The Hop-On Hop-Off bus is a good way to visit Las Palmas in a day

If you only have one day to stay in Gran Canaria's capital and you want to see as much as possible in such a short time, the Hop-On Hop-Off bus tour in Las Palmas might be a good choice for you, as it will take you to all the important spots in the city.

Hop-on Hop-Off tour in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Las Palmas is a city that covers a large area, so in just one day it would be nearly impossible to cover everything by walking from one part to the other, even though the main areas visited by tourists are situated near the coast, in the flat part of the city.

Tickets

There are 3 options for tickets:

• Iconic: 24 h hop-on hop-off bus tour, audio guide - €22.00
• Essential: 24 h hop-on hop-off bus tour, audio guide, walking tour of Vegueta - €25.00
• Value: 48 h hop-on hop-off bus tour, audio guide, walking tour of Vegueta, admission to the Museum of Sacred Art and the Cathedral and its tower - €29.00

The bus tour in Las Palmas has 11 stops and it will take you to some of the most important and iconic places in the city:

• Santa Catalina park
• The harbour  (Muelle Deportivo) - so if you're getting off the cruise ship, you can easily hop on and join the tour
• Alfredo Kraus Auditorium
• Pueblo Canario 
• Mirador Paseo de la Cornisa with beautiful views over the city
• Vegueta
• Las Canteras
• Poema del Mar Aquarium

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in a day

If you're on a cruise around the Canary Islands, then you'll probably only get one day in Gran Canaria and if it's your first time on the island, we recommend that you spend it visiting the capital, Las Palmas, one of the largest cities in Spain.

It would be difficult to run around the island to chase all the top places in Gran Canaria, so this is why we recommend you to stay in Las Palmas, as there is so much to see here, and if you want to make the most of your time in the city you can get a ticket for the Hop-On Hop-Off bus tour, that will take you around the city. 

The main areas you shouldn't miss during your day in Las Palmas are Las Canteras, with its stunning beach and promenade and Vegueta and Triana, the oldest districts in the city, with historic buildings and beautiful architecture.

Our experience on the Hop-on Hop-off tour of Las Palmas

We hopped on the bus at the harbour station (Muelle Deportivo), and we decided to stay on the bus to see as much of the city as possible at first and our first stop was at Pueblo Canario. 

In the meantime, we passed by Alfredo Kraus Auditorium, the stop at Las Canteras promenade and the Mirador Paseo de la Cornisa, from where you get some amazing views over the city, the port and the coast. 

Pueblo Canario is the next stop after Paseo de la Cornisa and here you can see the iconic and newly renovated Hotel Santa Catalina, a luxurious 5 stars hotel, surrounded by a lovely garden with beautiful flowers. A few minutes away you can go to Parque Doramas, a large park where you can see dragon trees, huge ficus trees and other local species of plants, or you can visit the Museo Néstor, where you can admire the works of the local artist Nestor Martínez.

After exploring this area for about an hour we got on the bus again and hopped off at Vegueta, the oldest part of the city. Since it wasn't our first time in Vegueta, we mostly spent our time wandering around the streets, walking towards Triana, where we stopped for lunch, followed by some shopping. From Triana, we walked to Parque San Telmo, where we hopped on the bus once again and we stopped at Las Canteras. 

Depending on how much time you have you can opt to hop off at Poema del Mar to visit the aquarium, or if you prefer to do more walking you can get off at Parque Santa Catalina and walk towards the Canteras promenade. 

The good thing about such a tour is that you can make your own customized tour, depending on what you prefer to do and see.

You could also stop in the evening at Alfredo Kraus Auditorium, where the bus stop is actually situated near Las Arenas Mall, the busiest shopping center in the city, located at one end of the promenade. 

Here you can do some shopping, as you can find most of the popular brands in Spain, especially if you're interested in clothes. Afterward, you can stroll along the promenade, stop for dinner and enjoy the sunset. 

If you want to make the most of your day in Las Palmas we would recommend that the area of Las Canteras should be your last stop in the evening, in order to have time to enjoy the view while grabbing dinner or a drink. The promenade has a lovely atmosphere in the evenings, so you can relax walking along the ocean after a day of sightseeing around Las Palmas.

The view from across the station while waiting for the bus at Vegueta

Walking through Triana, the shopping district of Las Palmas

1 / 2

Good to know

• The tickets are valid on any day you choose, for 12 months after you buy them
• You can cancel your ticket without losing the money during a three months period after you bought them
• You don't have to print the tickets, you can show them on your phone
• The stops are marked with a pink sign with the company logo and the number of the station (although not all stops were marked yet when we went on the tour)

Disclaimer: We were invited as guests to try the Hop-on Hop-off tour in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, but all opinions and impressions are our own.