Rental Cars — Essential!
A rental car is practically a must on the Canary Islands if you want to see more than just the hotel pool area. Public transport is available on the larger islands, but absolutely inadequate on the smaller islands and for the most beautiful spots.
Providers
- International Providers: Hertz, Avis, Europcar, Enterprise — reliable but more expensive. Available at the airport
- Local Providers (recommended!): CICAR (Canary chain, excellent!), Autoreisen, Payless, TopCar, Cabrera Medina. Often 30–50% cheaper than the internationals, newer vehicles, more lenient insurance terms
Prices & Booking
- Small car: From 15–25 €/day (off-season) to 30–50 €/day (July–August, Christmas)
- SUV/Jeep: From 30–50 €/day — recommended for mountain roads and gravel tracks
- Booking online is almost always cheaper than on-site. Comparison portals (Check24, billiger-mietwagen.de) show the best prices
- Comprehensive insurance without deductible is highly recommended — the narrow mountain roads, windy parking lots, and spontaneous stones on the road regularly take their toll
Driving on the Canary Islands
- Right-hand traffic as in Germany
- Speed limits: Urban areas 30–50 km/h, rural roads 90 km/h, motorway (Autopista) 120 km/h
- Alcohol limit: 0.5 ‰ (novice drivers: 0.3 ‰)
- Mountain roads: Tight hairpin bends without guardrails are the norm, especially on La Gomera, La Palma, and in the Anaga Mountains (Tenerife). Honk before blind curves!
- No parking zones: Yellow curb marking = absolute no stopping. Towing is quick and costs 80–150 €
- Refueling: Gasoline is cheaper than in Germany (~1.30–1.50 €/liter). Gas stations are everywhere, on the small islands sometimes only one per town
💡 Tipp
CICAR (cicar.com) is the best recommendation: Canary company, offices on all islands, fair insurance terms, latest vehicles, and you can pick up the car on one island and drop it off on another (perfect for island hopping). German website available.
Achtung
On mountain roads (especially La Gomera, Anaga/Tenerife, La Palma), rockfalls and very narrow roads where two cars can barely pass each other are common. Drive slowly, honk before curves, do not take out comprehensive insurance with a deductible!
