We visited La Gomera during our 8 islands Road Trip in July 2021.
Facts about La Gomera
The island of La Gomera is known for their Silbo whistling language and was the last port of call for Christopher Columbus before sailing into the unknown. It’s the third smallest of the eight islands at 370km².
The highest point of La Gomera is Garajonay at 1487m, the island is fairly circular with an approximate diameter of 22km. There are around 22,100 residents and the capital is San Sebastián.
Airport code: GMZ with no direct flights from the UK. Inter island connections are available via Tenerife North (TFN).
Fred Olsen have a direct ferry connection from Los Cristianos in Tenerife. Naviera Armas have ferry connections from Las Palmas in Gran Canaria, Los Cristianos in Tenerife and Santa Cruz in La Palma.
Our Plan
Our plan for Sunday 25th July:
- Ferry La Palma to La Gomera via Los Cristianos 10:00-12:30 then 15:30-16:20
- Check in to the Jardín Tecina hotel for 2 nights
Our plan for Monday 26th July:
- Roque de Agando viewpoint
- El Cedro forest & church
- Visit Mirador de Abrante (a glass viewing deck between Hermigua & Vallehermoso)
- Visit Mirador César Manrique
- Lunch in Valle Gran Rey at a fresh fish restaurant
Our plan for Tuesday 27th July:
- Visit Playa Santiago
- Visit the capital of San Sebastián
- Ferry La Gomera-Los Cristianos 14:00-14:50
Our Visit
On day 10 of our 8 islands road trip we arrived in La Gomera to stay at the Jardín Tecina hotel in Playa Santiago for 2 nights. We stayed in a superior double room with a fabulous sea view on half board basis.
Mirador del Morro de Agando
Day 11 was our only full day to explore La Gomera we drove 166km with a driving time of 5 hours 31 minutes (an average speed of 30km). You can’t get anywhere quickly on this island! Our first stop was the Mirador del Morro de Agando. This is a fabulous view point, with forested ravines and the huge stone of Roque Agando. There’s a steel sculpture memorial designed by José Abad in this location, dedicated to the 20 fire fighters who were killed on the 11th September 1984. A popular place for sunset photos. The road sign warning is that the broken line is to show the road lane, rather than it’s a safe place to overtake.
El Cedro
The fairytale forest of El Cedro was our second stop. The plan was to complete a small walk (1.7km) to visit the Ermita de Nuestra Señora de Lourdes, however we couldn’t find anywhere to park. We found ourselves driving down a stunning paved track through the cedar forest, which was beautiful but stressful when we realised it had 2 way traffic and very few passing places!
Mirador de Abrante
Unfortunately the glass view point of the Mirador de Abrante in Agulo was shrouded by cloud on our visit. We thought we may break out above the clouds on our drive up there. Constructed in 2014, the viewing platform is situated at 620m above sea level and offers stunning views with Tenerife in the background. Owned by Fred Olsen there is also a restaurant based at this attraction.
El Masapé de Aniceta
We like tasting tipical products during our travels, and on our mission was to purchase a bottle of La Mistela & Gomerón, which are liqueurs made in La Gomera. It was a race against time to reach El Masapé de Aniceta in Alojera before they closed at 2pm, but worth it! We purchased a bottle of each, plus some palm honey and galletas gomeras (biscuits) for €20.
Chorros de Epina
The Chorros de Epina water pipes are situated in a lovely forested picnic area of Vallehermoso. Legend says that in the old days its waters were like a mirror to look at. If the reflection was clear, luck and fortune in love were guaranteed for you, but if the reflection was cloudy, the lack of love and misery would follow you forever. Fortunately it was clear on our visit! The tradition is that men should drink from left to right in an odd-numbered pipe, while women should drink from even numbers to have the happiness of assured love.
Mirador César Manrique
We were looking forward to seeing the Mirador César Manrique, however it was closed for refurbishment during our visit. We had a look around from the outside and could still appreciate the view down the Valle Gran Rey.
Valle Gran Rey
After winding our way down the massive valley we were ready for a late lunch in the harbour area. The Cofradía de Pescadores Nuestra Señora del Carmen was packed, fortunately a table came free after a short wait. This is where we discovered Camarones – a dish of pure heaven! Puntillas is one of our favourite tapas dishes, they are called chipirones in La Gomera.
Playa Santiago
On day 12 we visited Playa Santiago, which is the resort and harbour close to hotel Jardín Tecina. The black sand / pebble beach had tikki umbrellas for shade. it was fiesta time and the Plaza de Playa Santiago was decorated with streamers. Locals sat under the shade of two huge ficus trees to escape the heat.
San Sebastían
We just had time for a brief walk around La Gomera’s capital of San Sebastián, before taking the ferry back to Tenerife.
Christopher Columbus set sail for India from La Gomera on the 6th of September 1492, reaching dry land on the 14th of October 1492. He had discovered a new continent: America. Thus, La Gomera was named in history as the Columbian Island and today we can retrace Columbus’ footprints on the island through several monuments.
What We Missed
We didn’t miss anything off our to do list, however as it didn’t all go to plan, we couldn’t fully appreciate the two viewpoints, one due to weather and the other for closure. Plus we didn’t get to walk to the church in the forest.
