Best Areas to Stay in La Palma, Canary Islands

Santa Cruz de La Palma is the capital and second-most populated city of La Palma (after Los Llanos de Aridane). It is located on the island’s northeast coast, on an old lava flow from the Caldereta volcano.

Founded in 1493 as “Villa del Apurón”, the city became an important intermediate port between the Spanish American colonies and the peninsula.

Its old town is known for its 16th, 17th and 18th-century architecture. Some of the most important historical attractions of Santa Cruz de La Palma include defensive buildings such as the castles of Santa Catalina and La Virgen, the Matriz de El Salvador and Santo Domingo churches and the Plaza de España.

Avenida Marina is famous for its traditional houses, which stand out for their colourful facades and elaborate flower-adorned balconies. Central O’Daly Street is the main pedestrian walkway in the city. Here, you can find all kinds of shops and buildings from different periods.

The Museo Insular de La Palma, with its displays featuring an interesting collection of works of art, historical artefacts and textiles, is the main cultural attraction of Santa Cruz de La Palma.

The Santa Cruz de la Palma Beach, with fine black sand, is the city’s main beach and one of the most visited on the island.

To the south of the city centre lies the Puerto de Santa Cruz. This large port is home to the city’s marina and the cruise and ferry terminals. From here you can travel to other Canarian ports such as Los Cristianos, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Arrecife and San Sebastián de La Gomera.

The only airport on the island is located 8 km south of the city.

Santa Cruz is the best-connected municipality on the entire island of La Palma; four of the five lines of the interurban bus network have the island capital as their origin or destination.

The coastal town of Los Cancajos is located 7 kilometres south of Santa Cruz de la Palma, near the airport.

Los Cancajos is the most important tourist development on the island of La Palma and one of its most visited destinations.

Los Cancajos stands out for its wide semi-urban beach. Like most of the island’s beaches, Los Cancajos beach has fine volcanic sand and calm, crystal clear waters.

This popular beach has beach bars, showers, bathrooms and access for people with reduced mobility, and is perfect for watersports such as snorkelling or diving.

In addition to fine sand beaches, the Los Cancajos coastline also has numerous rocky secluded coves that can be accessed via hiking trails.

Also close to Los Cancajos is the Pyramid of Vandama, an enigmatic stepped structure allegedly built by the island’s ancestral peoples.

Along with Santa Cruz de la Palma, Los Cancajos is the best area to stay on the island of La Palma without a car.

This resort town is connected to the centre of the island capital by bus line 500. The journey takes less than 20 minutes. The same bus line connects Los Cancajos with the airport.

The municipality of Los Llanos de Aridane is the most populated on the island of La Palma.

Commonly known simply as “Los Llanos”, this municipality of La Palma is located in the west of the island, 28 kilometres by road from Santa Cruz.

Its namesake capital stands out for its regionalist style houses.

The main tourist attraction in Los Llanos de Aridane is the Benahoarita Archaeological Museum. This impressive museum tells the history of the island’s Aboriginal people, the Benahoarites. Its collection offers an interesting collection of tools, artefacts, pottery and mummies.

Other attractions in Los Llanos de Aridane include the Plaza de España, the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios, and the town hall.

Additionally, the town of Los Llanos de Aridane offers an excellent location to visit the Caldera de Taburiente and the Cumbre Vieja natural park. The La Caldera de Taburiente Visitors Centre is located in the nearby town of El Paso.

La Palma’s public transport system connects Los Llanos with Santa Cruz through line 300 and with the towns of Puerto Naos and Charco Verde through line 204.

Tazacorte is a town located in the west of the island of La Palma, 4 kilometres from Los Llanos de Aridane and 33 from Santa Cruz de La Palma.

This coastal settlement stands out for its beautiful natural environment and its picturesque colourful houses facing the sea. The main tourist attractions in Tazacorte include the Casa Massieu, the Banana Museum and the charming Plaza de La Vica .

The main semi-urban beaches of the municipality include Playa del Puerto de Tazacorte and Playa de Los Tarajales.

South of the main settlement there are several wild beaches such as Playa Nueva, El Charcón and Los Guirres. Keep in mind that these virgin beaches do not offer any services.

Tazacorte is connected with the northern towns of the island and Santa Cruz de La Palma through bus line 100. That said, the best way to get around this area and reach its most remote beaches is by car.

Puerto Naos is the main tourist town on La Palma’s west coast.

This coastal resort town is part of the municipality of Los Llanos de Aridane and is 10 kilometres south of its capital.

Its main tourist attraction is the beach of Puerto Naos. This 400-metre long beach with volcanic black sand has moderate waves and services, including showers, bathrooms, parking, beach bars, restaurants and access for people with reduced mobility.

Puerto Naos is the main destination for water and adventure sports on the island.

On its promenade, you’ll find several venues offering all kinds of activities, including paragliding, diving and windsurfing.

Puerto Naos can be reached by public transport from Los Llanos through the 204 bus line.

Fuencaliente de La Palma is the southernmost municipality on the island.It is where the towns of Los Canarios, Las Indias, Las Caletas and Los Quemados are located.

Much of Fuencaliente is protected lands. This municipality includes part of the Cumbre Vieja Natural Park, the Fuencaliente Volcanoes Natural Preserve, the Tamanca Protected Landscape and the Salinas de Fuencaliente Site.

The south of the island of La Palma is one of the areas with the highest volcanic activity in the Canarian archipelago. In fact, the penultimate volcanic eruption recorded in Spain was that of the Volcán Teneguía in the fall of 1971.

In addition to its natural parks and volcanic peaks, Fuencaliente is known for its virgin beaches, coastal landscapes, vineyards and wineries. Fuencaliente is one of the most important wine-growing regions in the Canary Islands.

The spectacular Echentive beach, located at the southern end of the island, emerged from the Teneguía eruption and offers crystal clear waters and spectacular natural pools.

Not far, you’ll find the historic Fuencaliente lighthouse and the Salinas de Fuencaliente.

Because the south of La Palma is covered ​​by natural landscapes and virgin areas, the best way to discover it is by car or an organised tour. The larger towns have public transport connections through bus line 203, which connects Los Canarios south to the lighthouse.