For a comfortable trip around the island it is better to rent a car, gasoline prices in Tenerife are lower than in Europe, the rent itself is relatively inexpensive. But it is also easy to move around the island by public transportation.
The main form of public transportation in Tenerife is buses. There is also a brightly colored streetcar between the capital Santa Cruz de Tenerife and La Laguna. I live on the island and will tell you how to use public transportation here.
Buses to Tenerife
The bus company in Tenerife is TITSA. Their green buses with comfortable seats, air conditioning and USB sockets reach even the farthest corners of the island. There are city and intercity services, but they differ only in the size of the bus and the number of seats.
What you need to know about Tenerife buses:
- Buses in Tenerife are called guaguas (guagua) and bus stations are called estancion de guaguas.
- Most bus routes pass through the main bus stations: Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Puerto de la Cruz in the north and Costa Adeje in the south.
- Boarding is through the front doors only. The first rows are reserved for people with disabilities and should not be occupied.
- The card must be attached to the validator when boarding and disembarking: the screen will display the amount paid and the balance on the card.
- Children up to and including 4 years of age travel in the bus is free of charge, without a separate seat.
- Luggage and bicycles are transported free of charge in the luggage compartment of the bus (driver opens on request or you can open it yourself).
- The flight number is shown on the bus windshield display.
- At small stops, raise your hand or the bus will pass you by.
- Follow the stops on the monitor in the passenger compartment. If you need to get off at the next stop, tell the driver: press the STOP button in the passenger compartment.
To build a route, all you need to know is the correct name of the start and end destinations: Google Maps knows all the routes on the island, even the official TITSA website redirects to Google.
Knowing the route number, you can check its schedule on the official website under «YOUR BUSES» under «Buses and timetable».
Be sure to pay attention to the day of the week: bus schedules are different on weekends.
Be careful to follow the names of the stops on the monitor: the driver will not stop at a stop if there are no people at the stop. As soon as the screen shows Próxima parada (next stop) with the desired name, press the red «STOP» button on the handrail: the driver will then stop at the next stop.
Bus tickets
On average, an intra-city fare costs €1.15, while inter-city fares can range from €2 to €10. Prices to the same city can vary between different routes — for example, you can travel from Icod to Puerto for 2 € or 4 €.
You can pay for your bus fare with a Ten+ card or a mobile app. Ten+ cards are available at airport ticket machines, at TITSA bus stations and at TITSA kiosks. A full list of points of sale is available on the website.
For non-residents, there are three Ten+ card options: unlimited travel cards for 1 or 7 days and rechargeable.
Unlimited one-day (tarjeta turística 1 día) andweekly (tarjeta turística 7 días) cards entitle you to unlimited travel on buses and streetcars throughout the island. Each card is valid for one passenger only.
- A one-day card is valid for 24 hours, a weekly card is valid for 7 days from the first use.
- The card costs 2 €. When purchasing, you need to top up a one-day card for 10 € and a weekly card for 50 €.
The refillable Ten+ card also costs €2 and can be topped up from €5 to €100. The balance on the card is valid for one year.
- Valid for bus and streetcar rides around the island.
- The cost of the trip depends on the distance and is deducted from the balance.
- The card can be used by more than one passenger at the same time.
To pay the fare, you must put your card to the validator near the driver when you enter and exit the bus. If you forget to put the card on the exit, the fare to the final stop will be deducted from the card.
You can use your Ten+ Wallet card to pay for the travel of several people: to do this, tell the driver at the entrance the number of travelers and the final destination. In this case, the card does not need to be validated at the exit.
You can also use the MOBILE APP mobile application «ten+Móvil». You can activate a one-day or one-week card in the app. In this case you do not have to pay 2 € for the card itself.
To register a fare through the app, select the paid ticket in the «Titulos» (Tickets) tab. There is a qr code in the interior of the bus. Press the «Viajar» (Travel) button in the app and point the mobile camera at the qr code in the cabin: the camera reads the code and the trip is registered in the app.
Fare
Ticket prices, even between the same stops, can vary greatly from line to line, with some routes going as high as €10. For example, an intracity fare in Santa Cruz costs on average from 1.15 €, but on some routes the minimum fare is 0.85 €. Therefore, before buying a card it makes sense to make a rough itinerary and calculate the cost. If you are actively traveling, buying a weekly travel card may be the best choice.
You can calculate fares on the TITSA website by selecting «YOUR BUSES» — «Current fares» from the menu. Enter the bus line in the «Select one bus» line and select the start and end stops. The prices for the different types of tickets will be displayed on the screen.
Streetcars in Tenerife
The streetcar system is managed by the Metropolitano de Tenerife (MTSA). If you hear of a subway on the island, it means streetcar. The company’s official website is called metrotenerife.
Streetcars run on two lines:
- Line 1 has 21 stops and connects Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the island’s capital, with La Laguna, the island’s student and cultural center. The route time is about 40 minutes.
- Line 2 connects La Cuesta and Tíncer and has 6 stops.
Streetcars operate from 6:00 to 24:00 every day. Only the time interval between routes changes: from 5 to 10 minutes on weekdays and from 10 to 30 minutes on weekends.
As with buses, you can pay by card or app. The fare ranges from 0.85 to 1.35 €.
Basic rules for using the streetcar:
- The streetcar doors do not open automatically. You must wait until the streetcar comes to a complete stop at the stop and press the door open button.
- The ticket is registered immediately upon entering the streetcar at any of the validators located next to the doors. If you use the ten + mobile app, you must validate your digital ticket by scanning the QR code inside the streetcar, as indicated in the app. The fine for a fare evasion is 400 euros. Upon inspection, all validators are blocked and the fare cannot be registered.
- Children under the age of 5 are free of charge.
- The streetcar stops at all stops, but the doors do not open automatically. To open the doors, you must press the door open button.
