Making the most of Santa Cruz La Palma
Use these notes to shape a realistic day ashore, then confirm any time-sensitive information for the date of your call.
Arriving at the port
La Palma is called ‘the fair isle' for its fabulous landscape. Santa Cruz is among the prettiest island harbors and is easily explored on foot. A 5 min stroll along Avenida Maritime promenade from the cruise terminal reaches the old quarter around Plaza de Espana.
Most ships provide free shuttle buses from the small cruise terminal to the main port gates.
La Palma Airport is only 8kms from Santa Cruz.
Santa Cruz's oldest, most beautiful Plaza de Espana quarter has a 16th century fountain and town hall, a magnificent Renaissance church, and a handicrafts market for distinctive pottery and local delicacies.
La Isla Verde, the Green Island, is famed for flora and fauna carpeting La Palma in green shades. Though one of the smallest Canary Islands, it is mile for mile more mountainous than Tibet. North has pretty villages and fabulous Botanical Gardens; south has pine forests sweeping to roadside hamlets and superb coastal views.
Getting around
Touring is the best way around the island, though simply exploring Santa Cruz and having a lazy lunch is also an excellent use of time.
Caldera de Taburiente, the island’s most spectacular volcanic crater, is packed with rare plants and animals and designated a national park. Roque de los Muchachos has such clear night skies that a major astrophysical observatory was built there.
Nearby places
La Palma packs mountains, volcanoes, beaches, forests, tropical rain forest, tiny villages and breathtaking views into a small area. Many consider it the most beautiful Canary island, unspoilt by tourism and ideal for rest, peace, quiet, walking and hiking. Its varied natural areas have a stable climate with pleasant all-season temperatures: warm winters and summers not too hot.
Food and shopping
For specialist clothing shopping on the Canaries, Santa Cruz de la Palma is hard to better.
This historical capital is a pleasure to stroll. On Cally O'Daly, named after an Irish merchant based here, find delectable shops in old Canarian balconied buildings.
Pause in plazas with ancient churches or mammoth ship recreations that house a military museum. Santa Cruz de la Palma is certainly one of the Canary Islands' prettiest, most aesthetically pleasing capitals.
Most shop, cafe and restaurant fruit and vegetables are locally grown by 'normal' cultivation, often giving more flavor than Northern European visitors expect. Supermarkets usually distinguish local from imported produce: imports look 'perfect', with identical shape and colour, no blemishes, and often an 'import' label. Local produce arrives in cardboard or wooden boxes, delivered directly to shops and markets by local farmers. The fruit is often mis-shapen, and it usually tastes…
Money
Currency: the euro.
Staying connected
Spanish is the official language across Spain’s entire national territory. Other languages coexist with it in some regions: Catalan in Catalonia, Galician in Galicia, Euskera/Basque in Basque Country, Valencian in Valencia Region and a particular Catalan variety on Balearic Islands.
Dial 112 free of charge for emergencies throughout Spain. Service is Spanish and, in some tourist areas, also English, French and German.
Opening Hours and
Monday through Saturday, shops and businesses most commonly operate 9.30 h to 13.30 h and 16.30 to 20.00 h.
Large shopping centers and department stores trade without interruption from 10.00 h to 21.00 or 22.00 h; they may also open Sundays.
During high season, shops in coastal cities are normally open beyond 22.00 h.
In major cities, pharmacies trade 9.30 to 13.30 h and 16.30 to 20.00 h, with some open 24 hours. Their rolling late-hour roster is published in newspapers and posted at every pharmacy.
Monday is generally a museum closing day.
National details.