Joining or visiting the IAC

If you have been awarded a postdoctoral position to be carried out at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias’ (IAC) headquarters in La Laguna, or at any of its two international observatories (Teide Observatory on Tenerife and Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on La Palma), or you will just stay among us for a short period of time, this guide will help you with useful information before you travel.

1.- WHICH DOCUMENTATION SHOULD I PREPARE?

  • If being an EU citizen: You do not need a VISA to enter Spain but just a legar passport in force.
  • If belonging to a non-EU country: You need to report to the Spanish Consulate/Embassy that has jurisdiction over your residence in order to apply for a Schengen VISA. Bear in mind that the duration of this VISA is of three months and you have no longer than this period to apply for the documentation you need to live and work in Spain (N.I.E., residence card, waiver of the working licence). This can only be done upon arrival on Tenerife. You will be advised by our Manager for Foreigner Affairs, contracted by the IAC to deal with this kind of burocratic matters. If you are the successful candidate to join one of our postdoctoral positions, do not worry, the Secretariat of the Research Division will be in touch with you during the whole process.

Transport personal belongings

If you wish to send personal belongings to Tenerife, the steps to follow are: prepare a list of the contents of the crates, boxes etc. you are sending, assigning items an approximate value. Make sure that the company transporting your belongings informs you adequately about the conditions of shipment and what exactly is included in the price (normally they fail to inform customers about the additional charges incurred upon arrival at our port, during unloading and at the customs office). These costs depend on the value and the weight of the goods. The unloading and wharf occupation rates vary depending on the agent and on how long the merchandise remains undispatched (we cannot indicate in advance how much this will amount to). Furthermore, you have to add the transport costs from the wharf/airport to where the merchandise will be dispatched. These charges depend on the weight per volume and on distance (Km) for local transfer.

In the event of Pinging a car with you, you should present its original documents.

For any further detailed information you might need, please do not hesitate to contact our Export/Import Dpt. scasado [at] iac.es (compras at iac.es)

Flights to Tenerife

Tenerife has two airports, one in the north, Tenerife Norte (TFN), also known as Los Rodeos Airport, and the other in the south, Tenerife Sur (TFS), also known as Reina Sofia Airport. The airport code to search for connections to Tenerife at either airport is TCI. We recommend using the North Airport (TFN, Los Rodeos), as it is much closer to the IAC (~ 6 Km).

The Island have excellent air connections to continental Europe and the UK. There are scheduled flights between Tenerife and the major Spanish cities, as well as to a number of European destinations. There are charter flights to more than a hundred foreign destinations. The flying time from Madrid to Tenerife is approximately 2.5 hours. Flights to other western European capitals take between 3.5 and 4.5 hours.

Flight companies to travel to Teneriffe: IBERIA (http://www.iberia.com), AIR EUROPE (http://www.aireuropa.com) y AIR EUROPA (https://www.aireuropa.com), but there also exist many other charter flight companies which offer very interesting cheap flights.

Online information about flights arriving at or departing from Madrid, Barcelona and TFS airports can be obtained at: http://www.aena.es

Tenerife North Airport (TFN)

Los Rodeos International Airport, Tenerife North, is located north of the Island, in the municipality of La Lagun,a and about 10 kilometers from the island capital, Santa Cruz. This airport is preferably intended for inter-island and national flights, although several international flights also operate.

Tenerife South Airport (TFS)

Tenerife Sur, Reina Sofía Airport, is located in the municipality of Granadilla de Abona, and approximately 63 kilometers from Santa Cruz de Tenerife. In this airport more than 150 airlines operate inter-island, national and international flights.

 

2.- ON TENERIFE

How do I reach the IAC headquarters?

Map Tenerife

Bus service

The public transport service in Tenerife is called TITSA and the company's buses are painted pistachio green (guaguas) http://www.titsa.com. The BonoVia is used for both, buses an tram and can be purchased if you wish to use any line on a daily/weekly basis, obtaining a considerable discount on the normal price. They can be obtained at any of the bus stations, interchangers, and kiosks.

If you arrive at the North airport you must take Line 102 that passes every 30 minutes to go to La Laguna (Interchange).

If you arrive at the South airport, there is a regular line (Line 111) every 30 minutes that goes to the Santa Cruz bus terminal (Exchanger). The stop is right in front of the national arrivals terminal area, near the taxi rank.

Tram service

Tranvia de Tenerife (http://www.tranviatenerife.com/) has two lines linking with and connecting the main places of interest within the metropolitan area on the island, between Santa Cruz and La Laguna.

Line 1: Runs between the main public offices, cultural and educational centres, hospitals and service and shopping zones of the two cities.

Line 2: which runs transverse to Line 1, connects the most densely populated areas of the two municipalities, La Cuesta, Taco and Tincer.

Ticket machines at all tram stops. The different types of ticket can be purchased at ticket machines located at all tram stops. Coins, banknotes and credit cards are accepted as methods of payment. The ticket machines are easy to use, with very intuitive menus and submenus.

Commercial Offices. You can also purchase the tickets and get information about the service from the two commercial offices located at the terminus of Line 1, at the Intercambiador stop in Santa Cruz, and the terminus at the Trinidad stop in La Laguna.

Other points of sale in the bus network. Tickets compatible with both modes of transport, tram and bus, can also be purchased in kiosks and retail establishments, as well as at bus interchanges.

Ten+movil website. Through the Internet you can also purchase tickets to travel with the ten+móvil App.

Ten+ website. You can top up your contactless transport card on www.tenmas.es.

Taxis

If arriving at the South Airport and you need to take a taxi to the IAC (La Laguna) the cost is around 80 Euros (1 hour drive).

If arriving at the North Airport and you want to take a taxi to the IAC (10 min drive) the cost is about 12 Euros.

Car Rentals

If you wish to hire a car, at a very good rate, we recommend you to use the service of CICAR . You may find the CICAR desk at the airport hall. The rate is around 30 euros/day, or as low as 100 euros for a full week, full insurance included.

 

3.- AT THE IAC HEADQUARTERS

Security Guards

At the main door of the IAC you will find a Security Guard booth who is on duty 24 hours a day. After 21:00h researchers in the building will have to leave and can only do it through the main door of the building, except for those who have previously requested authorization to secinv [at] iac.es to work outside the usual schedule time (after 21:00, weekends or  festive days). The guards will be absent from the booth to make the round to the building between 21:30 and 22:00h.

Reception

The staff at the reception desk will receive you at the reception from 08:00 until 16:00, from Monday to Friday. They will attend your queries such as phone calls, courier, posting, etc.

Secretariat Research Division

Staff at the Secretariat, Judith de Araoz, will hand you everything you need upon arrival, such as the checking card, the key of your office, username of your computer account, detailed documentation, advisement in regard to the documentation you will need to apply for to live and work on Tenerife.

The Research Division Travel Service, Eva Bejarano, is responsible for the management of travel and accommodation arrangements to research personnel (Solicitud de Orden de Desplazamiento, SOD) and to scientific visitors (Bolsa de Viajes Visitante, BVV) coming to the IAC to collaborate with IAC researchers.

Cafeteria

The center has a cafeteria service, open from 07:45 to 16:45h.

Last update: Junio 2023 - Contact: secinv [at] iac.esclass="spamspan"