El Hierro is approximately 40 km long and 20-35 km wide. It is also a very hilly island and therefore you will have to use public transport, taxi or travel by rental car.
Travelling by car
Many of the natural attractions can only be reached comfortably by car or by long-distance hiking. In particular, the charming western half of the island, completely free of civilisation, is only accessible by car or on foot with overnight stays outside.
Therefore, renting a car is the most common option to get around El Hierro.
We've compiled a detailed section on prices, traffic rules and attractions - read Car Hire on El Hierro.
Public transport - Buses
Bus services mainly serve the largest villages and none of the routes go to the mountains or the west coast. Nevertheless, many of the tourist attractions in the eastern half of the island can be visited without a car by bus only.
Public transport is provided by Transhierro.
The term "guagua" is used for "bus" in all the Canary Islands. This is also why, for example, bus stations are referred to as Estación de guaguas.
The official website with timetables and ticket prices can be found at this address: transhierro.com.
Timetables, routes and stops
There are a total of 8 bus routes on the island.
- Line 1: circular route around Valverde
- 8 times a day on weekdays
- 6 times a day on weekends and holidays
- Line 2: Valverde - Tiñor - San Andrés - El Pinar
- 6 times a day on weekdays
- 5 times a day on weekends and holidays
- Line 3: Valverde - Mocanal - La Frontera/Tigaday
- 8x daily on weekdays
- 6 times a day on weekends and holidays
- Line 4: Local line La Frontera/Tigaday - Las Puntas - La Frontera/Tigaday
- 6x daily all days
- Line 5: Valverde - Mocanal - Guarazoca - Árbol Garoé - San Andrés - Isora
- 6x daily on weekdays
- 5 times daily on weekends and holidays
- Line 6: Valverde - Tamaduste - La Caleta (not via airport)
- 6x daily all days
- Line 7: Valverde - Port of Estaca - Las Playas (Hotel Parador)
- 6x daily on weekdays
- 5x daily on weekends and holidays
- Line 8: El Pinar - La Restinga
- 6x daily on weekdays
- 5x daily on weekends and holidays
- Line 9: Valverde - Echedo - Pozo de las Caloscas
- 4 times a day on weekdays
- 2x daily on weekends and public holidays
- Line 10: Valverde - Valverde Airport
- Connects to all scheduled flights, i.e. runs 6-7 times a day
- Line 11: Valverde - Port of Estaca
- Connects to most regular ferries, so runs 1-2 times a day (some ferries are served by line 7)
- Line 12: La Frontera/Tigaday - Los Llanillos - Sabinosa - Pozo de la Salud
- 7 times a day on weekdays
- 5 times daily on weekends and holidays
All bus stops are always clearly marked, but some are just marked with a simple sign with a pictogram of the bus without any other information.
In addition, the timetables at the bus stops and also on the website always indicate only the departure times from the first stop on the route. So if you are waiting for a bus elsewhere, you have to roughly calculate the departure time.
Searching for connections
Use the usual route planners such as google.com/maps or maps.cz to get an approximate time. Buses don't run significantly slower than regular cars, so journey times are relatively appropriate.
Bus stops on El Hierro are shown on Google Maps and maps.cz. You can also find bus routes via the Moovit app.
Fares and where to buy tickets
Tickets can be bought from the driver and can be paid by card or cash.
Vending machines at major bus stations have cards for 3 eur, which you can load with multiple tickets.
Check the current price in advance at transhierro.com/servicios/transporte-regular.
Fares are flat no matter how far you travel:
- 1,35 eur - 1 ride
- 10 eur - 10 tickets per card
- 19 eur - 20 tickets per card
- Issuing a card costs 3 eur
Taxi
Mobile apps like Uber and Bolt don't work on El Hierro, but regular taxis work well here.
You'll find taxi ranks where cars actually wait from about 7am to 9pm in towns like Valverde, Tigaday/La Frontera or La Restinga.
If you don't see a car at a taxi rank in these towns, it usually appears within 30 minutes.
Taxis can also be booked by phone. Telephone numbers are always listed on signs that say "Taxi".
Prices are always strictly calculated according to the meter and can be paid by card or cash.
You can call a taxi between 7:00 and 24:00 on + 34 922 520 729
Fares Monday to Saturday 6:00-22:00
- 3,85 eur - minimum rate
- 1,35 eur - price per 1 km
- 0,60 eur - surcharge for taxi on call (paid per 1 km of empty taxi ride)
- 2,10 eur - extra charge for travel to/from the airport
Fares at night and all day on Sundays and public holidays
- 4,25 eur - minimum rate
- 1,55 eur - price per 1 km
- 0,60 eur - taxi-on-call surcharge (paid per 1 km of empty taxi ride)
- 2,10 eur - extra charge for the journey from/to the airport
For official information on taxis in El Hierro, please visit this website: transhierro.com/servicios/taxis-en-el-hierro.
