Gran Canaria Airport to Meloneras
Roughly 32 km from LPA; take line 66 to Faro de Maspalomas (€4.05) and walk the promenade, or a taxi at €42–55.
The upmarket stretch west of the lighthouse — a seafront promenade of five-star hotels, a golf course behind, the Expomeloneras conference hall and a noticeably calmer evening than Playa del Inglés.
Every way to get there
Our verdict: for Meloneras, a private transfer is the easiest door-to-door option (from €45). Travelling light on a budget? The bus is cheapest (from €4.05) but slower, with a change in the city.
What it costs for your group
The bus is charged per person, while a taxi or private transfer is one price for the whole car — so the more of you there are, the better door-to-door value looks.
| Group | Bus (per person) | Private transfer | Best value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solo · 1 traveller | €4.1 | €45 | Bus |
| Couple · 2 travellers | €8.1 | €45 | Bus |
| Family of 4 · 4 travellers | €16 | €45 | Bus |
Which option should you choose?
| If your priority is… | Our pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest price | Bus | From €4.05, though slower with a change in the city. |
| Speed & comfort | Private transfer | Door-to-door, fixed price, a driver waiting for you. |
| A group of 3–4 | Transfer or taxi | One flat fare splits cheaper than several bus tickets. |
| A late-night arrival | Transfer or taxi | Both run 24/7 when buses and the tram have stopped. |
By transport mode
Bus / shuttle
Fine if your hotel is at the lighthouse end — it's a flat seafront walk. The far western hotels are a good twenty minutes further, which is a lot with cases in the afternoon sun.
Where to catch it: No line terminates in Meloneras itself; the 66's Faro de Maspalomas terminus is the closest, with the promenade running west from there.
Best for solo & budget travellersTaxi
A little more than Maspalomas proper because you carry on past the lighthouse. Night and weekend surcharges apply as everywhere on the island.
Where to catch it: From the rank; the drive is motorway then the coastal road past the dunes.
Best for small groups in a hurryPrivate transfer
The reason this route skews to pre-booked cars is the guest profile: business travellers for Expomeloneras and couples on longer five-star stays, both of whom price certainty over €10.
Where to catch it: Most Meloneras hotels have a proper covered arrivals canopy, and a booked car uses it — you step out under cover rather than at a roadside.
Best for families, groups & late arrivalsCar rental
Sensible base for touring: you're at the southern tip with the west coast road one way and the mountain routes to Fataga and Tejeda the other.
Where to catch it: Straightforward run, and unlike most of the south coast the Meloneras hotels have their own car parks.
Best for travellers who want to exploreMeloneras & Las Palmas in photos
Buying tickets in Las Palmas
There is no train on Gran Canaria. Two bus operators matter: Global runs the green intercity guaguas including every airport line, and Guaguas Municipales runs the yellow city buses inside Las Palmas only. Airport routes are line 60 to Las Palmas (€2.80 to San Telmo, €3.45 to Santa Catalina), line 66 south to San Agustín, Playa del Inglés (€3.90) and Faro de Maspalomas (€4.05), and the 91 express west to Puerto Rico (€6.25) and Puerto de Mogán (€6.90). Buying through the Global app or website is normally about 20% cheaper than paying the driver, and takes a moment while you wait for bags. You can also pay cash on board for any journey.
Taxi scams & safety in Las Palmas
Gran Canaria's airport is straightforward and taxi fraud is uncommon: cars are metered, the rank sits directly outside arrivals, and rates are regulated. Join the official queue rather than going with anyone who approaches you in the hall. Expect roughly 20% more at night and at weekends — that is the published surcharge, not a driver inventing a number. Because the airport sits between the capital and the resorts, the most common genuine mistake is not a scam at all but taking the wrong bus terminus: line 60 ends at two different points in Las Palmas, four kilometres apart, so check which one serves your hotel before boarding. For car hire, inspect and photograph the vehicle before leaving and confirm what the excess actually is.
Getting from LPA to Meloneras
Meloneras is the strip that runs west from the Maspalomas lighthouse — five-star seafront hotels along a paved promenade, a golf course behind them, the Expomeloneras conference centre in the middle, and a noticeably older and quieter crowd than the grid of apartment blocks twenty minutes north. It's about thirty-two kilometres from the airport, and the awkward detail is that no bus actually terminates in it.
The nearest bus stop is the lighthouse, and that's not always near
Global's line 66 runs to Faro de Maspalomas for €4.05, and the promenade heads west from there. If your hotel sits at the eastern end near the lighthouse, this is a flat, paved five-minute walk with the sea beside you and the bus is an easy call. If it's one of the properties further west towards the Meloneras end, you're looking at twenty minutes or more along that same promenade in whatever the afternoon is doing. The promenade is pleasant to stroll and considerably less pleasant to tow a suitcase along. Look at where your hotel falls on that strip before deciding that €4.05 beats €45.
Why the arrivals canopy matters more here
Most of the hotels along this stretch were built with proper covered entrances and a driveway that a car can pull into. A booked transfer at €45 to €62 uses that: you step out under cover at reception with the bags handed straight to a porter. It's a small thing and it's most of the reason this route skews so heavily to pre-booked cars rather than buses. The other reason is who travels here — a mix of couples on longer, more expensive stays and delegates arriving for something at Expomeloneras, both groups who price certainty above the fifteen euros a taxi would save.
The meter, and the extra bit past the lighthouse
Taxis run €42 to €55, a little above the Maspalomas fare because you carry on past the lighthouse rather than stopping at it. Thirty-five minutes down the GC-1 and along the coast road. Night and weekend surcharges apply as they do island-wide, adding roughly a fifth. If you're arriving in daylight with a hotel you can name clearly, the rank is straightforward — drivers do this run constantly and the hotels here are landmarks rather than addresses.
Meloneras rewards a car more than it looks like it should
From about €20 a day, and unusually, the hotels along here have their own car parks — which removes the objection that kills hire cars in most Spanish resorts. What it opens up is geography: you're at the southern tip of the island, so the west coast road towards Mogán goes one way and the mountain routes up through Fataga to Tejeda and Roque Nublo go the other, both starting within twenty minutes. For a week's stay with any interest in seeing Gran Canaria beyond the beach, collecting at the airport works better here than at almost any other resort on the island.
What's actually within walking distance
Worth calibrating, since it affects whether you need wheels at all. The promenade links Meloneras to the lighthouse and on to Maspalomas beach continuously — perhaps forty minutes end to end at a stroll. The dunes begin behind the beach. The Boulevard El Faro shopping and restaurant complex sits at the lighthouse end. Playa del Inglés and its nightlife are a further twenty-five minutes on foot or a short local bus. So the immediate area is genuinely walkable; it's the arrival with luggage that isn't, which is a different problem with a different solution.
A word on the conference traffic
If you're coming for an event at Expomeloneras, book the transfer rather than improvising. Arrival banks for conferences tend to cluster, the rank at LPA can back up when three flights land together, and the walk from the lighthouse bus stop with a suit carrier and a laptop bag is not the start to a trip anyone wants. Most event organisers here arrange group transfers; check whether yours has before paying for your own.
The summary: bus to the lighthouse if you're at the eastern end and travelling light, a €45–55 taxi if you're not, and a booked car with the hotel named if you want the canopy rather than the promenade. And if you're staying a week, look seriously at hiring — this is one of the few Canary resorts where that's the right first-day decision.
