The island of El Hierro is connected to the outside world by air via neighbouring Tenerife or Gran Canaria, as well as regular ferries to Tenerife.
By air
The only airport El Hierro VDE is located on the south coast 8 km from the largest town of Valverde.
El Hierro has direct connections to only two of the Canary Islands. There are no direct flights from Europe or other parts of the world.
Most of the scheduled flights here are operated by a local airline. Binter Canarias.
There is also a smaller airline that flies only 2-3 times a week. Canaryfly.
The following airports are served by flights from El Hierro:
- Tenerife-Norte TFN - Binter Canarias 5-7 times a day, Canaryfly 2-3 times a week.
- Gran Canaria LPA - 1-2x daily Binter Canarias
A return ticket from Tenerife or Gran Canaria costs on average 70 eur to 140 eur.
You can always fly to Europe or America via Las Palmas-Gran Canaria airport and to mainland Spain also via Tenerife-Norte.
In the direction of Europe, it is usually worth buying tickets to Gran Canaria on sale, as all international flights from here to El Hierro depart from the same airport.
Tenerife is only served by the northern airport, which has only domestic flights.
Compare prices for flights to Gran Canaria or Tenerife
By ferry
El Hierro is relatively far from the other islands, so unlike the larger island of Gomera, which is very close to Tenerife, however, tourists fly here by plane rather than by boat.
Nevertheless, El Hierro has regular boat connections several times a day with Tenerife.
The only port that has connections with the surrounding islands is on the east coast in the tiny town of Estaca, about 10 km from the capital Valverde and 3 km from the airport.
Although the official name of the port is Puerto de la Estaca, it tends to appear in searches under the name Valverde, after the island's largest town.
Ferries to Tenerife
Boat services to El Hierro are operated by two companies - Fred Olsen and Naviera Armas.
For a clear comparison of ticket prices from both companies, visit directferries.com.
There is currently only one route in operation:
- El Hierro - Tenerife Los Cristianos
- One-way price with car - from 68 eur
- One-way pedestrian-only price - from 45 eur
- Cruise time - 2.5 hours
- Frequency - 3 to 4 times a day
Ferries to other islands
There are currently no regular connections to other islands apart from Tenerife. There are also no ferries to the nearest islands of La Palma or La Gomera.
Cicar and other international car rental companies have a branch in the port.
Public transport to Valverde is provided by bus line 11, which connects to all regular ferries, and in addition line 10 in the direction of Las Playas also stops here.
Detailed information including timetables, ticket prices and links to the official website can be found in the Transport chapter.
To El Hierro by car
Many travellers from Europe travel to the Canary Islands by car.
Ferries carrying cars to El Hierro only sail from Tenerife. However, there are no direct ferries to mainland Europe from El Hierro, so you always have to go via Tenerife.
All ferries from mainland Spain sail to the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, from which you must cross 77km south to the port of Los Cristianos.
- Cádiz - Santa Cruz de Tenerife
- 1-2 times a week
- The cruise takes 54 hours
- Price per car from 500 eur
- Huelva - Santa Cruz de Tenerife
- 2-3x per week
- The cruise takes 36 hours
- Price per car from 325 eur
Prices for a car between Los Cristianos and El Hierro start at 65 eur.
So in total you will pay about the same for the ferry between Europe and Gomera 400 eur. In the summer season we recommend booking at least 2 weeks in advance.
