The only car park you can book in Los Cristianos is the underground one at Calle del Valle Menéndez 1, open 24 hours, from €4.89 for two hours on Parclick. Most street bays are free but scarce; where Arona signposts paid bays, the municipal base tariff is €0.57 per hour with a 90-minute limit. This guide covers the car park, the street rules, where to leave the car for the ferries to La Gomera, La Palma and El Hierro, and what is not published anywhere, such as the price of the port car park.
Do you need a car? Not in Los Cristianos itself. For Teide, Masca and the north of Tenerife you do: compare prices at Tenerife South Airport on DiscoverCars, 18 km away, and read our guide to car hire at Tenerife South Airport before you book.
Los Cristianos belongs to the municipality of Arona. There are three kinds of parking: ordinary street bays, one underground public car park in the centre on Calle del Valle Menéndez, and the car park inside the port, which is run under a concession from the Port Authority of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The town is small and the port, the centre and the beaches all compete for the same streets, so in practice the question is less what parking costs than whether you find a space.
Planning your Los Cristianos trip: do you need a car?
Tick what applies and we’ll tell you if a rental is worth it.
| Option | Price in 2026 | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Playa de los Cristianos car park (Calle del Valle Menéndez 1) | From €4.89 for 2 hours on Parclick | Underground, open 24 hours, height limit 2.2 m, bookable |
| Paid street bays (where signposted) | Base tariff €0.57 per hour | Arona Ordinance No. 20: minimum 30 minutes, maximum 1 hour 30 minutes; indexed to inflation, so the meter may show more |
| Ordinary street bays | €0 | No time limit unless a sign says otherwise; hard to find near the port and the beaches |
| Port car park | No tariff published | Concession car park inside the port; price shown at the entrance |
| Tenerife South Airport, Aena P1 | See Parclick for your dates | 18 km from the port; open 24 hours, height limit 2.2 m |
This is the only car park in Los Cristianos itself that you can reserve online. It was built under a municipal concession granted in 1999 and stands in the town centre, a short walk from Playa de Los Cristianos and the port.
Covered car park at Calle del Valle Menéndez 1, open 24 hours a day. The height limit is 2.2 m. Entry is by number-plate recognition: the barrier opens when the camera reads the plate you gave in the booking. On Parclick the price starts at €4.89 for two hours, and you can change or cancel free of charge up to one hour before arrival. See the Playa de los Cristianos car park on Parclick.
Two things to know before you rely on it. First, it is not large: Diario de Avisos reported in July 2026 that the town’s underground car park has just over 100 spaces for public use and that the council considers it insufficient. A booking guarantees you a space, but Parclick warns that you may still have to queue at the entrance when the car park is full. Second, in November 2025 the Arona council was processing the transfer of the concession to a different operator, so the name at the entrance may not match the name on the booking site.
Most street bays in Los Cristianos are free and have no time limit. Arona does have a tariff for paid street parking, set in its Ordinance No. 20, which the council lists as in force for 2026. It applies only on streets that the mayor designates by decree and that are signposted, and Arona publishes no map of them. If you see a meter and marked bays, these are the rules:
| Rule (Arona Ordinance No. 20) | What it says |
|---|---|
| Base price | €0.57 per hour, revised each year in line with inflation |
| Shortest ticket | 30 minutes |
| Longest stay | 1 hour 30 minutes |
| Paid hours | Monday to Friday 9:00–14:00 and 16:00–20:00, Saturday 9:00–14:00 |
| Free | Sundays, public holidays, the midday break and evenings |
| Overstayed your ticket | Excess ticket, base price €1.35 |
| Payment | Coins at the meter; keep the ticket visible behind the windscreen |
Because the tariff is indexed, the amount on the meter can be higher than the base figure in the ordinance. Arona publishes neither the current indexed price nor the list of streets, so read the sign where you park.
Ferries from Los Cristianos sail to San Sebastián de La Gomera, Santa Cruz de La Palma and La Estaca on El Hierro. Two things matter if you arrive by car.
Taking the car on board. You drive into the port and queue in your company’s boarding lane; no parking is needed. Baleària Canarias closes boarding 40 minutes before departure for passengers with a vehicle and 20 minutes before for those on foot.
Leaving the car in Los Cristianos. The Port Authority restricts vehicle access to the boarding areas and gives priority inside the port to port users, taxis and buses. It also states that the port has a concession car park which beach and leisure visitors may use, but no tariff or number of spaces is published. For a day trip to La Gomera, the option you can plan in advance is the underground car park on Calle del Valle Menéndez, followed by a walk to the quay.
| Route from Los Cristianos | Company | Crossing | One-way fare from (non-residents) |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Sebastián de La Gomera | Fred. Olsen Express | About 50 minutes, up to 5 departures a day | €44.03 |
| San Sebastián de La Gomera | Baleària Canarias | About 50 minutes, daily | €42 |
| Santa Cruz de La Palma | Fred. Olsen Express | About 2 hours 30 minutes | See the company site |
| La Estaca (El Hierro) | Fred. Olsen Express | About 2 hours 20 minutes, daily | See the company site |
If you remember Naviera Armas on these routes: its inter-island services in the Canaries now sail under the Baleària Canarias name, and the old Armas route pages redirect to the Baleària Canarias site.
Tenerife South Airport is 18 km from Los Cristianos. If you need to leave a car there, Aena’s General P1 car park can be reserved through Parclick: it is open 24 hours, has a height limit of 2.2 m and bookings can be cancelled free of charge until the day before arrival. The price depends on your dates. See Aena P1 at Tenerife South on Parclick.
Arona is looking for more spaces. Diario de Avisos listed the projects on the table in July 2026: a three-storey car park with more than 800 spaces in the port area, promoted by the state ports body and opposed by the council and residents, who would prefer it underground; underground parking beneath Avenida La Habana; and about 500 spaces next to the Antonio Domínguez stadium. None of them has a start date, so for now the supply is what is described above.
Parking cost estimator
See Los Cristianos car parks on Parclick →Pre-filled with €2.45 per hour, which is the Parclick price for two hours in the Valle Menéndez car park (€4.89) divided by two. Signposted street bays have a base price of €0.57 per hour and a 90-minute limit.
On the street, where most bays are free but hard to find, or in the underground Playa de los Cristianos car park at Calle del Valle Menéndez 1, which is open 24 hours and can be booked on Parclick from €4.89 for two hours. The port also has a concession car park, without a published tariff.
Most street bays are free and have no time limit. Arona’s Ordinance No. 20 allows paid bays on signposted streets, with a base price of €0.57 per hour and a maximum stay of 1 hour 30 minutes; these are free on Sundays, public holidays and outside the paid hours.
The bookable underground car park starts at €4.89 for two hours on Parclick. Signposted paid street bays have a base price of €0.57 per hour under the municipal ordinance, revised each year with inflation. The port car park does not publish its tariff.
If the car travels with you, drive straight into the port and join the boarding lane. If you cross on foot, the option you can reserve is the underground car park on Calle del Valle Menéndez; the port’s own concession car park has no published tariff or booking.
Baleària Canarias closes boarding 40 minutes before departure for passengers with a vehicle and 20 minutes before for foot passengers. Check the times on your ticket if you sail with Fred. Olsen Express.
Fred. Olsen Express and Baleària Canarias. The crossing to San Sebastián de La Gomera takes about 50 minutes; Fred. Olsen Express also sails to Santa Cruz de La Palma (about 2 hours 30 minutes) and to La Estaca on El Hierro (about 2 hours 20 minutes).
Not for the town itself, which is compact and flat along the seafront. A car is useful for Teide National Park, Masca, Los Gigantes and the north of the island. Most visitors collect it at Tenerife South Airport, 18 km away.
