Flights, ferries and resident discounts for island life

Key rules

• Padrón: You must be registered on the padrón in the island territory, and Spanish nationality is not required.
• Own ticket only: The passenger on each discounted ticket must be the resident.
• Taxes: The discount applies to the base fare, so taxes and some fees are still due.
• At the airport: Carry your original ID, or you pay the full fare difference.

The discount in short

If you live in the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, Ceuta or Melilla, you get a 75% discount on the base fare for flights to the mainland. Ferries between your island and the mainland are also 75 percent cheaper. The discount is called the descuento de residente. It covers Spanish domestic routes only, not international ones, and flights to other EU countries are not covered. Taxes and some fees are not discounted.

Inter-island flights in the Canaries and the Balearics (for example Mallorca–Menorca or Tenerife–Gran Canaria) also qualify.

Who qualifies and what proof you need

You must be registered on the padrón in the island territory. Spanish nationality is not required. EU citizens and non-EU residents qualify too, as long as they are registered. Tourists and people who are not registered do not.

You need two things:

• A certificado de empadronamiento (sometimes called a volante) from your town hall.
• Your identity document: DNI for Spanish nationals, or NIE, residence card or passport if you are foreign.

Many bookings now check your registration digitally, so you may only need to enter your ID number. Keep the paper certificate as a fallback. Rules on how recent the certificate must be differ by airline, so read the resident page of the company you are using.

How to book

Book on the airline's website, app or call centre, or through a travel agency. Tick the resident option and enter your ID or NIE and your island and municipality. The discount is applied straight away and you pay the rest at booking.

At check-in or boarding, show your original ID, and sometimes the certificate too. Without it you pay the full fare difference. The passenger on each ticket must be the resident, so you cannot book the discount for a friend who lives elsewhere. If the discount was wrongly left off, you can claim it back from the airline.

Real fares

Prices vary a lot with season and how early you book. As a rough guide:

• Canaries to Madrid, Barcelona or Seville: €80–250 one way at full price, about €30–70 with the discount.
• Palma to Barcelona or Madrid: €40–150 at full price, about €15–45 with the discount.
• Between Canary islands (such as Tenerife–Gran Canaria): €30–70 at full price, €15–25 with the discount.

Ferries

Ferries are an option for the Balearics, the Canaries, Ceuta and Melilla. The 75 percent applies to the passenger ticket. Cabins and vehicles get smaller discounts, so check the price before you book a car. Routes and operators change with the season. Main companies include Baleària, Trasmed, Naviera Armas and Fred. Olsen.

Smaller islands

• Menorca: many daily flights to Palma, Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia, plus ferries from Barcelona, Valencia and Palma.
• Ibiza: many daily flights to Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Palma, and ferries from Barcelona, Valencia, Dénia and Palma. Formentera is reached by ferry from Ibiza.
• La Palma: flights to Tenerife and Gran Canaria several times a day, plus Madrid and Barcelona. There are no regular mainland ferries, but ferries link to Tenerife.
• Fuerteventura: flights to Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Lanzarote, Madrid, Barcelona and Seville. Ferries run to Lanzarote and Gran Canaria.

Frequencies change by season, so check before you plan around a particular connection.

See the documents list, checklist and questions below for the rest.

Documents you need

• Certificado (or volante) de empadronamiento from your town hall, proving you are registered as a resident in the Canaries, Balearics, Ceuta or Melilla. It must be valid at booking and travel. It is the fallback when the digital check does not find you.

• Identity document: DNI for Spanish nationals; NIE, residence card or passport for foreign residents. Bring the original to check-in or boarding.

Checklist

• Confirm you are registered in the padrón in the Canaries, Balearics, Ceuta or Melilla.

• Get a certificado de empadronamiento from your town hall and keep it with your ID.

• Check on the airline or ferry company's resident page which documents and checks it asks for.

• Enter your ID or NIE and your island and municipality of residence so the 75% off the base fare is applied at once.

• Compare the price you are shown with typical fares: Canaries to Madrid, Barcelona or Seville about €30–70 each way with the discount, Palma to Barcelona or Madrid about €15–45, Tenerife to Gran Canaria about €15–25. Taxes are still due.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use the discount if I am not Spanish?

Yes. Spanish nationality is not needed. EU citizens and non-EU residents with a residence permit qualify if they are registered in the padrón in the Canaries, Balearics, Ceuta or Melilla. Tourists and people not registered do not qualify.

What happens if I forget my ID at the airport?

Without the original identity document at check-in or boarding, you must pay the full fare difference. Sometimes you are also asked for the empadronamiento certificate, so carry a copy. If the discount was applied wrongly, you can claim a refund of it from the airline.

Can I book the discounted ticket for a friend or family member?

Only if that person is a registered resident too. For each ticket, the passenger must be the resident, so the discount applies only to their own ticket.

How do I get to La Palma or Fuerteventura without flying from the mainland?

La Palma has several daily flights from Tenerife North and flights from Gran Canaria. There are no regular ferries, except links to Tenerife. Fuerteventura has ferries to Lanzarote from Corralejo and to Gran Canaria from Morro Jable.