My experiences of taking a ferry to Tenerife

October 7, 2025

Did you know you can easily reach the Canary Islands without flying? There is a ferry running to Tenerife and other islands from two locations in southern Spain. This blog will tell you everything about the price, food, facilities and my experiences of 46 hours on the ferry to Tenerife. Spoiler: I reallly enjoyed it! If you have any additional questions, feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of the page. Or reach out via Instagram.

Ferry options

There are 2 ferry companies operating between mainland Spain and the Canary Islands. One is called Naviera Armas and runs a ferry service to Tenerife from Cádiz. The other company, Fred Olsen, departs from Huelva. Both leave Spain on Tuesdays and Saturdays. The Fred Olsen ferry is a direct one, so it’s a lot quicker. The downsides are that Huelva is more difficult to reach by train and that you arrive in Tenerife late at night (23:30 or 00:30, excluding delays and disembarkation). For these reasons, I booked the crossing with Naviera Armas, which was scheduled to take 42 hours. It’s 9 hours slower than the Fred Olsen ferry, due to stops in Fuerteventura and Gran Canaria. This does mean you get good views of multiple islands.

A view of the open car deck with the city of Cádiz in the background. — The ferry leaving Cádiz

The sea with orange-coloured clouds above. — Sunset at sea on day 1

Mountains visible between the deck and an overhanging lifeboat. — Tenerife coming into view

Facilities and price

Both ferry operators get terrible reviews. I mentally prepared myself for the worst; expecting a dirty, outdated ferry. I couldn’t have been more wrong! The ferry was very modern and clean. The bad reviews seem to be about the customer service and poor facilities for bringing pets. Dogs have to stay in individual cages and can only be walked during certain hours. They are not allowed onto the main passenger decks. The passenger decks comprise 3 floors: one with the dining area, reception, lounges and a bar, the second with cabins and an outside deck, the third with more cabins, more lounges another outside deck and a second bar. Important to know: there is no WiFi on the ship!

I paid €325 per person, which may seem like a lot until you break it down. The price not only includes transportation, but also 2 nights of accommodation and 4 meals. The meals were basic and not the healthiest, but it does save the trouble of having to bring loads of food with you. You can pay less and opt out of meals by not booking a cabin. This means sleeping on the floor or a recliner chair. I saw people bringing air mattresses and sleeping bags, but I wouldn’t recommend this. They had no privacy, no access to showers and the lights in the public areas remained on during the night.

A mirror selfie in the ferry cabin. Lotte is wearing a short red jumpsuit and a black bucket hat. She's giving a thumbs-up. — A peek into the cabin

A POV with a blurred book near the camera. In focus are the people lounging on white chairs across the deck. Lanzarote can be seen in the distance under a blue sky. — Reading on the outside deck

Square tables with 4 light blue chairs are lined up in front of a queue of people getting served at the buffet. — Queueing at mealtime

Day 1 – leaving from Cádiz

The ferry would leave at 14:00, but we didn’t receive any information on what time check-in closed or where exactly we needed to be. Cádiz has a port area with one main passenger entrance. There, I asked security personnel where we could find the ferry to Tenerife. It was a 10-15 minute walk from the port entrance to the Naviera Armas check-in. There was no signage, but we managed to find it by just walking straight ahead until we saw their logo.

We aimed to be at check-in 1,5 hours before the scheduled sailing time, which seemed about right. After putting our luggage through the scanner, we waited for a minibus to bring us on board. As we were on the minibus, a security person checked our passports. We didn’t need a ticket, as the booking is linked to passport details.

When we entered the ship, there was the option to have a late lunch as 1 of your 4 meals. We choose dinner on day 1 and 3 meals on day 2 instead, so we headed to the cabin. The cabin was comfortable and spacious compared to other ferry cabins I’ve seen. The afternoon we spent reading and journalling in the public areas. Luckily we had some snacks with us, because dinner was really late.

Dinner was served between 20:00 and 22:00 Canary Islands time, so an hour later when you’re still on the Spanish mainland timezone. Dinner included bread, 2 main dishes, a drink and dessert. The main dishes were soup, rice or pasta and meat or fish. There were no allergens specified for any of the dishes, but the soup was vegan, as well as the pasta. It didn’t include many vegetables, but I was happy enough to have something to eat at all. No vegan dessert options, though!

A serving tray with a plate of vegan pasta and a green broccoli soup. There are 2 pieces of white bread and cutlery on the tray, as well. — Dinner on day 1

A tray with a cup of orange juice, a carton of water, cutlery and a bowl of granola. A plate in the middle is filled with chocolate-covered churros, 3 dates, 3 pieces of pineapple and a piece of white bread. — Breakfast on day 2

A tray with pumpkin soup, Heiniken 0.0% and a plate with vegan pasta salad. The pasta salad is made of farfalle with sweetcorn and some olives. The tray is half-covered by the meal vouchers shown to the camera. — Lunch on day 2

Day 2 – at sea

After a good night’s sleep, it was time for breakfast. This consisted mainly of sugary options; there was no vegetable to be found. I had some churros (which are usually vegan, but I didn’t double check), fruit and granola. I brought my own oat milk to go with the granola. The other breakfast items were pastries, including 2 types of donuts.

With the set meal times and long queues for food, the day went by quickly. I spent most of the time reading and listening to music, as there is no internet connection. I was actually quite happy to be offline for a day and a half. It was pleasant being on the outdoor deck, as long as you don’t forget sun cream. There were many people smoking, but they mainly kept to one area, so they weren’t a bother.

In the late afternoon, the first of the Canary Islands came into view. As soon as you can see Lanzarote, you can switch on your roaming and use data again. The view was much better than what I captured in the photo below. In the evening, the ferry approached the port at Fuerteventura. Here, some people disembarked while I watched the sun set over the island. A beautiful sight! At night, there was another stop at Gran Canaria, but I slept through it.

The sea and sky with between them a thin strip of mountainous land on the horizon. — Lanzarote in the distance

The dock at Fuerteventura with orange lights and clouds overhead. — Sunset over Fuerteventura

An orange lifeboat in the foreground, the sea in the middle and the port with some mountains behind it in the background. — Approaching Fuerteventura

Day 3 – arriving in Tenerife

Santa Cruz is the capital of Tenerife, where the ferry ends its journey. With the 08:00 arrival, we wanted to wait and have breakfast in the city. However, the ferry didn’t arrive until 09:45 local time. Maybe some unfavourable winds? It didn’t really matter, as we were in no rush. It was just after 10:00 by the time we were back on land. Disembarkation can take a while because the shuttle bus bringing foot passengers to the port can only enter the ferry once most cars have left.

Conclusion

The ferry crossing to Tenerife pleasantly surprised me. Sure, it would have been faster without the stops at other islands, but time flew by quite quickly anyway. I didn’t expect meals to be included, which was a pleasant surprise, even if they were basic. It was nice to just relax and enjoy the views for a day. Because the ferry is large and has good stabilisers, there isn’t too much rocking around. There were some waves around dinner time on the first day, but not nearly enough to make me seasick. Walking on land after disembarkation did feel a little wobbly in a funny way. Overall, I really recommend taking this flight-free route. The only negative feedback would be the lack of information about departure. It’s assumed you know where to go and what to expect. Hopefully this blog will mitigate that to some extent!

Most important tips

Book a cabin, which includes 4 meals.
Be at the check-in between 60 and 90 minutes before departure.
Bring your own breakfast and use one of the meal vouchers for a late lunch after embarkation instead.
Especially if you have dietary requirements, bring some (healthy) snacks or ingredients to enrich your meals.
Switch off your roaming during the voyage to avoid connecting to satellites and paying huge fees.
Download music, movies and other entertainment beforehand.

* A little note about the timing: the Naviera Armas website says the crossing takes 41 hours. This is incorrect: departure at 14:00 and arrival at 08:00 + 1 day adds up to 42 hours. But actually, it’s 43, as you enter a different timezone that makes it seem an hour less. Add to that 1 hour of early embarkation and 2 hours of delay, and you end up with 46 hours total.