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How to Get to the Canary Islands: Flights, Airports & Routes (2026)

Which airport to fly into for each island, direct routes from the UK and Europe, inter-island flights vs ferries, and how to find the cheapest fares.

3 min readBy Alby, canary islands resident & travel writer· Updated 17 August 2026
Family meeting their private transfer driver at Tenerife South Airport
Canary Islands travel context for this planning guide.

The short version, honestly

Almost everyone arrives by air, and the good news is the islands save you a second flight: each main island has its own airport, so you land where you plan to stay rather than at a single hub. Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura have the direct international routes; the smaller islands are a short connecting hop or a ferry away. The resident warning: do not book the cheapest arrival and an ambitious first-day itinerary — the first hours are for the coast, not the airport transfers.

Which airport for which island

Tenerife has two airports and they are not interchangeable: Tenerife South (TFS) serves most international flights and the southern resorts; Tenerife North (TFN) is the inter-island and mainland gateway, closest to La Laguna, Santa Cruz and the north coast. Gran Canaria (LPA), Lanzarote (ACE) and Fuerteventura (FUE) each have one main airport close to the resort areas. La Palma (SPC) and El Hierro (VDE) run smaller fields with mostly domestic and inter-island traffic. La Gomera (GMZ) has a tiny airport used mainly by islanders — most visitors take the 45-minute ferry from Los Cristianos. La Graciosa has no airport at all: the 25-minute ferry from Órzola in Lanzarote is the only way in.

Transport between the islands →

Flying from the UK and Europe

From the UK, easyJet, Ryanair, Jet2 and TUI fly direct all year to the four big islands, and winter is when the planes are fullest — that is the whole reason the islands exist for most of us. From mainland Spain, Iberia, Vueling, Ryanair and Binter connect Madrid and Barcelona; from Germany and northern Europe, Eurowings and Condor do the same. Flight time is roughly four to four and a half hours from the UK, two and a half to three from Spain — short enough that the jet lag theory is one nobody local takes seriously.

Getting between the islands

Once you are here, island hopping is part of the culture. Binter Canarias and Canaryfly run frequent short flights (most under 40 minutes) — the fastest way to combine, say, Tenerife and Lanzarote. Ferries (Fred Olsen and Naviera Armas) cost less and let you bring a rental car, and they are the natural choice for close pairs like Tenerife–La Gomera or Lanzarote–La Graciosa. The general rule locals use: if there is a regular fast ferry, take it; otherwise fly.

Island-hopping routes and timings →

How to find the cheapest fares

Fares swing wildly by season and booking window, and the resident habit is simple: book the winter weeks (November–March) early, fly midweek when you can, and compare open-jaw options — arriving in Tenerife and leaving from Gran Canaria is a normal way to combine islands. The search box above compares dates and airports in one go before you commit.

From the airport to your hotel

Every main airport has taxis, buses (guaguas) and car-hire desks, and each has its useful line: Tenerife South line 40 serves Los Cristianos and Costa Adeje; Gran Canaria line 60 runs to Las Palmas and line 66 to Maspalomas; Lanzarote line 161 connects Puerto del Carmen and Playa Blanca; Fuerteventura line 3 serves Caleta de Fuste, with Corralejo usually needing a change in Puerto del Rosario. The honest advice: compare car hire against the total of transfers if you only plan resort days, and a private transfer is worth its price for late arrivals, families and the hotels that need another connection.

Compare transfer, taxi, bus and rental car →

Frequently asked questions

Which Canary Island airport should I fly into?

Fly to the island you are staying on. For Tenerife, choose Tenerife South (TFS) for the resorts or Tenerife North (TFN) for the cities and north coast; the other big islands have one airport each.

Can you fly between the Canary Islands?

Yes — Binter and Canaryfly run frequent short hops between all eight islands, and flights beat ferries whenever the islands are far apart.

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