four in a fortnight. All five start within fifteen minutes of Palm-Mar or on the motorway north.
La Gomera, fifty minutes by ferry
Three operators — Fred Olsen Express, Naviera Armas and Baleària — run roughly nine sailings a day from Los Cristianos to San Sebastián de La Gomera, a crossing of about fifty minutes over twenty-four nautical miles. Foot-passenger fares start around 21 € one way; budget 35 to 45 € for a walk-on adult return and considerably more with a car. Book direct with the operator rather than a reseller, and park in a paid garage near the port.
The island is the antidote to Tenerife: laurel forest in Garajonay, terraced valleys, and almogrote on everything.
Teide, and the rules that changed
Teide National Park has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2007. The cable car runs from 2,356 m to La Rambleta at 3,555 m in under eight minutes. From the top station, two viewpoint trails need no permit; only the final crater push requires the paid summit permit described in our walking guide.
Access is tightening. Advance booking already applies to some park car parks, and controls at La Esperanza, La Orotava and the Vilaflor–Chío road, a capped 500-space parking reservation system and an entry eco-fee are being introduced through 2026, with shuttle buses from 2027. Vilaflor–Chío is the road you take from the south. Check the current position before setting off.
La Laguna, a world heritage grid
San Cristóbal de La Laguna was inscribed by UNESCO in 1999 as the first non-fortified Spanish colonial town, whose planned grid became the template for Spanish American cities. Over six hundred classified buildings survive, from sixteenth-century Mudéjar to Modernist. It is about an hour north on the TF-1 and is best paired with Anaga.
Anaga, the other climate
A UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 2015, Anaga is a laurel cloud forest on the north-eastern tip — a relict Tertiary woodland that is wet, misty and green in exactly the months when the south is dry. The Sendero de los Sentidos at Cruz del Carmen is short and signed; Chinamada, Taganana and Benijo are the serious walks. No permits.
The stars
Spain passed a law in 1988 specifically to protect the astronomical quality of the Canary skies, regulating light pollution, radio interference, atmospheric pollution and flight paths over the observatories. Tenerife's summits hold Starlight certification, and there is a self-guided star trail with seven observation points in the park.