For those that are planning an island hopping holiday in the Canaries, there are some excellent deals about at the moment.
For example, you can travel between La Gomera and La Palma with Fred Olsen ferries for just 54€ for two adults. And if you want to take a car, it's only 6€ more! But do remember that if you have a hire car, normally they are not allowed to be taken off the island from where it was originally hired except when it is a large car hire company with branches in different islands. Best just check with the car rental company before you sail off with their car!
I remember the time though when we went from La Palma to Tenerife by ferry, complete with in-laws and vehicle, one Christmas time. This was a bit of a mission as it was a five hour night-time crossing in those days and whilst it was far from being what I hoped for as our first Christmas in La Palma, ie to spend it in Tenerife, there were some family friends holding a festive get-together which couldn't be missed.
Having agreed to the trip, I was pretty determined to put my stamp on it by keeping costs to a minimum. Of course four seats on the ferry would be fine! This would practically be a luxury especially when I brought to mind the time I tried to sleep on an overnight ferry whilst on the floor under a set of stairs, thinking that even if I didn't get much sleep, at least I wouldn't get stood on. (Of course that was the exact effect it had on me - no sleep and I might as well have been stood on.) And since I am a child of cruise-loving parents, I've also had my fair share of great cabins too. No, seats were the answer and so I booked four 'butacas,' the comfortable reclining armchair seats and looked forward to falling asleep listening to the soft lull of the boat's engines.
When I arrived home with the tickets, the first question I was asked was, 'You did get a cabin, didn't you?' Erm, no. And with that I was dispatched back again to the ferry terminal in Santa Cruz to get a cabin for the four of us. Oh no, think of the cost!
Having eventually managed to locate the office girl, who turned out to be an office man sat at the bar having a coffee, I explained that I would like to change the four seats for a cabin.
With a smile (could that have been a knowing smile?), he took the tickets from me, studied them and then set about entering details in the computer. (Did this mean we might be getting a cabin?) And moments later, four new tickets shot out of a machine.
Somewhat curiously, on top of the tickets sat a 5€ note and so I questioned what this was for. Apparently that was the difference in price between the cabin (complete with washbasin and wardrobe) and the seats - 5€ cheaper!
Incidentally, the crossing time between Tenerife and La Palma is now much faster and so you won't be needing a cabin, but you can enjoy the very comfortable butacas - and the low price too!
For example, you can travel between La Gomera and La Palma with Fred Olsen ferries for just 54€ for two adults. And if you want to take a car, it's only 6€ more! But do remember that if you have a hire car, normally they are not allowed to be taken off the island from where it was originally hired except when it is a large car hire company with branches in different islands. Best just check with the car rental company before you sail off with their car!
When I arrived home with the tickets, the first question I was asked was, 'You did get a cabin, didn't you?' Erm, no. And with that I was dispatched back again to the ferry terminal in Santa Cruz to get a cabin for the four of us. Oh no, think of the cost!
With a smile (could that have been a knowing smile?), he took the tickets from me, studied them and then set about entering details in the computer. (Did this mean we might be getting a cabin?) And moments later, four new tickets shot out of a machine.
Somewhat curiously, on top of the tickets sat a 5€ note and so I questioned what this was for. Apparently that was the difference in price between the cabin (complete with washbasin and wardrobe) and the seats - 5€ cheaper!
Incidentally, the crossing time between Tenerife and La Palma is now much faster and so you won't be needing a cabin, but you can enjoy the very comfortable butacas - and the low price too!
