The Canary Islands by Campervan: Ferries and Rules

Last checked November 2026.

The Canary Islands are Spain’s islands in the Atlantic, off the coast of Africa, about 1,300 km by sea from Huelva to Tenerife. There are seven main islands: Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro. They’re on the same time as the UK all year, and Darren’s surfing calendar lists them for every month from November to March. Getting a van there means more than a day on a ferry each way, and staying overnight is about to get stricter: a new regional decree bans wild camping from 9 February 2027.

Getting a UK van there

Two ferry companies carry vehicles from Andalucía to the Canaries. To reach the ports, drive down through France and Spain, or take the ferry to Santander or Bilbao: see Spain and driving in Spain.

Fred. Olsen Express from Huelva. Sailings leave from Huelva’s outer port (Puerto Exterior, Muelle Sur) for Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, up to three times a week. Some go direct and some call at the other island first, so the crossing takes 34 to 50 hours. The ferry takes cars, vans and caravans; give the type and size of your vehicle when you book. With a vehicle, be at the port one to two hours before the sailing, as you pass a Guardia Civil check before the boarding area. There are pet rooms and pet-friendly cabins.

Baleària Canarias from Cádiz. This is the Naviera Armas (Armas Trasmediterránea) route: Armas’s Canary Islands services now trade as Baleària Canarias. In November 2026 there were two sailings a week: on Saturdays at 12:00 direct to Santa Cruz de Tenerife, about 33 hours, and on Tuesdays at 15:00 calling at Arrecife (Lanzarote), about 28 hours, and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria before going on to Tenerife. Vans, caravans and motorhomes are carried; enter the vehicle’s details and dimensions when you book.

Both companies mostly advertise fares for Canary Islands residents, who get a large discount, so get a quote for your own van’s length and height before you decide.

Between the islands, Fred. Olsen and Baleària Canarias both run vehicle ferries. Some crossings are short: Los Cristianos (Tenerife) to La Gomera takes about 50 minutes, and Playa Blanca (Lanzarote) to Corralejo (Fuerteventura) about 35.

Customs, tax and paperwork for a UK van

The Canaries are part of Spain and of the EU customs union, but they’re outside the EU VAT area. Instead of VAT the islands have their own sales tax, IGIC (Impuesto General Indirecto Canario), run by the Canary Islands’ own tax agency.

For a holiday that makes little difference. Spain’s tax agency (Agencia Tributaria) says that if you travel to the Canaries from mainland Spain or another EU country in a private vehicle, no customs formalities are needed. The vehicle can stay in Spain for up to six consecutive months, and in that time it must be used privately: it can’t be lent, hired out or handed over to anyone else. If it’s going to stay in the Canaries for more than six months, you have to import it, paying IGIC, or apply for authorisation under the temporary import scheme. Without a visa, a UK visitor can’t stay that long anyway: the Canaries are part of the Schengen area, so your days there count towards the 90 days in any 180.

The UK rules still apply to the van while it’s away for less than 12 months. Take the V5C log book, showing your current UK address, and keep the van taxed, MOT’d and insured in the UK. Check that your insurance and breakdown cover include the Canary Islands and the ferry crossing.

Hiring a campervan there instead

Flying out and hiring a van saves two to four days at sea, and the long drive to Huelva or Cádiz. Campervans and motorhomes can be hired on the islands, including from private owners through camper-sharing websites. A van that’s already on the islands needs no ferry or customs paperwork, but the same overnight rules apply as to your own van.

Things to check before you book:

Ferries: whether the contract lets you take the van to another island. Baleària Canarias carries hire vehicles only if the hire company allows it.
Where you can sleep: from February 2027, only in a campsite, a motorhome area, or parked correctly in the street (see below).
What’s included: bedding and kitchen kit, the mileage allowance, and the insurance excess.

See campervan and motorhome hire.

Where you can and can’t stay overnight

Spain’s national rule. Spain’s traffic rules treat a campervan or motorhome like any other vehicle. It can park wherever a car can, and it makes no difference whether anyone is sleeping inside. Since 1 October 2026 the national traffic regulations have said that a parked motorhome, or any vehicle fitted out as living space, must rest only on its tyres (wheel chocks are allowed, but stabiliser legs and levelling devices count as camping), keep within its own outline (no awning, chairs, table or anything else put out beyond the van) and not drain anything from the living space. Towns can still limit how long vehicles park, and ban motorhomes from camping anywhere outside the areas they authorise. See camping in Spain.

The Canary Islands’ new decree. Decreto 170/2026, published on 9 November 2026, regulates campsites and motorhome areas in the Canaries for the first time, and comes into force on 9 February 2027. It bans any form of wild or unauthorised camping for leisure, holidays, rest, sport or travel. Wild camping means staying or sleeping outdoors outside the regulated sites, in a tent, caravan, motorhome or anything else. A motorhome or similar vehicle isn’t camping if it’s parked in an authorised place on a street or road, under the traffic rules and the town’s ordinances, as long as:

nothing is put out that takes it beyond its own outline
it stands on its own wheels, without chocks
nothing is spilled or dumped onto the road.

That’s stricter than the national rule, which allows chocks. Under the decree both the camper and any landowner who lets them camp are responsible, and offering pitches on private land outside a regulated site is banned too. Breaking the decree is dealt with under the Canary Islands’ tourism law.

The decree creates two kinds of motorhome site, each registered with the island’s cabildo (the island council):

Motorhome overnight areas (áreas de pernocta): stays of up to 72 hours, until 10:00 on the morning after the last night. You can put out the awning and portable tables and chairs on your own pitch, but you can’t cook outside unless there’s an area set up for it.
Motorhome camping areas (áreas de acampada): you can put out the awning, tables and chairs and live outdoors on your pitch, and stay up to six months.

For five years from February 2027, a council with no campsite or motorhome area can open temporary zones where vans can camp. They have to be signed at the entrance, in at least four languages, as unregulated tourist accommodation, and they close once a regulated site opens in the municipality.

Camping in protected natural areas, Natura 2000 sites and public forests is outside the decree and covered by its own rules: in practice, the cabildos’ camping zones (below).

Beaches. Beaches and the coastal strip belong to the state, and Spain’s coastal law (Ley de Costas) bans camping, parking and driving on beaches without authorisation. Camping there is fined at least €40 per square metre per day, and unauthorised parking or driving €50 to €150. Coastal councils can have their own bans too: in 2012, for example, San Bartolomé de Tirajana, which covers Maspalomas and Playa del Inglés on Gran Canaria, approved an ordinance banning overnight stays on its beaches, vehicles and trailers included, with fines from €750 to €3,000. Look for signs at the entrance to each town and car park.

The cabildos’ camping zones

Each island’s cabildo runs camping zones (zonas de acampada) in its forests and natural areas. You need a permit in advance, and only some have places for vans.

Tenerife. In July 2026 the Cabildo said it had 31 places for motorhomes in four of its camping zones: Las Lajas (Adeje), at 2,120 m in the Corona Forestal natural park, with 11; Chío (Guía de Isora), 14; Arenas Negras (El Tanque), 4; and El Lagar (Icod de los Vinos), 2. Book through the Cabildo’s booking service before you go. The Cabildo has also put water and emptying points for motorhomes at its recycling centres (puntos limpios) at Arona, Jagua in Santa Cruz, and, since August 2026, La Guancha, which is free. In August 2026 the Cabildo gave their hours as Monday 08:00 to 16:00, Tuesday to Friday 08:00 to 20:00, Saturday 09:00 to 20:00 and Sunday 09:00 to 14:00.

Gran Canaria. The Cabildo’s camping and recreation areas are booked through its own permits website, acampadas.grancanaria.com, which also has a form to authorise a vehicle. The Cabildo’s information office is at Calle Bravo Murillo 23, Las Palmas. Tel: 928 219 421 or 928 219 494.

El Hierro. The Cabildo’s one camping zone, Hoya del Morcillo (El Pinar), needs an authorisation, booked through the Cabildo’s website. Generators are allowed only for motorhomes, in a set area and with the warden’s permission, and sleeping in the car park is banned.

On La Palma, La Gomera, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, ask the island’s cabildo. In January 2025 the Cabildo de Fuerteventura said it was drafting its own island rules for camping zones and motorhome areas.

Campsites and motorhome areas

Until the 2026 decree the Canaries had no regional rules for campsites, so there’s no official list of them yet. There are a few private campsites and motorhome parks, listed in the campsite guides and motorhome apps; check recent reviews and ring ahead. Existing sites have five years from February 2027 to meet the decree’s standards, and new motorhome areas have to be registered with the cabildo before they open, so expect the list to change.

Surfing in the Canaries

Darren describes the Canaries as a gem of reefs and big swell, and lists them, with the Algarve, as a place to surf in every month from November to March. Sea urchins are common on the rocky reefs of warm places like the Canaries, so wear boots. See surfing in Spain and surfing in Europe.

More on Spain

Spain by campervan
Camping in Spain, with the overnight rules region by region
Driving in Spain
Andalucía, for Huelva and Cádiz
Winter in Europe

Sources: Gobierno de Canarias, Decreto 170/2026 (Boletín Oficial de Canarias, 9 November 2026); Spain’s Reglamento General de Circulación, article 92.4, as amended by Real Decreto 518/2026; Ley 22/1988 de Costas; Agencia Tributaria (travelling to Spain and the Canary Islands by private vehicle, and bringing a vehicle into the Canary Islands); Spain’s VAT law (Ley 37/1992, article 3); gov.uk (taking a vehicle out of the UK, and Spain travel advice); Fred. Olsen Express and Baleària Canarias; Cabildo de Tenerife, Cabildo de Gran Canaria and Cabildo de El Hierro (regulation for its camping zone and recreation areas); checked November 2026. Know of a change? Tell us in the comments below.