The ferries from Los Christianos serve both La Palma and La Gomera. The journey time and times of the sailings to La Palma means that it is not really feasible for a day trip but La Gomera can make a really good day out on an island that is completely different to Tenerife. The larger car ferries (Olsen Line and Armas) only serve the main town of San Sebastian but the smaller foot passenger ferry (Garajonay Express) carries on round the south coast, first to Playa de Santiago and then on to Valle Gran Rey.

There are excursion coach trips run by both TOs and local operators in Tenerife - you see the coaches rolling up for the morning ferries which all leave around 8.30-9.00am but you can do it under your own steam too. A good intinerary would be to get the 8.40am Garajonay Express round to Valle Gran Rey - it gives you a chance to look at the spectacular sea cliffs etc but choose a calm day unless you are a good sailor! It's a relatively small boat and not for those prone to sea sickness on a a rough day. It arrives at Valle Gran Rey at around 10.30am which gives you plenty of time to start off with a beer at the 'Fishermans' bar right on the quayside, have a look around what is a relatively quiet little place but with some interesting little nooks and crannies with shops and galleries, have a swim at the sheltered beach by the harbour and a leisurely lunch at one of the many little bars and cafes with wonderful views out to sea - my favorite is Los Girasoles which directly overlooks the beach.

You're then just a short walk from the bus stop to get the 2.00pm bus to take you back over the centre of the island to San Sebastian. The scenary is amazing and varied - altitude-wise this is the equivalent of getting a bus over the top of the Ben Nevis Plateau and down the other side. The centre of the island is a Unesco world heritage site because of the temperate rainforest which covers it. You would arrive back in San Sebastian in time to take your choice of the fast Olsen car ferry back to Tenerife (35mins) or the slower Armas ferry - it leaves at 4.30pm on Fri-Sun and 5.00pm on Mon-Thurs. My choice would always be the Armas Ferry - it will take you twice as long but you can sit out on the upper deck with a cool drink and do a bit of dolphin watching from the front - they love to ride the bow waves - or from the back and watch sit facing into the late afternoon sun whilst La Gomera disappears in your wake.

You could equally do the same itnerary in reverse - the 8.45am Armas ferry and the 9.00am Olsen ferry will both get you into San Sebastian in time to have a look around there before getting the 11.00am bus over to Valle Gran Rey in time for a leisurely lunch with plenty of time to look around and have swim etc before getting the 5.00pm ferry from the harbour at Vueltas in Valle Gran Rey back to Los Christianos arriving there just before 7.00pm. This would make for a longer day but would probably be my preference - a full morning of seeing what the island has to offer followed by a leisurely afternoon on the beach, a cold beer at the 'Fisherman's before getting the ferry and a doze all the way back to Los Christianos!

You'll find full details of timetables and fares at

http://www.gomera.info/

Doing it this way would cost around 50 Euros max for an adult and I'm not sure how that compares with the TO excursions. It's probably not a good day out for those with young children or teenagers looking for lots of things to do - they'd possibly get bored. But for those wanting a leisurely day out seeing some wonderful scenery and to experience a change of pace from the larger islands in the Canaries it can't be bettered in my view but it is just too quiet for some. My own family loves it, including my brother's two teenage daughters, and we have settled into the routine of going for a week in October each year. In fact I've just sorted out all the arrangements for this October. So if I can help with any other info do ask.

SM