A day in Las Palmas from Arguineguín: the bus, Vegueta and Las Canteras

By Terje Moy, editor · Published 25 October 2026

Global's direct line 91 runs from Arguineguín to Las Palmas, to San Telmo for Vegueta and to Santa Catalina for Las Canteras beach. By car it is 63 km, about 49 minutes without traffic.

Las Palmas is the easiest big-city day out from Arguineguín: Global's direct line 91 runs from the coast road to Las Palmas, with stops at Estación San Telmo (the old town of Vegueta is a short walk away) and the terminus at Estación Santa Catalina by the port, close to the Las Canteras beach. By car it is 63 km, about 49 minutes without traffic. Global publishes no journey time from Arguineguín; a working figure is roughly an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half each way, so be at your stop early in the morning.

The city is a different Gran Canaria from the south coast: cooler, breezier, and a working capital rather than a resort. A good day has two halves, old town in the morning, beach and promenade in the afternoon. This page gives you the plan and the logistics. For other days out by bus, see day trips by bus.

The bus: line 91 from Arguineguín

Line 91 is "Las Palmas de G.C. Santa Catalina – Puerto de Mogán (Directo)". Global's pages show that all variants stop in Arguineguín, at the stops named Casa Memo, Sunwing and Patalavaca. Southbound it starts at Estación Santa Catalina (platform 21) and calls at Estación San Telmo (platform 12) on most variants; northbound it starts at Puerto de Mogán (platform 1).

On a school-term weekday Global lists 24 departures from Puerto de Mogán to Las Palmas, the first at 05:55 and the last at 22:15, and 26 southbound, the first at 05:55 and the last at 21:00. Those are times at the line's start; Arguineguín is part-way along, so work from a time at your stop. Saturdays, holidays and non-school periods have separate timetables, and a winter-timetable notice dated 22 October 2026 is on Global's site, so check before you go.

Fares: Global's airport page gives €2.95 from the airport to Santa Catalina and €2.30 to San Telmo, and AENA gives €4.95 from the airport to Arguineguín, but there is no published fare for Arguineguín to Las Palmas. Enter your stops in Global's fare search, or ask the driver. You pay by cash, bank card or contactless phone. The full list of lines, cards and payment is on buses in and from Arguineguín.

How long will it take? Global's airport page gives about 30 minutes from the airport to Santa Catalina and 60 minutes from the airport to Puerto de Mogán, so Arguineguín sits somewhere in the middle of a long run. The bus is slower than the car, and in exchange there is no motorway driving and no city parking.

Morning: Vegueta, the old town

Vegueta is where the city began in 1478, and it is a compact quarter of colonial streets, balconied houses and plazas, a few minutes on foot from the San Telmo bus station. The main sights cluster around Plaza de Santa Ana.

• The cathedral (Catedral de Canarias, also called Santa Ana), a Gothic-to-neoclassical building you can visit, with the Patio de los Naranjos and the diocesan museum of sacred art. Opening hours and prices are on its official site, catedraldecanarias.es.
• Casa de Colón, the Cabildo's museum on Columbus and the Canaries' role in the Atlantic crossings. Hours and ticket prices are on casadecolon.com.
• El Museo Canario, the archaeology museum with the island's pre-Hispanic collection.

Older guides quote cathedral ticket prices that are clearly out of date, so go by the official page. Our sister site has a longer walk around the quarter in its piece on Vegueta, the old town of Las Palmas. Lunch in or near Vegueta is a good time to try something other than the south coast's menus; for dishes and sauces to look for, see Canarian food to try.

Afternoon: Las Canteras

Las Canteras is the city beach, a long curve of sand about 3 km end to end, with a promenade behind it and a natural reef that shelters much of the water. The northern end, by the port, is close to the Santa Catalina station, so this half of the day ends where your bus home begins. It is a proper urban seafront with cafés and shops, not a resort enclave.

The sea can be rougher here than in the south-west, and the city faces the trade winds. Follow the flags, swim in the sheltered stretch and read beach safety on the south coast for the general flag system. Our sister site covers the beach in more detail at Las Canteras.

Getting between Vegueta and Las Canteras

San Telmo and Santa Catalina are on opposite sides of the city, a few kilometres apart. The easy answer is the city's own buses (Guaguas Municipales, one of the operators on the island's TransGC card) or a short taxi, and there are also long walks along the seafront for those who like them. Plan on half an hour for the transfer including waiting, and decide at breakfast whether you want both halves of the day. If you only have time for one half, the old town is the reason to come to the city; the south coast already has the beaches.

A sample day

Practical tips

• Weather. Las Palmas sits on the north-eastern, trade-wind side of the island, which is breezier and cloudier than the south-west. Bring a light layer even in summer. The nearest official climate station (Gran Canaria airport, 1981–2010) shows January as the coolest month; see the weather month by month.
• Carnival. The Las Palmas Carnival 2027 runs from 22 January to 28 February, and the city is far busier and louder then; see carnival in the south for the Arguineguín version.
• Pickpockets. In any busy city centre, the main risk is petty theft. Keep your phone and wallet in front pockets or a zipped bag, especially on the bus.
• Accessibility. The old town has cobbled streets and uneven pavements. See accessible Arguineguín for the general picture of transport.
• Rain. Museums make a decent grey-day plan; compare what to do on a rainy or windy day.

Other days out from the south-west coast, with driving times, are collected in the best day trips from Arguineguín.