Welcome to the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria cruise port guide. We can find 380.000 inhabitants in Las Palmas. This city is on the island of Gran Canaria which is part of the Canary islands just off the coast of Morocco. Las Palmas, together with Santa Cruz, is the co-capital of this group of islands. It is a rather big city, even if you would compare it to the mainland. It is the 9th largest city of Spain and even the largest city of the European Union lying outside the European continent. Its identity could at first be compared to the mainland, but take a closer look and you will discover a whole new culture. The city is defined by its gorgeous historical old town and the local products that are produced all over this part of the island. Las Palmas is the largest city on the island of Gran Canaria. This island is often called the miniature continent due to the different climates and variety of landscapes. A 3rd of the island is under protection of UNESCO. The north tends to be cool while the south is warm and sunny. The east coast is dotted with white sandy beaches and the west coast is much rockier. Tons of things to see and do in and around Las Palmas. Read what your options are in the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria cruise port guide.

Las Palmas cruise port – fast facts:

– Cruise ships usually dock at Santa Catalina Pointe in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
– The Las Palmas cruise dock is right in front of the city center.
– The cruise dock is next to a big shopping mall El Muelle.
– Lots of transportation options are offered at the cruise terminal like: hop on hop off bus, taxi and public transport.

Cruise Port Guide Las Palmas de Gran Canaria – Spain: docked

 

 

The cruise ships usually dock at Santa Catalina Pointe. This cruise facility has quite some capacity. At most 5 cruise ships dock here at the same time. There is no terminal building and limited facilities available on the dock. There is usually a tourist information representative that comes to the pier. You will find a car rental and taxi stand at the cruise port. When you walk out of the port area you will automatically come across shopping mall El Muelle. This shopping mall has lots of places with wi-fi and nice shops. It is a great facilities to have so close to the cruise dock. Walk a little bit further and this is where you will see the actual tourist information booth (see map above). This is where cruise independents can arrange all kind of things. Take horse carriage ride, hop on the sightseeing bus, take the local transportation or grab a taxi. If you are not quite sure what to do it is wise to go by this booth to make a plan.

Cruise docking location in Las Palmas

The docks are right in front of the city centre of Las Palmas. As soon as the exit the port you are in the heart of Las Palmas. The old town, Vegueta, is 6 km to the south. To get here use bus 12 or taxi.

Taxis in Las Palmas

The official taxis are white and they have a meter. For a ride from the dock to the old town you could expect a price of 6 euro (if you can make him run on the meter). Taxis at the Las Palmas cruise port are also experts in giving taxi tours. Expect the taxi price is between 25 and 30 euro per hour. City tours cost around 80 euro and a taxi tour around a part of the island of 4 hours should cost about 100 euro. No need to plan ahead what you want to see, they have fixed taxi tours itinerarys on display on the sign in the port and any taxi driver in Las Palmas knowns the good places.

Public transport on Gran Canaria

The public transport on Gran Canaria is rather good and you can use it to go over the whole island. The main bus station is at San Telmo. This is about 6 km south of the cruise dock. Get to the San Telmo bus station using bus 12 (see its bus stop marked on the map above) or take a +/- 6 euro taxi. Take the following lines to the following destinations:
Teror = line 216, goes once per hour
Acuras = line 205
Bandama = line 311
Maspalomas = line 30
Book your shore excursions Great value shore excursions, prices lower than the cruise lines

Hop on hop off bus

This service is available in Las Palmas. It is offered in front of the Muelle Shopping Mall. Keep in mind this bus just stays in Las Palmas.

Distances from the cruise port

Las Palmas city centre = 1 km / 0,5 mile to the west
Las Palmas old town Vegueta = 6 km / 3,5 miles to the south
Arucas = 15 km / 9,3 miles to the west
Bandama Crater = 18 km / 11 miles to the south
Teror = 23 km / 14 miles to the south west
Aguimes = 37 km / 23 miles to the south
Fortaleze de Ansite Fort = 54 km / 34 miles to the south
Maspalomas = 58 km / 36 miles to the south

Also visit our cruise port guides for:

Santa Cruz de Tenerife – Spain
Lanzarote – Spain
Funchal – Madeira
Lisbon – Portugal
Casablanca – Morocco