Naviera Armas proposes two new routes for the next summer season, specifically from the beginning of June: the ports of Portimao (Portugal) and Agadir (Morocco).
The new ferry 'Volcán de Tijarafe' will connect Madeira (Funchal) and Portugal (Portimao) once a week from the ports of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas. The connection with Agadir will be made through the port of Arrecife. The new ferry, with capacity for one thousand passengers, will be delivered next May by the Hijos de J. Barreras de Vigo shipyards.
The new offer is a revolution for the island market and is a historic milestone for the Canary Islands, Madeira (Portugal) and Morocco. Tickets will go on sale at the end of March.
AGADIR
The Agadir route stands out, linking the Canary Islands with Northern Morocco and with all the monumental cities: Marrakech, Casablanca, Fez, Rabat and Tangier, among others. It is an area with great tourist beauty, which has a fast network of highways from North to South.
In this way, the possibility is opened for tourists from Northern Europe to reach the Canary Islands by crossing the Strait of Gibraltar and Morocco with their vehicles, a new tourist alternative for the islands.
Also, Canarians can access the European Continent quickly -in less than 24 hours. The tourist city of Agadir is seven hours by sea from the port of Arrecife and has a highway that connects it with Tangier in five hours. The journey from Tangier to the port of Tarifa (Spain) is thirty minutes.
In summary, Naviera Armas passengers have the opportunity to get to know Morocco and access the Continent in record time and at a more economical price.
The 'Volcán de Tamadaba' will depart every Friday from Gran Canaria at 11:50 p.m. to the port of Arrecife. At 10:00 a.m. on Saturday it will depart for the Moroccan port, arriving in the afternoon of the same day.
The return trip will be on Saturday, at 10:00 p.m., to arrive in Arrecife first thing in the morning and connect with the port of Las Palmas at 10:00 a.m.
PORTUGAL THROUGH MADEIRA
The new line with the Portuguese port of Portimao (on the Algarve coast) will be made through the port of Funchal, in Madeira, with the new 'Volcán de Tijarafe'. If for the Canarians it represents an attractive connection with the Iberian Peninsula, for the Madeirans it is a historic milestone that the first ferry connection between Madeira and Portugal is opened after thirty years.
The port of Portimao is, by road, one hour and 45 minutes from Seville and two hours from Lisbon, the capital. The 'Volcán de Tijarafe' will depart every Friday from Santa Cruz de Tenerife, at 4:00 p.m., bound for Gran Canaria, from where it will set sail for Funchal at 7:30 p.m.. The arrival at the port of Madeira will be at eight in the morning on Saturday.
The departure from Funchal for Portimao will be at 10:30 a.m. on the same Saturday, to arrive in Portugal in the early hours of Sunday.
The ferry will return to the Canary Islands -through Madeira- on Sunday at 10:30 a.m.. The 'Volcán de Tijarafe' will arrive on Monday morning in Funchal, where it will remain docked until 6:00 p.m. This schedule allows transit passengers to enjoy a tourist day on the green and attractive island of Madeira.
The return departure will be at six in the afternoon on Monday, bound for Santa Cruz de Tenerife, to arrive at dawn, and arrive at the port of Las Palmas on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m.
The combined destination of Madeira and Portugal allows Naviera Armas passengers to get to know the beauties of Madeira and enjoy an authentic one-day cruise between Portugal and the Canary Islands. In addition, Canarian passengers can choose the option of traveling in their vehicles and spending a weekend in Madeira, from Saturday morning to Monday afternoon.
With the new service, Naviera Armas also responds to the demands of Portuguese travel agencies that asked to extend the stay of Madeirans in the Canary Islands from five to ten days.
BRINGING THE CANARY ISLANDS CLOSER TO THE CONTINENTS
The Minister of Infrastructure and Transport of the Government of the Canary Islands, Juan Ramón Hernández, expressed his "satisfaction" for these initiatives of Naviera Armas, which "are fully in line with the actions of the Executive to achieve the rapprochement of the Canary Islands to the nearby continental areas."
Hernández stated that in the Canary Islands, transport is a strategic sector of the first order, an element of social, cultural and economic cohesion. "One of the primary objectives of the Government of the Canary Islands in this legislature is to interconnect our transport systems with the continental ones, seeking the integration of the Archipelago into the European single market, as well as improving relations in our geographical area (Macaronesia, Northwest Africa). Without a doubt, the establishment of these two new Armas lines will contribute to these policies."
The Minister of Tourism, Rita Martín, expressed herself in the same sense, who highlighted the 10,000 Madeiran tourists who arrived last summer with Naviera Armas and the enormous possibilities that open up to receive tourists from Europe, either through Portugal or Morocco.
Naviera Armas, one hundred percent Canarian, is the only maritime passenger and cargo transport company that connects all the islands of the Archipelago and five countries: Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Mauritania and Cape Verde.
ACN Press
