Tenerife South Airportto Tenerife North AirportOne-way car hire in either direction · about 65 minutes north, 64 back south

Tenerife South Airport to Tenerife North Airport is the one-way with by far the widest choice of cars on the island, and the reverse direction matches it. The car is collected in the arrival area at Tenerife South Airport and left in the arrival area at Los Rodeos, the northern airport, or the other way round, and in both directions the pairing offers several times the choice of any other one-way on the island. The drive north is about 65 minutes and 73 km without traffic, and the drive south about 64 minutes and 72 km.

The two airports serve different flights. Tenerife South handles mostly international traffic, while most flights at Tenerife North are domestic, many of them connections to the other Canary Islands. That split is why a holiday can land at one airport and fly home from the other, and leaving the car at the departure airport takes the second crossing of the island out of the trip.

Not for the choice of car: the pairing is as wide in one direction as in the other, so the flights decide which way round it runs. One-way works island-wide as well, but the choice drops away after the airport pair: next come the southern resort strip and leaving the car in Puerto de la Cruz, then the smaller pick-up points. Whichever pair you choose, set the drop-off in the search and the one-way fee shows with the price on each car, before anything is booked.

A car collected in Golf del Sur goes back to Golf del Sur, and the same holds for Guia de Isora: both take same-place rentals only, with no one-way in either direction. The two airports, by contrast, take a one-way both ways round.

These times are without traffic, so a real drive takes that long or longer. Each figure belongs to its own direction: about 65 minutes and 73 km from Tenerife South to Tenerife North, about 64 minutes and 72 km from Tenerife North back to Tenerife South.

The car goes back with the fuel level it had at the handover, even though the handover was at the other airport. A lower level is charged at the rental company's rates, and a fuller tank is not refunded, so the last fill is the one nearest the drop-off. The shortest chargeable rental is 24 hours: a car collected at Tenerife South and left at Tenerife North on the same day is charged as a full day. Fuel, parking and fines are the renter's to pay.

Standard insurance does not cover the wheels, the undercarriage, the windscreen or the interior. That is the standard level; each car lists the cover levels it offers, with the deductible for each cover level shown when you open the car. After any insured event, tell the rental agent at once and get a police report; without both, the insurance is cancelled and the driver is fully responsible. Hire cars are allowed on paved public roads only.

The car is handed over in the arrival area, so the licence and the card have to be with you when you land. That is the licence card itself, with its details in Latin script and an expiry no earlier than the end of the rental, since copies and electronic licences are not accepted; if the licence is valid only in the country that issued it, an International Driving Permit is strongly recommended. The booking may ask for a physical embossed credit card in the main driver's name. Where a debit card is accepted, the booking and the voucher say so, and it too has to be physical, personalised, embossed and in the main driver's name.

The phone number given at booking must be reachable throughout the rental and on the day before pick-up. Each car's minimum driver age and experience are on its page, and the agent can refuse the handover if they are not met. How the rest of the rental is paid, how the deposit is held and when it comes back are set out in the booking and the voucher.

The questions below cover the one-way between the two airports in both directions: how long the drive takes, where the fee shows, where the car is handed over and handed back, and where to fill up. The rental conditions are set out in full on the terms page.