Tenerife has a feature no Balearic island shares: two airports, each on a different side of the island. Tenerife North (TFN), Los Rodeos, sits in La Laguna, a stone’s throw from the capital. Tenerife South (TFS), Reina Sofía, is in Granadilla de Abona, near the sunny south-west coast. Between them lies the best part of an hour of motorway.

So the first decision of the trip is made not on landing but when you book: fly into the airport on your side of the island. Everything else — bus, taxi, car or transfer — follows, and is simpler.

The essentials

  • Staying in the south (Costa Adeje, Los Cristianos, Guía de Isora) → Tenerife South (TFS).
  • Staying in the north (Santa Cruz, La Laguna, Puerto de la Cruz, La Orotava) → Tenerife North (TFN).
  • Buses — guaguas, as the Canaries call them — are run by TITSA, the island’s public transport company. Route 343 links the two airports, with few departures a day.
  • Time: the Canaries are one hour behind mainland Spain, the same as the UK.

The options, one by one

The bus (the guagua)

From Tenerife South, TITSA buses run to Los Cristianos and Costa Adeje, and to Santa Cruz. From Tenerife North they run to La Laguna, Santa Cruz and Puerto de la Cruz. The tram linking Santa Cruz and La Laguna does not reach the airport: you change onto it in La Laguna.

If you have landed at the wrong airport, route 343 links North and South in about fifty minutes. Useful, but infrequent: don’t count on it without checking the timetable.

The detail that saves waiting. TITSA route numbers and timetables change fairly often, and online guides don’t always agree. Download the TITSA app before you leave: it gives timetables, fares and each bus’s arrival time in real time.

Private transfer

A driver waits outside and takes you straight to the door, timed to your flight. It is what you appreciate most when arriving at night, with children, luggage or golf clubs, or when your house is up in the hills or in a residential area the bus doesn’t reach. Book ahead with a licensed company.

Taxi

There are ranks outside both terminals. From Tenerife South to the Adeje coast the ride is short; from Tenerife North to Santa Cruz or La Laguna, likewise. What makes a taxi expensive is crossing the island: land at the airport on the other side and you will notice it on the meter.

Hire car

The main companies have desks at both airports. In Tenerife a car makes sense if you plan to drive up into the national park, explore the north or stay away from the towns; less so if you are spending the week in Costa Adeje. We explain it in getting around Tenerife, including the areas where cars are no longer allowed.

Which to choose

  • Staying in Costa Adeje or Los Cristianos → fly to Tenerife South; bus or transfer, the ride is short.
  • Staying in Guía de Isora or a house in the south-west → Tenerife South, then a private transfer or a car.
  • Staying in Puerto de la Cruz, La Orotava or La Laguna → Tenerife North; bus to Puerto de la Cruz or La Laguna, or a transfer.
  • Landed at the airport on the other side → route 343 if the timetable fits; otherwise a transfer or taxi.
  • Coming to play golf → golf in Tenerife: which course to choose depending on where you stay.
  • Not sure yet where to stay → where to stay quietly in Tenerife and north or south: the two Tenerifes.

Our view

In Tenerife, the luxury of the first day is not the car that collects you: it is not crossing the island for no reason. Fly into the airport on your side and you reach the hotel in no time; fly into the other and you spend your first afternoon on the motorway. Choose the flight with the bed in mind, not the fare, and settle the last leg before leaving home. Arriving at night, it matters twice as much.

Information as of October 2026. TITSA routes, timetables and fares change: confirm them on titsa.com or in the app before you travel.