Las Palmas de Gran Canaria - General Info

Where is Las Palmas?

Puerto de la Luz, to give its official name, is a busy commercial port located on the NE corner of the island of Gran Canaria. It's the traditional re-supply port for transatlantic vessels and is one of Spain's main ports.

Marina Las Palmas (Puerto Deportivo), the only berthing facility for yachts in the port, lies at the southern end of the main harbor. It is administered by the Port Authority. Bookings are not possible. Notification of your arrival is recommended. E-mail marina@palmasport.es.

The yacht marina has evolved over the years from a dirty public inner-city marina to a modern berthing facility with much-improved services, on-site restaurants and shops.

This is the home of the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) which departs from Las Palmas for St. Lucia in the Caribbean every November.

Entrance Notes and Cautions for Las Palmas:

For yachts approaching from the north or northeast, the first land to come into view is La Isleta, the peninsula north of the city,  The port of La Luz y Las Palmas lies about two miles south and is protected by the Reina Sofia breakwater (this is the outer breakwater) which is being extended.  A green navigation buoy has been stationed 500m south of the breakwater to alert mariners. It is obligatory to pass to the south of this buoy on entering the port.

Once inside the port, the entrance into the marina can be hard to detect and the situation is made more confusing by the entrance being marked by two red flashing lights. One red flashing light located at the eastern end of the northern marina breakwater must be left to starboard, the other at the northern end of the main (southern) marina breakwater must be left to port. Vessels should favor the starboard side of the narrow entrance as the port side is fouled and shallow.

There are often large commercial vessels lying at anchor or manoeuvring to the south and east of the port which help to mark the position of the port, particularly when arriving from the south.  Be aware of a small breakwater close to the shore, south of the marina entrance which is well market and lit.

VHF 11 is the marina working channel.

All arriving yachts should go the marina reception berth (long pontoon on the port-hand side as you enter, below the port/marina office) where a port official will meet you and assign a berth. At night tie up alongside the reception pontoon or anchor just north of the marina entrance.

Berthing during October and November is severely restricted due to the ARC. See Docking section for more details.

It should be noted that this is a transient marina and as such, yachts cannot park and liveaboard here for an extended period of time. Using a berth as a permanent residence without any connection to nautical use is prohibited under national law.

If planning on anchoring just south of Las Palmas in Salinetas Bay, be aware this is where the WACS communications cable for the island comes ashore and great care should be taken to avoid anchoring over the cable. See this news item for more details.

Cruiser Highlights for Las Palmas:

Excellent provisioning options with boat delivery; all types of tank filling; repair services and boatyard; marina chandlery; interesting island to explore; ferry link to Cadiz on mainland Spain; cheap flights from all over Europe; port 30 mins from airport.

Position:

28°09'N, 15° 25'W.

Last updated:  November 2024