How do buses work in Tenerife?
One company, TITSA, runs the island's buses, which everyone in the Canaries calls 'guaguas', and Metrotenerife runs the tram between Santa Cruz and La Laguna. The same cards and the same app work on both.
Every line has a number and its own page on titsa.com, with the route, the timetable and the journey time. As a visitor you'll mostly use the airport lines (10, 20, 30, 40 and 343) and the night line 711; our guide to Tenerife North or South airport covers the first group.
You flag the bus down at the stop yourself, then pay or validate your card on board.
Which ticket should you buy?
For a few rides, a single bought on board does the job; if you'll ride several times a day, a tourist card gives you unlimited travel.
Singles are priced by distance, so TITSA publishes no flat fare: its 'Tarifas vigentes' page works out each journey by line and stop. Children up to four travel free as long as they don't take a seat.
| Ticket | Price | Where you get it | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single ticket | By distance | On board | The odd trip |
| Return ticket | From €4.25 | On board | Out and back the same day, 10% off on trips of 20 km or more |
| Título Monedero (stored value) | Top-ups of €2 to €100 | Tobacconists, kiosks, TITSA stations | Regular trips and discounted transfers |
| Tourist card, 1 day | €10 | Airport machines, stations, kiosks, tram stops | Unlimited buses and tram for 24 hours |
| Tourist card, 7 days | €50 | Airport machines, stations, kiosks, tram stops | Unlimited buses and tram for seven days |
| Bono Residente Canario | €19 a month | Tobacconists, kiosks, TITSA stations | Canary Islands residents only |
What is the Ten+ card, and do you need the app?
Ten+ is the contactless card for Tenerife's buses and tram: it costs €2 and carries either stored value, the Título Monedero, or a tourist card.
The free ten+ móvil app, made by Metrotenerife, does the same job on your phone: you buy and top up tickets in the app and, on the tram, validate by scanning the QR codes inside the car. It's on the App Store and Google Play.
On the tram, a single costs €1.35 on the card and €1.10 in the app, and a trip on stored value €1.05. The tourist card is valid on every bus and tram line, the Teide buses included, which the residents' monthly pass leaves out; to plan that day, see our guide to the Teide cable car and summit.
Can you pay on the bus?
Yes: TITSA sells single and return tickets on board. Its FAQ adds two rules worth knowing: drivers don't have to give change for more than €10 on the minimum fare, and night services from 21:00 to 05:30 take the exact fare only.
Stored value and tourist cards go on a Ten+ card or in the app, so get those before you board.
Changing buses: how do transfers work?
With stored value on a card, switching to another line within a set time of your first validation counts as a transfer, at a reduced fare. TITSA's window depends on the length of the line, from 45 min to 120 min.
Changing between bus and tram counts too. A return on the same line isn't a transfer, and if the card runs out of balance you pay the next trip.
Is there a night bus in Tenerife?
Yes, and two lines matter most: the 711 on the south side and the 104 in the north, both every day. In the early hours of Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, tram line 1 keeps running between Santa Cruz and La Laguna too.
In the south, the 711 is the night link between the Costa Adeje bus station and Los Cristianos, the stretch of coast where the clubs in the south are: it leaves Costa Adeje from 22:10 to 04:00 and passes Los Cristianos from 22:20 to 04:10.
In Santa Cruz, the Intercambiador switches to its outdoor stops between 23:30 and 05:00; the 711 leaves from the one next to the tram. The city also has its own urban night lines, numbered in the 970s.
| Line | Route | Night departures |
|---|---|---|
| 711 | Santa Cruz – Tenerife South airport – Los Cristianos – Costa Adeje | From Santa Cruz 22:10–04:00; from the Costa Adeje bus station 22:10–04:00 |
| 104 | Santa Cruz – Puerto de la Cruz | From Santa Cruz 22:55–03:30; from Puerto de la Cruz 00:10–05:25 |
| Tram line 1 | Santa Cruz – La Laguna | Early hours of Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, every 30 min |
The tram between Santa Cruz and La Laguna
Tenerife's tram has two lines: line 1 links Santa Cruz and La Laguna through their main centres, and line 2 runs across the neighbourhoods of La Cuesta, Taco and Tíncer.
From Monday to Friday it runs from 06:00 until midnight, with a tram every 5 min at morning peak times in winter, and at weekends and on holidays it doesn't stop at all.
Buy your ticket from the machines at the stops or in the app, and validate it as soon as you board, even when you change, once for each person travelling. For La Laguna's evenings and the rest of the north, see the north after dark.
How to read a TITSA timetable
Each line's page follows the same pattern, and six habits get you through it.
Find your line or your stop
On titsa.com, 'Líneas y horarios' has a page for every line, and 'Tu próxima guagua' gives the next buses at a stop, by street or by stop code.
Pick the right table
Many lines have one timetable for working days and another for Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.
Read the clock
The clock symbol at the top of the page is TITSA's journey time for the whole route.
Departures and 'pasos por'
'Salidas' are departures from the ends of the line; 'pasos por' are the times the bus passes a point on the way, such as an airport.
Check the numbered notes
A number next to a time sends you to a note: working days only, a different route, or a stretch where the bus only lets people off.
Wave it down
At the stop, signal to the driver with your hand in good time: buses don't stop where nobody has asked.
