Naviera Armas, Canary Islands

Ferries in the Canary Islands are quite expensive, as I discovered when searching for options online: €22 per person for a 20-minute journey between Lanzarote and Fuerteventura! That was almost the price of our two-hour flight from the south of Spain. Residents of the Canaries get a 50% discount, but it’s still not cheap.

A bit more searching unearthed Naviera Armas, who had a special running: €14 per person, much more reasonable. You could buy your ticket online and print your boarding pass, or just take your confirmation number to the ticket office at the port and they’d print a boarding card for you.

We found it a little difficult to find the ticket office as it was tucked behind other buildings, but the lone attendant was friendly and helpful. I can imagine that the ferries are pretty full in summer, but we were travelling in late winter — we could easily have just bought tickets on the day. Still, it was nice to have it all organised beforehand.

We’d been told to board 20 minutes before departure time, so we handed over our (signed) boarding passes to another member of staff and climbed the gangway. Choosing a place to sit was a little difficult, as there were so many options — indoor sofas, a sun lounge (all the loungers already taken) and various outdoor spaces. We eventually chose a deck on the starboard side, which was quieter than the other areas as it was further from the engine and exhaust. There, we appreciated the seat design: it seemed like all the seats are arranged in half-circles, making it easy to talk with members of your group while maximising seating space. Loudspeakers above the doors played music and projected announcements in Spanish, English and German.

The gangplank was taken up five minutes before departure (good thing we’d boarded early!) and we were off. The journey was swift and smooth, and I saw flying fish for the first time in my life. It took about 25 minutes to make the crossing, not really enough time to bother getting something to drink from the onboard bar. We were pleased to see that prices were reasonable though: €2.50 for a coffee and a croissant, not much more than the €2 you’d pay on land.

As we approached Fuerteventura, drivers were directed to their cars to drive their vehicles off the ferry, and we headed to the main doors, along with the other foot passengers. The trip had been smooth and easy, and we walked down the gangway and into another adventure.

We were given complimentary passage on board in return for writing this review. All opinions are our own.