(Santa Cruz de) La Palma has airport code SPC, and should not be confused with either Las Palmas (de Gran Canaria - on another Canary Island), Palma (de Mallorca - on the Baleares in the Mediterranean) or Santa Cruz (possibly more than one in the Americas). See this map showing the main airport codes of the Canary Islands.

La Palma is a holiday destination so please book your air flights well in advance, especially during peak periods such as Carnival, Easter and Christmas when flights are heavily booked, and in July in years ending in 0 or 5 (when the Bajada de La Virgen, a big festival, takes place in Santa Cruz de La Palma). You can get the dates of the La Palma public holidays from the ING schedules (shown in green).

Scheduled flights. Apart from a number of interisland flights there is a return flight La Palma - Madrid. You can usually connect to this flight from Europe and other continents. There are also a number of seasonal flights that connect La Palma directly to other cities in Spanish mainland. A flight from Madrid to La Palma usually takes 2 hours and 30 minutes.

Charter flights. There are a number of charter flights direct to La Palma from several cities in Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK. Some of these flights can be booked as scheduled flights, in connection with intercontinental flights.

There are frequent inter-island flights from Tenerife (north airport, code TFN) to Santa Cruz de La Palma, and at least twice a day from Gran Canaria (code LPA). Flights to La Palma should be booked in advance as seats are not always available in these small planes unless booked early. Flights take about 20 minutes from Tenerife and 50 minutes from Gran Canaria.

There are many scheduled and charter flights to Tenerife and Gran Canaria as the final destination. Most charter flights to Tenerife operate from the south airport (code TFS) and a transfer to the north airport will take at least one hour driving time, so at least about 3 hours must be accounted for connecting flights from one airport to the other. You can travel between airports by taxi, by bus (direct or via Santa Cruz de Tenerife) or by rental car (ask for one-way to the north airport, there are often cars available at a cheap rate).

A ferry service is also operated daily between Santa Cruz de La Palma and Los Cristianos in the touristic south of Tenerife. Depending on the type of boat the trip can take from 2.5 hours to 4 hours.

Observers will travel to the observatory by the taxi booked by the ING. Please fill out the ING booking form for visiting observers for making the appropriate arrangements. Book the taxi to the top well in advance. The cost of the taxi from sea level to site is about 45 euros one way. The journey takes about one hour and 15 minutes from the airport, and one hour from Santa Cruz de La Palma.

Please bear in mind that bad weather can restrict the access to the observatory. In these conditions ING activates the bad weather procedure, which means that the taxi can't get to the observatory's residence before 09:15am, and the way down must be done in daylight. Due to these restrictions, or if the observatory is unreachable, you will be reallocated in a hotel at sea-level or have to stay longer at the observatory's residence.

Provided that there are available seats, you can also travel with the ING fleet. However, please bear in mind that ING transport leaves the sea-level office in Santa Cruz de La Palma at 07:45am (weekdays only) and it returns at 04:00pm from the site (except Fridays 03:30pm). Please note that these time can be different in summer time. There is frequently transport at weekends but it is NOT guaranteed and you should check well in advance. For the latter reasons we recommend that you always book the taxi as your first choice.

You should NOT travel up to the mountain top in anything except the official ING transport or the taxi. The roads can be impassable or dangerous at any time of the year, being the worst months November to April. In any case, please NEVER hire a taxi or a car without clearance from the ING.

Observing teams on each of the telescopes will be issued with a vehicle for travel on site, between the telescope buildings and the Observatory's residence. The vehicle should not be taken off site. Drivers must have had a driving license for at least one year. Keys for the vehicles may be obtained from the reception desk at the Observatory's residence the day of your first observing night. In case the keys are not encountered, your Support Astronomer or the Duty Engineer will be able to assist. Car and keys should be returned at the Observatory's residence immediately following the last observing night. All ING cars have manual gear changes.

Freight

---

If you are freighting equipment to La Palma, please contact Lourdes González (+34 922 42 54 13 at the sea-level office or by e-mail lourdes@ing.iac.es

Observers bringing visitor instruments are reminded to ensure that you allow enough time after your run to supervise the packing of your equipment. The ING will allocate a contact person who will verify the contents and address to which the equipment is to be sent. A Contents Verification Form (Word | PDF) should be attached to each package/box being shipped from the ING.

Note that sea freight, in particular, can take much longer than you could expect. Even material which is air-freighted will often take longer than advertised, particularly if it has to clear customs at an intermediate destination. Allow as large a margin of error as possible !