The island of El Hierro is connected to the rest of the world by air via neighbouring Tenerife or Gran Canaria, as well as by regular ferry services to Tenerife.

By air

The only airport El Hierro VDE is situated on the south coast, 8 km from the largest town, Valverde.

El Hierro has direct connections to only two of the Canary Islands. There are no direct flights here from Europe or other parts of the world.

Most scheduled flights here are operated by a local airline Binter Canarias.

In addition, a smaller airline also operates flights just 2–3 times a week Canaryfly.

Flights from El Hierro go to the following airports:

• Tenerife-Norte TFN – 5–7 times a day with Binter Canarias, 2–3 times a week with Canaryfly
• Gran Canaria LPA – 1–2 times a day with Binter Canarias

A return ticket from Tenerife or Gran Canaria costs on average between 70 eur and 140 eur.

Flights to Europe or the Americas always go via Las Palmas-Gran Canaria Airport, and flights to mainland Spain also go via Tenerife-Norte.

When travelling to Europe, it’s usually worth buying tickets to Gran Canaria during a special offer, as flights to El Hierro from there depart from the same airport as all international flights.

Flights to Tenerife only go to the northern airport, which handles domestic flights only.

Compare flight prices to Gran Canaria or Tenerife

By ferry

El Hierro is relatively far from the other islands, so unlike the larger island of La Gomera – which is, however, very close to Tenerife – tourists tend to fly here rather than take a ferry.

Nevertheless, El Hierro does have regular ferry services to the island of Tenerife several times a day.

The only port with connections to the neighbouring islands is situated 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 search results under the name Valverde, after the island’s largest town.

Ferries to Tenerife

Ferry services to El Hierro are operated by two companies – Fred Olsen and Naviera Armas.

You can easily compare ticket prices for both companies on the directferries.com website.

Currently, there is only one route in operation:

• El Hierro – Tenerife Los Cristianos
  • One-way fare with a car – from 68 eur
  • One-way fare for pedestrians only – from 45 eur
  • Journey time – 2.5 hours
  • Frequency – 3 to 4 times a day

Ferries to other islands

At present, there are no regular connections to other islands apart from Tenerife. There are no ferries to the nearest islands, La Palma or La Gomera, either.

The Cicar car hire company and other international car hire firms have branches at the port.

Public transport to Valverde is provided by bus route 11, which connects with all regular ferry services; in addition, route 10, heading towards Las Playas, also stops here.

Detailed information, including timetables, ticket prices and links to official websites, can be found in theTransport section.

Travelling around El Hierro by car

Many travellers from Europe drive to the Canary Islands in their own cars.

Ferries carrying cars to El Hierro only sail from Tenerife. However, there are no direct ferries from El Hierro to mainland Europe, so you always have to go via Tenerife.

All ferries from mainland Spain sail to the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, from where you must travel 77 km south to the port of Los Cristianos.

• Cádiz – Santa Cruz de Tenerife
  • 1–2 times a week
  • The crossing takes 54 hours
  • Price per car from 500 eur
• Huelva – Santa Cruz de Tenerife
  • 2–3 times a week
  • The crossing takes 36 hours
  • Price per car from 325 eur

Prices per car between Los Cristianos and El Hierro start at 65 eur.

In total, you’ll pay around 400 eur. During the summer season, we recommend booking at least two weeks in advance.

Compare ferry prices on directferries.com