La Gomera

After the success of my January 2014 walking trip to Gran Canaria, it was always my intention to visit the Canary Islands again. So I saw an inexpensive return flight to Tenerife (£58), booked it, and started planning some walks around Tenerife. But I started to realise that (a) Tenerife was a large island for just a four-night visit, (b) that it could be rather cold at high altitudes in January, and (c) that the alternative, staying down at the coast, was rather expensive. So, my brainwave instead was to take the ferry to the smaller, less mountainous, neighbouring island of La Gomera where accommodation seemed to be cheaper. As it was a smaller island, I thought it made sense to base myself in one place, the capital San Sebastián, where the port is, and do day walks. Some simple maps of these walks are available.

Costs. Flight £58. Tenerife–La Gomera ferry (return) €64. San Sebastián de La Gomera hotel (B&B) £40.25 per night. Glasgow–Prestwick X77 bus £5.80. Airport–Los Cristianos bus €3.70/€3.20. Bus fares on La Gomera €2.00/€2.50. Typical evening meal with drinks €12–€24. Total cost of trip £345.

Places I stayed and was happy with. Hotel Torre Del Conde, San Sebastián de La Gomera (Days 1-4, Read my review).

Maps. La Gomera and El Hierro Tour & Trail, 1:35,000, Discovery Walking Guides.

Day 1: Travel to La Gomera. Left home at 8.55 am and caught local bus into city and then 9.55 am X77 bus to airport, arriving 10.40 am. Plane took off at 12 noon, landed 4.15 pm. Caught no. 343 bus to Los Cristianos at about 4.55 pm. Took out €120 in cash. Went for pizza and beer on waterfront. Arrived at port at about 7.30 pm and read book until ferry left at 9 pm. Got to hotel (pre-booked) about 10.30 pm.

Day 2: Walk to El Convento, Hermigua (see maps); bus back to hotel. Breakfast at 9.10 am. Left hotel at 10.25 am. Followed GR132 on road up to Lomo Fragoso and then on track up to Aguajilva. Here the very boring asphalt finally came to an end and the route followed an old mule track up over the ridge, into the "laurisilva" forest, and down to the bus stop at El Convento in Hermigua. I arrived about 3.25 pm (so 5 h walking). There were 11 walkers waiting at the bus stop, from UK, Ireland, Netherlands, and Denmark, and they gave me the idea for my Day 3 walk. Bus came about 4.05 pm and we arrived back in San Sebastián at about 4.40 pm. Later, went for a dinner of soup and then squid, washed down with wine and coffee.

Day 3: Bus to Pajarito; walk to El Convento, Hermigua (see maps); bus back to hotel. Went for breakfast about 9.15 am. Left hotel at 10.10 am and caught very crowded 10.30 am bus up to Pajarito, arriving about 11.10 am. Walked up to viewpoint at Alta de Garajonay, 1487 m, with good views of El Teide, 3718 m, on Tenerife. Then walked back to main road at El Contadero and took path downhill through forest to El Cedro, arriving at the bar at about 2.20 pm. Had beer. Left at 2.45 pm but then the path got incredibly steep and tricky and I had to really hurry to get to the El Convento bus stop for 4 pm (so 4 h 50 min walking). The bus came at 4.10 pm and I was back at the hotel by 4.50 pm. Later, went out for a dinner of fish soup and then grilled pork, washed down with beer.

Day 4: Bus to Pajarito; walk to Degollada de Peraza (see maps). Breakfast at 9.15 am. Left hotel about 10.05 am and caught very crowded 10.30 am bus up to Pajarito, arriving about 11.10 am. Walked down ridge to Degollada de Peraza, arriving about 1.50 pm (so 2 h 40 min walking). Caught 2.25 pm bus back down to San Sebastián, arriving back at hotel about 3 pm. Went out at 7.30 pm for a dinner of grilled squid and then chocolate torte, washed down with wine.

Day 5: Travel home. Alarm at 5.30 am. Left hotel at 6.15 am. Ferry departed at 7 am. Had "Full English" on arrival in Los Cristianos. Caught 9.10 am bus to airport. Boarded plane about 11 am and took off about 11.30 am. Landed at 4.10 pm and caught 5.03 pm X77 bus, arriving in Glasgow at 5.50 pm. Caught local bus home, arriving 6.35 pm.

Wildlife seen. Canary Island Red Admiral, Canary Island Speckled Wood, Canary Brimstone, Small Copper, Island Darter.

Other useful links. La Gomera ferry (Naviera Armas)

La Gomera ferry (Fred Olsen)

Local buses and timetables

More walking routes

Reflections. A marvellous small island for walking and an excellent choice for a January trip. Almost every tourist I came across was there for the walking. The infrastructure on the island is very good: the roads are in good condition and the main town, San Sebastián, is very pleasant, with several pedestrianised streets. The buses going across the island are slow and relatively infrequent, however, possibly a function of the very mountainous terrain. The ferries to and from the island are unbelievably expensive but, in the end, I felt that they were worth it to reach such a beautiful and relatively unspoilt island. Yes, I would like to return to La Gomera and, next time, I will try to be a little more ambitious in my choice of walks.

© 2017 The Untravelled World