Transportation
Tenerife Transportation
The island of Tenerife is served by Tenerife North Airport (TFN) and Tenerife South Airport (TFS).
Rodeos Airport (north), the smaller of the two, is located near the metropolitan area Santa Cruz-La Laguna (423.022 people). It serves inter-insular flights as well as national and European flights, and for the last two years, a weekly service to Venezuela. Reina Sofía Airport (south) is the busiest Airport in Tenerife, ranking 7th in Spain. It typically serves the mass of regular and charter flights constantly arriving from most of Europe.
As it is an island, the only other way to arrive on Tenerife is by ferry, either to Santa Cruz de Tenerife or Los Cristianos, near Playa de Las Américas.
A network consisting of two fast, toll-free motorways (TF1 and TF5) encircles nearly the entire island, linking all the main towns and resorts with the metropolitan area. The exception is in the west from Adeje to Icod de los Vinos, which is traversed by a smaller winding mountain road. However, plans are now afoot to complete the motorway, which is causing heavy debate between the environmentalists and the local businessmen, though works are to start in early 2007. This, however, pales in comparison to the heated discussions concerning the planned port in Granadilla, which is now in the hands of Brussels.
Away from the major motorways, there is a network of secondary and communal roads, varying from wide to steep, winding narrow roads, mainly unlit and often with drops either side of the main carriageway surface.
Public transport on the island is provided by an extensive network of buses and run by TITSA, who operate a fleet of modern, air-conditioned buses which, generally, run on time. Plans for a light-rail network linking the capital with the South have been approved by both the Tenerife Council and the Canary Islands Government, for Grand Canary and Tenerife, though the discussion with the central Spanish Government hinges now on budget.
A hire car is sometimes the best option for discovering the remote wilderness regions. Reputable companies include Autoreisen and ORCAR. TITSA buses cover most of the island and the buses are fairly frequent. A BONO travel card is a good idea if you intend to spend some time travelling on the buses as they can save 50-70% on journey costs. Only one card is needed by any number in a group and can be bought at bus stations as well as some tobacconists.
The metropolitan Area formed by Santa Cruz and La Laguna will be served by the Tranvía de Tenerife (Tenerife Tram) working in early 2007, after 3 years of intensive works.
