This isn't a review of a company but of a public service: what Garajonay National Park offers visitors for free beyond its trails, judged like any other operator. For the trails and how to get there, see our full Garajonay guide.
Who's behind it
Garajonay has been a national park since 1981 and a World Heritage Site since 1986. Since 1 January 2010 it has been run by the Government of the Canary Islands. The park office is in the Edificio Las Creces, on Calle Ruiz de Padrón in San Sebastián de La Gomera (922 922 600, informacion.garajonay@gobiernodecanarias.org). The official information lives in two places: the park's page on the Ministry website and the National Parks Network booking portal.
What it offers and what it costs
Nothing is charged. No official page lists an entry fee for the park or the visitor centre, and the guided walks are free. So there's nothing to compare with the booking platforms: the Garajonay tours you see on GetYourGuide or Civitatis are run by private companies, not by the park.
Juego de Bolas Visitor Centre
It's in La Palmita (Agulo), 3 km outside the park to the north, and opens every day, public holidays included, from 09:30 to 16:30 (922 477 222 and 922 477 223; cvgarajonay@oapn.es). It has three exhibition rooms, an audiovisual show, a garden of native plants, viewpoints, a craft shop and a café. The piece that sets it apart is La Casa de la Memoria: a country house with farm tools, terraces, a replica burial cave, the silbo gomero whistled language and the drum dance. Groups have to book their visit.
Free guided walks
Easy walks in Spanish, every Friday of the year and also on Wednesdays in July, August and September (if the day is a public holiday, it moves). Maximum 15 people per guide and minimum 5 confirmed. One walk per person, no pets. There's a waiting list when they fill up.
Other services
- Free audio guide for the self-guided trails, with numbered posts. You have to download it beforehand: there's no mobile signal in the park.
- Picnic areas: La Laguna Grande (playground, tables, barbecues, restaurant), Ermita de El Cedro, Las Creces and Chorros de Epina.
- Vehicle booking for El Cedro: in summer there is usually controlled car access, with free spaces in time slots; the dates change every year.
How to book
The guided walks, group visits and car access to El Cedro are booked at reservasparquesnacionales.es. The guided walk also requires you to confirm by phone the day before (922 477 222, 09:30 to 14:00): only then are you told the route and the meeting point. It's a safe system for the park and a cumbersome one for the visitor: if you don't call, you lose your place.
What works and what's missing
The best thing is value for money that can't be beaten: the park's own guides, free, in groups of no more than 15. The visitor centre is well equipped and open every day of the year.
What's missing matters more for the day visitor:
- The guided walk isn't for people coming from Tenerife. The park is clear about it: you have to stay on the island, because ferries and flights arrive too late for the meeting time.
- Spanish only, and only one or two days a week.
- The visitor centre is outside the park and closes at 16:30; it isn't on the way between San Sebastián and Laguna Grande.
- The information is split between the Ministry website and the booking portal, and has gaps: the sheet for route 14 is empty and the one for route 7 gives a time that doesn't match its distance.
- The El Cedro access control changes dates every summer: check before driving up.
Score
- Price
- 5/5Everything free: entry, visitor centre and guided walks.
- Visitor centre
- 4/5Well equipped and open daily; outside the park and closes early.
- Guided walks
- 3.5/5Park guides and small groups, but Spanish only, one or two days a week.
- Booking
- 3/5A sound official portal; the compulsory phone confirmation is one step too many.
- Online information
- 3/5Useful but spread over two websites, with incomplete trail sheets.
- For day visitors
- 2/5The guided walk is off-limits to them and the centre is out of the way.
The good
- Everything is free.
- Official guides in groups of no more than 15.
- Visitor centre open every day, public holidays included.
- La Casa de la Memoria explains the silbo and rural life.
The not so good
- Guided walk only for people staying on the island.
- Spanish only.
- Compulsory phone confirmation.
- Visitor centre outside the park, closes at 16:30.
- Scattered information with gaps.
Who it's for and who it isn't
Make the most of it if you're spending at least one night on La Gomera, understand Spanish and want to get to know the forest with someone who works in it. Book the Friday and plan the rest around it.
Don't count on it if you're coming for the day from Tenerife. The alternative is a private tour: the small-group tour that starts on the island or the day trips from Tenerife. If you like walking on your own, the waymarked trails and the audio guide are enough; to compare islands, see hiking in the Canary Islands and our other operator reviews.
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How much does the Garajonay visitor centre cost?
It's free, like the park and its guided walks. Only groups need to book their visit.
What are the Garajonay visitor centre opening hours?
It opens every day, public holidays included, from 09:30 to 16:30. It's at Juego de Bolas, La Palmita (Agulo), 3 km outside the park.
How do you book Garajonay's free guided walks?
At reservasparquesnacionales.es, then by confirming by phone the day before on 922 477 222, from 09:30 to 14:00. They're in Spanish and you must be staying on the island.
How do you get to the visitor centre by bus?
Line 2 (San Sebastián–Vallehermoso) stops at "Entrada a La Palmita", on the road to the visitor centre.
