Palmitos Park from Arguineguín: tickets, bus 70 and the dolphin question

By Terje Moy, editor · Published 25 October 2026

Palmitos Park is a subtropical animal and plant park in a ravine near Maspalomas, open daily 10:00 to 18:00. Adult tickets are €39 at the gate and from €35 online, and Global's line 70 runs there from Arguineguín.

Palmitos Park is a subtropical park of animals and plants in a ravine inland from Maspalomas, open every day from 10:00 to 18:00 (last admission 17:00). In 2026 an adult ticket costs €39 at the gate and from €35 online, a child aged 5 to 10 €29 or from €25, and all shows are included. From Arguineguín you can get there with Global's line 70, but the timetable is thin, so many visitors drive or take a taxi.

It is also the park with the most argument around it, because of its dolphins. This page gives the practical details first and then the ethics note, so you can decide before you pay.

What Palmitos Park is

The park sits in the Palmitos ravine, inland from the Maspalomas coast. Its own site describes a botanical garden with a collection of palms from around the world, an orchid house, cactus beds and an aviary, with hundreds of animal and plant species. The animals include birds of prey, parrots and other exotic birds, a lake with spectacled caimans, an aquarium and a House of Butterflies. A dolphin pool and the daily dolphin display are part of the show programme.

It is a full day out, and the show times set its rhythm. For a longer account of the park from our Canary Islands sister site, see Palmitos Park at Canary Guide.

Opening hours and show times

According to the park's own site (checked October 2026) it is open every day, 10:00 to 18:00, with the last admission at 17:00. Show times posted for the current programme are:

The park reserves the right to cancel shows or change times for weather or safety reasons, so confirm on the day. Arriving by 10:30 lets you fit in most of the programme without rushing.

Ticket prices for 2026

These are from the park's prices page, checked in October 2026. The online ticket has a variable price depending on the date; the page shows the minimum. Tickets bought online are valid for 90 days from the day of purchase, and you must show the ticket on a phone or on paper at the gate; otherwise the difference to the gate price is charged.

Age is checked by ID or passport, and failing that by height at the ticket office. Canary Islands residents pay less (€25 adult, €19 child, €10 mini for a one-day ticket). Photos and extra activities booked inside the park are not included. The park offers free parking, according to its show-times page. For the water park that shares the combined ticket, see water parks near Arguineguín.

From Arguineguín by bus: line 70

The bus that links the coast with the park is Global's line 70, Palmitos Park – Puerto de Mogán. It stops in Arguineguín (the stops Global lists are Casa Memo, Arguineguín and Sunwing), and the park's own "how to get here" page names it as the bus from Puerto de Mogán, Puerto Rico, Amadores and Faro Maspalomas. From Bahía Feliz and Playa del Inglés the park lists line 45 instead.

The catch is frequency. Global's sheet for line 70 shows, for both directions, only a handful of daily departures:

• Puerto de Mogán towards Palmitos Park: 09:30, 09:50, 10:00 and 10:30 (one of them starts at Playa de Amadores).
• Palmitos Park towards Puerto de Mogán: 15:35, 16:35 and 17:15.

Those are start-of-line times. Arguineguín is part-way along the route, which goes the long way round through Meloneras and the Faro de Maspalomas before climbing to the park, and Global publishes no journey time. The sheet is stamped 2023–24, and both the park and Aqualand name line 70 as the bus in 2026, but confirm the current times on the Global line page before you plan a day around it. The last Palmitos departure at 17:15 means you leave the park before it closes at 18:00.

Global marks the sheet as daily, but holiday patterns can differ, so confirm for the day you travel. Full information on payment and cards is in buses in and from Arguineguín.

By car or taxi

With a car the trip is straightforward: take the coast road and GC-1 towards Maspalomas, then follow the signs for Palmitos Park. The park gives free parking. A taxi from Arguineguín is a plausible alternative for a family of four if you want a fixed start time and a different end time from the bus's. There is no published fixed fare, so ask for an estimate before you set off; see taxis in Arguineguín. For other days out in this part of the island, see the Maspalomas dunes and the best day trips from Arguineguín.

The dolphin question

Palmitos Park keeps dolphins, holds a dolphin display twice a day and runs a paid "Dolphin Encounter" programme: groups of up to 16, more than 30 minutes with the dolphins and a trainer, booked inside the park on the day, with photos sold separately. The park presents it as education. It is also the most contested part of the visit, and the view you take is a personal one.

Many travellers object to keeping cetaceans in captivity for entertainment, and animal-welfare organisations campaign against it. Others see a well-run park as a chance for children to meet the animals and learn about them. Both views are held in good faith; the point is to know what the dolphin ticket is for before you pay.

If you would rather see dolphins in the wild, the waters off Mogán are documented home to bottlenose, Atlantic spotted, common and Risso's dolphins, and boats run from the nearby harbours. Spanish rules for whale and dolphin boats forbid swimming with the animals, set a 60 m exclusion zone and limit the number of boats around a group; see dolphin and whale watching from Arguineguín and excursions and island tours. No boat can promise a sighting.

The rest of the park, the gardens, birds, butterflies and aquarium, does not carry the same objection, and you can plan a visit around those and skip the dolphin pool if you prefer.

Practical tips for the day

• Go on a weekday in the morning; arrive soon after 10:00.
• Take water, a hat and good walking shoes. The ravine is a walking park. See sun, heat and UV on Gran Canaria.
• Do not feed the animals; the park rules forbid it.
• Buy the ticket online, with a phone copy ready.
• If you have small children, see Arguineguín with kids for ideas that do not need a full day.