Search for "Tenerife airport transfers" and these websites come up first. They're convenient: you pay in advance and a driver is waiting for you. But neither hoppa nor HolidayTaxis does any driving: they're marketplaces reselling local taxi and coach firms, so the Trustpilot score you see measures the booking and the customer service, not the car you end up in. And neither GetYourGuide nor Tiqets currently sells a transfer from Tenerife's airports.
Who they are
hoppa started in 2004 as "Resorthoppa" and now presents itself as a global mobility platform, with more than 70,000 local suppliers in more than 182 countries. It doesn't run vehicles in Tenerife: the supplier is named on your voucher. Its phone line is open 24 hours in English, Spanish and Chinese, it accepts complaints for 30 days and its website quotes a 4.0 on Trustpilot from more than 80,000 reviews.
HolidayTaxis is a British middleman with the same model: licensed local suppliers, "more than 50,000 positive reviews" according to the company and a UK phone line from 08:00 to 20:00. It sells private transfers, "Shuttle" and "Speedy Shuttle".
There are more brands of the same kind, such as Suntransfers, Elife Transfer or Holiday Extras, and Civitatis advertises transfers from €7.50.
Shared or private: how they work
| Shared shuttle | Private transfer | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | per person | per vehicle |
| Currency | pounds, approximate | pounds, approximate |
| Hoppa, south airport to Costa Adeje, Las Américas or Los Cristianos | from £8 | from £42 (car) or £73 (people carrier) |
| Hoppa, to Los Gigantes | from £12 | from £58 |
| Hoppa, to Santa Cruz | from £14 | from £62 |
| Hoppa, to Puerto de la Cruz | from £18 | from £78 |
| Waiting | up to 45 minutes before departure (Hoppa) | the driver waits 60 min after landing |
| Stops | several hotels, never villas; up to 8 (Shuttle) or 4 (Speedy Shuttle) with HolidayTaxis | none |
Hoppa gives approximate prices in pounds; HolidayTaxis only on a quote. Hoppa tracks your flight, adds 30 minutes' waiting time on international flights, gives you the first child seat free and lets you request an adapted vehicle in the comments; any night surcharge (22:00–08:00) shows up in the quote. HolidayTaxis includes tolls and tips and waits with a sign bearing your name.
Cancellation and what happens if you're late
Both let you cancel free of charge up to 24 hours beforehand, and HolidayTaxis also lets you make changes. With Hoppa that applies to vehicles with up to 7 seats; for 8 to 14 seats it's 48 hours and, from 16 seats up, 14 days. The 60-minute wait after landing covers a slow baggage carousel at the south airport; with Hoppa, if you haven't turned up after that time, you're charged for the whole transfer.
The benchmark: taxi and bus
Before you pay for a transfer, look at what it costs without a middleman. Airport taxis are white with a meter, and most take four people at most, children included; only take one from the signposted rank and ask for a receipt. Under the fares order of March 2023, an intercity journey costs €1.35 per kilometre by day and €1.55 at night, on Sundays and on public holidays, with a €2.10 airport supplement and no luggage charge (text of the order). From the south airport to Los Cristianos or Costa Adeje it comes to about €30 by day. The TITSA number 40 bus does the same trip for €3.20–3.70 every 30 minutes, and at night there's the 711.
| Destination | Distance | Drive time | Taxi | Bus (TITSA) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tenerife Sur (TFS) → Los Cristianos | 19 km | 19 min | €30–€33 | 40 · €3.20 |
| Tenerife Sur (TFS) → Playa de las Américas | 19 km | 17 min | €30–€33 | 40 · €3.70 |
| Tenerife Sur (TFS) → Costa Adeje | 19 km | 16 min | €30–€33 | 40 · 343 · 711 · €3.70 |
| Tenerife Sur (TFS) → La Caleta | 23 km | 23 min | €35–€40 | — |
| Tenerife Sur (TFS) → El Médano | 8 km | 10 min | €15–€16 | — |
| Tenerife Sur (TFS) → Golf del Sur | 8 km | 12 min | — | 415 · €2.45 |
| Tenerife Sur (TFS) → Los Gigantes | 44 km | 38 min | €63–€72 | — |
| Tenerife Sur (TFS) → Santa Cruz de Tenerife | 62 km | 45 min | €88–€100 | 10 · 711 · €9.35 |
| Tenerife Sur (TFS) → Puerto de la Cruz | 95 km | 67 min | €132–€151 | 343 · €13.55 |
| Tenerife Sur (TFS) → Teide cable car | 51 km | 53 min | €73–€83 | — |
| Tenerife Norte (TFN) → La Laguna | 4 km | 6 min | €9–€10 | 20 · €2.65 |
| Tenerife Norte (TFN) → Santa Cruz de Tenerife | 12 km | 14 min | €20–€23 | 20 · €2.65 |
| Tenerife Norte (TFN) → Puerto de la Cruz | 31 km | 27 min | €46–€52 | 30 · 343 · €4.75 |
| Tenerife Norte (TFN) → Costa Adeje | 83 km | 59 min | €116–€133 | 343 · €12.40 |
| Tenerife Norte (TFN) → Los Cristianos | 83 km | 62 min | €116–€133 | — |
| Tenerife Norte (TFN) → Los Gigantes | 82 km | 79 min | €115–€131 | — |
| Tenerife Norte (TFN) → El Médano | 67 km | 49 min | €94–€108 | — |
| Tenerife Norte (TFN) → Teide cable car | 54 km | 57 min | — | — |
Indicative fares checked against official sources; the meter has the last word.
For one or two people heading south, the shuttle costs more than the bus and can cost you an hour in waiting and stops. Four shared seats at £8 come close to a taxi at around €30 that leaves straight away. A pre-booked private transfer wins in four cases: families of five or more (a taxi only takes four), child seats (taxis don't always have them), arrivals at night or on a Sunday, when the meter goes up by 15%, and long journeys such as south airport to Puerto de la Cruz.
What GetYourGuide and Tiqets do sell
On GetYourGuide, the Tenerife transfers category has two products and neither starts at the airport: a return coach from the south to Puerto de la Cruz with free time, and a private transfer, priced per group, from the Santa Cruz cruise terminal to hotels. Tiqets has no airport transfer in Tenerife at all; what it sells "with transfer" are day trips with hotel pick-up. Those do save you making your own way there for a day:
GetYourGuide4.5 hours
Puerto de la Cruz: Whale-Watching Cruise with Transfer
no reviews yet
from €68Check availability
GetYourGuide9 hours
Tenerife: Teide National Park, Masca, Icod & Garachico Tour
4.6 (3,035 reviews)
from €58Check availability
GetYourGuide8 hours
Tenerife: Teide National Park Full-Day Tour with Pick-up
4.5 (1,922 reviews)
from €59Check availability
See all options on GetYourGuide →
Score
- Price
- 3/5The shared shuttle is cheap compared with a taxi if you're alone; the bus always costs less.
- Waiting and flight tracking
- 4/560 minutes free after landing and your flight monitored.
- Cancellation
- 4/5Free up to 24 h on standard vehicles.
- Supplier transparency
- 2/5You don't know which local company is driving you until you see the voucher.
- Information
- 2/5Approximate prices in pounds; wrong journey times on HolidayTaxis.
The good
- A fixed price before you fly and a driver waiting.
- Child seats and large vehicles can be booked.
- Free cancellation up to 24 h before.
- Useful for large families, villas and late-night arrivals.
The not so good
- They're middlemen: quality depends on a supplier you don't choose.
- The shared shuttle can add an hour of waiting and stops.
- Prices in pounds, with no euro prices published.
- For one or two people heading south, the bus or a taxi works out the same or better.
Who should book and who shouldn't
Book a private transfer if there are five or more of you, you're travelling with children who need a seat, you land in the small hours or you're going to a villa, or to the north from the south airport. Only use the shuttle if you're travelling alone and don't mind waiting. If there are two of you with little luggage and you're heading for Los Cristianos, Las Américas or Costa Adeje, take the number 40 bus or a taxi from the rank. Every option, compared, in airport transfers.
Alternatives
For getting around the island once you've settled in, see TITSA and day trips with pick-up. If you're travelling with young children or with reduced mobility, check Tenerife with kids and accessible Tenerife before choosing a vehicle. And if you're torn between platforms, compare prices sums up how each one handles cancellations.
Do Hoppa and HolidayTaxis have their own cars in Tenerife?
No. They're middlemen: they sell the journey and a local taxi or coach company does it, and that company's name appears on the voucher.
How much is a Hoppa transfer from Tenerife South airport?
Hoppa publishes approximate prices in pounds: to Costa Adeje, Las Américas or Los Cristianos, from about £8 per person on a shared shuttle and from about £42 per car for a private transfer. HolidayTaxis only gives a price on a quote.
Can I cancel a pre-booked transfer?
Free of charge up to 24 hours beforehand with both. With Hoppa that applies to vehicles with up to 7 seats; for 8 to 14 seats it's 48 hours and, from 16 seats up, 14 days.
Which is better, a pre-booked transfer or a taxi?
For three or four people heading south, a taxi from the rank costs about €30 by day and usually works out the same or better. A private transfer pays off for families of five or more, with child seats or for late-night arrivals.
Do GetYourGuide or Tiqets sell Tenerife airport transfers?
No. Neither currently has an airport transfer in Tenerife; what they sell with transport are day trips with hotel pick-up.
