When I went across it was about hour and half but that was with the slower of the ferries the catamaran takes less time but not sure by how much.
It depends on which of the three ferries you use and where you want to go to on the island.
The fast Olsen car ferry (the big yellow catamaran) takes 35 mins to get to San Sebastian from LC and is the most expensive to use.
The slower Armas car ferry (looks like the older Channel ferries) takes up to 90mins to San Sebastian and is the middle priced one.
The Garajonay Express (foot passengers only on a smallish catamaran) takes 45 mins to San Sebastian from LC, a further 20 mins to Playa de Santiago and a further 20 mins to carry on to Valle Gran Rey (ie approx 1hr 40/5mins in total. It's the quickest way to get to the sout-east of the isalnd and avoids the long drive from San Sebastian across the island. This is the way we always go now and we hire a car locally in Valle Gran Rey once we arrive rather than having to face a minimum of an hours drive on narrow windy roads. And it can take longer. I kid you not - the first time we went we crawled across the island from San Sebastian to Valle Gran Rey behind a truck which had a horse, a mule and an Alsation on the back and which never went more than 20 miles/hour! Not that we'd have been able to go much faster in the little underpowered SEAT Marbella which wheezed up the hills. Travelling anywhere other than within the barranco you're staying in entails driving over the top of the equivalent of Ben Nevis!
The Garajonay Express is also usually the cheapest option and is locally owned meaning that by supporting you are also supporting a local business. However, because it's smaller than the big car ferries it is liable to be cancelled in gale force winds like we're currently experiencing in Scotland this week! Depending on which ferry company you use, expect to pay from around 30 euros on the Armas (just over) and Garajonay Express just under) and up to 50Euros on the Olsen express service) for the return trip from LC to SS and back. You'll find details of fares, timetables and links to all the websites for all three companies at:
http://www.gomera.info/faehre.htm
If you'll be staying on Tenerife and just fancy a day trip over to La Gomera I'd recommend the Armas ferry. Yes, it's the slowest option but it's the only one you can sit outside on and admire the view etc with a nice cold drink from the licenced bar in your hand! On the other two faster ferries you're not able to sit outside, which is also something to think about if you're prone to seasickness. It also has the added bonus of probably providing you with opportunity of being able to see dolphins and possibly pilot whales on the trip over too. If you want to just get there as quickly as possible then obviously the Olsen ferry is your best option but the best value for money option would be the Garajonay Express - it only takes 10 mins longer than the Olsen car ferry but could save you up to between 15 and 20 Euros per head per adult return compared to the Olsen ferry.
It's also worth bearing in mind that for all three of them you can only buy single tickets anyway - there's no discount for buying a return so you could always use the Armas ferry to go and one of the quicker ones for the return trip if you wanted. You can buy tickets in advance on the Net but all three have ticket offices in the harbour terminal buildings and you can just a buy a ticket on the day. You'll need your passport or similar photo ID for boarding security purposes. In spring and autumn arriving at the port 30 mins before departure time would be more than enough time to just buy a walk-on ticket but you'd need to allow a little longer if planning to take a car over. I don't know whether you'd need to allow for queues in the summer high season or not as I never go then.
La Gomera is my regular winter bolthole - I was last there in late October and will probably be going back shortly for a week if this weather keeps up! So if I can help with any info on the island itself do ask but there is alread an extensive thread on the forum woth loads of info on it.
SM
The fast Olsen car ferry (the big yellow catamaran) takes 35 mins to get to San Sebastian from LC and is the most expensive to use.
The slower Armas car ferry (looks like the older Channel ferries) takes up to 90mins to San Sebastian and is the middle priced one.
The Garajonay Express (foot passengers only on a smallish catamaran) takes 45 mins to San Sebastian from LC, a further 20 mins to Playa de Santiago and a further 20 mins to carry on to Valle Gran Rey (ie approx 1hr 40/5mins in total. It's the quickest way to get to the sout-east of the isalnd and avoids the long drive from San Sebastian across the island. This is the way we always go now and we hire a car locally in Valle Gran Rey once we arrive rather than having to face a minimum of an hours drive on narrow windy roads. And it can take longer. I kid you not - the first time we went we crawled across the island from San Sebastian to Valle Gran Rey behind a truck which had a horse, a mule and an Alsation on the back and which never went more than 20 miles/hour! Not that we'd have been able to go much faster in the little underpowered SEAT Marbella which wheezed up the hills. Travelling anywhere other than within the barranco you're staying in entails driving over the top of the equivalent of Ben Nevis!
The Garajonay Express is also usually the cheapest option and is locally owned meaning that by supporting you are also supporting a local business. However, because it's smaller than the big car ferries it is liable to be cancelled in gale force winds like we're currently experiencing in Scotland this week! Depending on which ferry company you use, expect to pay from around 30 euros on the Armas (just over) and Garajonay Express just under) and up to 50Euros on the Olsen express service) for the return trip from LC to SS and back. You'll find details of fares, timetables and links to all the websites for all three companies at:
http://www.gomera.info/faehre.htm
If you'll be staying on Tenerife and just fancy a day trip over to La Gomera I'd recommend the Armas ferry. Yes, it's the slowest option but it's the only one you can sit outside on and admire the view etc with a nice cold drink from the licenced bar in your hand! On the other two faster ferries you're not able to sit outside, which is also something to think about if you're prone to seasickness. It also has the added bonus of probably providing you with opportunity of being able to see dolphins and possibly pilot whales on the trip over too. If you want to just get there as quickly as possible then obviously the Olsen ferry is your best option but the best value for money option would be the Garajonay Express - it only takes 10 mins longer than the Olsen car ferry but could save you up to between 15 and 20 Euros per head per adult return compared to the Olsen ferry.
It's also worth bearing in mind that for all three of them you can only buy single tickets anyway - there's no discount for buying a return so you could always use the Armas ferry to go and one of the quicker ones for the return trip if you wanted. You can buy tickets in advance on the Net but all three have ticket offices in the harbour terminal buildings and you can just a buy a ticket on the day. You'll need your passport or similar photo ID for boarding security purposes. In spring and autumn arriving at the port 30 mins before departure time would be more than enough time to just buy a walk-on ticket but you'd need to allow a little longer if planning to take a car over. I don't know whether you'd need to allow for queues in the summer high season or not as I never go then.
La Gomera is my regular winter bolthole - I was last there in late October and will probably be going back shortly for a week if this weather keeps up! So if I can help with any info on the island itself do ask but there is alread an extensive thread on the forum woth loads of info on it.
SM
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