Quick answer. Gran Canaria (LPA), still called Gando locally, runs from a single terminal building with the bank ATMs in the arrivals area on the ground floor. Use a CaixaBank machine, decline dynamic currency conversion and choose euros. Then note the one rule that catches almost every arriving visitor: the Global guaguas will not accept a note larger than €20, and drivers often cannot give exact change, so break a big note before you reach the stop. Line 60 runs to Las Palmas (Santa Catalina) for about €2.95 and line 66 heads south to Playa del Inglés and Maspalomas. Withdraw enough at the airport if you are going south, because the resort belt around Playa del Inglés, Maspalomas and Puerto Rico is thick with standalone machines charging their own surcharge. The Canaries use the euro but sit outside the EU VAT area, so prices carry IGIC at 7 percent instead of mainland IVA at 21.
Where to get Euros at LPA
Gran Canaria rewards withdrawing in the right place far more than most destinations, because the gap between a bank machine in the capital and a standalone machine in the southern resorts is unusually wide. Spain's on-screen fee disclosure lets you check the surcharge and cancel before committing. The cost math below assumes you withdraw the equivalent of $100 in euros.
| Option | Where | Markup | Total Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank ATM at LPA (CaixaBank) | Arrivals, ground floor | Interbank rate, surcharge shown on screen | ~$98-99 |
| Bank ATM + Schwab (fee refunded) | Arrivals, ground floor | Interbank rate, ATM fee refunded | ~$100 |
| Branch ATM in Las Palmas (Triana / Santa Catalina) | City centre | Interbank rate, ordinary Spanish surcharge | ~$98-99 |
| Exchange bureau in LPA arrivals | Arrivals hall | Several % off interbank, plus commission | ~$90-93 |
| Standalone machine in the southern resorts | Playa del Inglés / Maspalomas / Puerto Rico | Operator surcharge + poor rate + DCC push | ~$87-91 |
Where the bank ATMs are at Gran Canaria (LPA), and why the island splits into a cheap half and an expensive one
Gran Canaria Airport sits at Gando on the east coast, roughly midway between Las Palmas in the north and the resort belt in the south, which is the fact that shapes everything about money here. Unlike Tenerife's south airport, LPA serves two completely different economies: a working island capital of nearly 400,000 people where bank ATMs are dense and ordinary, and a holiday coast where standalone operators have colonised the pavements. The terminal is a single building split into two modules, with arrivals on the ground floor and the ATMs alongside the exchange bureaux and car-hire desks. Look for CaixaBank first. Gran Canaria's own savings bank, La Caja de Canarias, went into Bankia and arrived inside CaixaBank when the two merged in 2021, joining Tenerife's CajaCanarias which had come the other way through Banca Cívica in 2012. Both island savings banks now sit in the same network, and CaixaBank's coverage across Gran Canaria reflects it. Santander and BBVA are the other reliable names. Spanish rules require any ATM to display its non-customer surcharge on screen and let you cancel before it dispenses, so you are never charged a fee you did not first read. Spain has no Bank of America Global ATM Alliance partner, so a BoA debit card pays BoA's own 3 percent non-network fee at every machine on the island. Decline DCC and always choose euros. For the archipelago-wide view, including the IGIC tax difference and the bank lineup island by island, see our Canary Islands money guide.
Terminal building, arrivals (ground floor)
All arriving traffic across the two modules, including Binter and Canaryfly on inter-island routes, plus Ryanair, Jet2, TUI, easyJet, Iberia, Vueling and Condor
The terminal is one building split into two modules, and arrivals is on the ground floor. Walk past the exchange bureaux and car-hire desks and look for the CaixaBank, Santander or BBVA machines. Insert a foreign Visa or Mastercard, read the on-screen fee disclosure, decline DCC and choose euros. Ask for an amount that will not hand you only €50 notes, because the Global bus outside will not take them.
Departures level and airside
Check-in and security for all departing flights, both modules
Further machines sit on the departures level. Spend leftover euros here rather than reconverting at a bureau, where the spread costs you twice. Because the islands are outside the EU VAT area, the airside shops sell at genuine duty-free prices even on flights to mainland Spain, so spirits and tobacco are the sensible way to use up cash rather than a bad reconversion.
Do you actually need cash at Gran Canaria (LPA)?
A little, and specifically in small denominations. Gran Canaria takes cards widely, in restaurants, supermarkets, the resort bars and on the Global buses. What you need cash for is the bus fare if your card fails, the municipal markets, the beach kiosks and the smaller bars in Vegueta. Here is what a card covers leaving the airport:
Global guagua line 60 to Las Palmas (Santa Catalina) (~€2.95 (~€2.30 to San Telmo)): The main city service, every 20 to 30 minutes; contactless works on board, but cash payment will not accept a note over €20.
Global guagua line 66 to Playa del Inglés and Maspalomas (~€4-5): The principal direct route to the southern resorts; same €20 note ceiling, and drivers cannot always make change.
Global guaguas lines 90 and 91 (south and south-west) (~€6.80 on the longer runs): Useful for destinations beyond Maspalomas such as Puerto Rico and Puerto de Mogán.
Taxi (~€30-35 to Las Palmas, ~€40-50 to Maspalomas): Roughly 20 minutes to the capital; most take cards but confirm before loading bags, particularly late at night.
⚠ DCC trap. When the ATM or terminal asks if you want to be charged in your home currency instead of the local currency, always decline and choose the local currency. Accepting locks in a 3-13 percent markup that your no-FX-fee card cannot undo. Full DCC explainer →
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need cash to get from Gran Canaria (LPA) to Las Palmas?
Not necessarily, because Global buses and LPA taxis both take contactless. But if you intend to pay the driver in cash, note that Global will not accept a note over €20 and cannot always give change, so break a large note in the terminal first.
Can I order Euros before flying?
Yes, and it solves the bus problem. CEI Currency Exchange ships euros to your US address in 2-5 days at rates well below the LPA arrivals bureaux, and ordering means you can arrive with small notes and coins rather than the €50s an airport ATM tends to dispense. That covers the line 60 fare, the markets in Vegueta and the beach kiosks.
Where are the ATMs at Gran Canaria Airport?
On the ground floor of the arrivals area, near the exchange bureaux and the car-hire desks. The terminal is one building divided into two modules, so the machines are a short walk whichever module your flight lands at. Use CaixaBank, Santander or BBVA rather than a standalone machine, and read the on-screen fee disclosure that Spanish law requires before you confirm.
Why won't the airport bus take my €50 note?
Because Global, the bus operator on Gran Canaria, does not accept notes larger than €20 on board, and drivers frequently cannot give exact change even below that. This catches a lot of arriving visitors who have just taken €100 or €200 from an airport ATM in two large notes. The fix is simple: withdraw an amount that gives you smaller denominations, or buy something small in the terminal to break a big note before you walk to the stop. Global buses do also take contactless cards and phones on board, which sidesteps the problem entirely if your card works.
How much is the bus from Gran Canaria Airport to Las Palmas?
Line 60 runs to Las Palmas and terminates at the Santa Catalina interchange for roughly €2.95, or about €2.30 if you get off at San Telmo, with departures every 20 to 30 minutes. Heading the other way, line 66 is the main direct service to Playa del Inglés and Maspalomas, and lines 90 and 91 cover further south and south-west destinations at higher fares. Pay the driver as you board and simply say your destination, but remember the €20 note ceiling and bring coins if you can.
Do the Canary Islands use the euro, and what is IGIC?
The euro, yes, exactly as on the mainland. IGIC is the separate part: the Canary Islands are excluded from the EU VAT area and levy their own Canary Islands General Indirect Tax instead of Spanish IVA, at a 7 percent standard rate rather than 21, with reduced 3 and 0 percent bands and a higher 15 percent band on some goods. It is already inside the marked price and it is not optional. The practical effect for a visitor is that electronics, spirits, tobacco, perfume and fuel are visibly cheaper in Gran Canaria than in Madrid, and that the airside shops here sell genuine duty-free even to passengers flying on to mainland Spain.
Are ATMs cheaper in Las Palmas than in Playa del Inglés?
Substantially, and this is the single most useful thing to know about money on this island. Las Palmas is a working city, so the streets around Triana, Vegueta and the Santa Catalina area carry ordinary branch ATMs from CaixaBank, Santander, BBVA and others at normal Spanish costs. The southern resort belt through Playa del Inglés, Maspalomas and Puerto Rico is the opposite: standalone operators sited outside minimarkets, bars and hotel lobbies, each adding its own surcharge to a poor rate and pushing dynamic currency conversion. If you are staying south, withdraw at the airport or on a day trip to the capital rather than at the machine outside your hotel.
Should I exchange money at LPA?
No. The exchange bureaux in LPA arrivals quote a euro rate several percent off interbank and generally add commission on top. A bank ATM standing in the same hall gives you the interbank rate with a surcharge you get to read and decline first. The only exchange worth doing at an airport counter is none.
Can I see the ATM fee before I withdraw in Gran Canaria?
Yes. Spanish rules require the machine to display any non-customer charge on screen and give you a chance to cancel before cash is dispensed, which is not how it works across most of Europe. So when a standalone machine in Puerto Rico or Playa del Inglés quotes its surcharge, press cancel and find a bank ATM; nothing has been charged and nothing is owed. Keep this separate in your mind from the DCC prompt, which is a different screen: always decline conversion and choose to be billed in euros.
Is there a Bank of America Alliance partner in Gran Canaria?
No. Spain has no Bank of America Global ATM Alliance partner and the Canary Islands are no exception, so a BoA debit card pays BoA's 3 percent non-network fee at CaixaBank, Santander, BBVA or anywhere else on the island. A Wise card gives the interbank rate with no markup, and a Charles Schwab card charges no FX fee and refunds ATM operator fees, which is worth real money on an island where the southern machines surcharge heavily. Use either at a bank ATM in LPA arrivals, decline DCC and choose euros.