The answer
Take Global line 60 from the stop above arrivals — €2.30 to San Telmo in the centre of Las Palmas, €2.95 to the Santa Catalina interchange, about 20–30 minutes, twice an hour.
The airport sits on the coast road between the capital and the southern resorts, so one bus goes north to Las Palmas and another goes south to Maspalomas — both for the price of a coffee.
Heading south to the beaches? Line 66 runs hourly to Playa del Inglés (€3.50) and Faro de Maspalomas (€4.05).
Two or more with bags? The taxi flag is €3.85 by day with €1.35 a kilometre, so a run to Las Palmas lands around €20–25.
⚠️ The traps (walk past these)
The bus stop is a floor above arrivals
The airport bus stop is on the departures level, not outside the arrivals doors. From baggage reclaim you have to go up one floor by lift or escalator and follow the bus signs. Travellers who walk straight out of arrivals find taxis and hire cars, and conclude there is no bus.
Do this: go up one level from arrivals and follow the bus signs to the stop on the departures floor
The wrong line to Las Palmas is the slow one
Lines 1 and 91 also reach Las Palmas, but they are long interurban routes that stop their way north. Line 60 is the direct service, and it is the one that gets you to San Telmo in about 20 minutes rather than an hour.
Do this: take line 60 for the capital, and save lines 1 and 91 for the destinations only they serve
Nothing goes south to the resorts in the evening
Line 66's last run to Faro de Maspalomas is at 20:20 and line 90's last is 20:30, with the last bus back to the airport at 19:20 on the 66. Land after that and there is no public bus to Playa del Inglés or Maspalomas at all.
Do this: if you land after about 20:00 and you are heading south, book a transfer or take a taxi from the rank
There is no flat airport taxi fare
Gran Canaria taxis are metered: €3.85 to start by day and €4.25 at night, on Sundays and on holidays, then €1.35 or €1.55 a kilometre, plus €18.50 an hour if you are stopped. Anyone quoting a single fixed price to Maspalomas is guessing, and often upwards.
Do this: use the signed rank, check the meter starts on the day or night tariff, and ask for the receipt
The airport is not in Las Palmas
It sits at Telde, about 20 km south of the capital and roughly 35 km from Playa del Inglés. Planning a quick hop into Las Palmas for a connection, or a walk to a hotel, does not work from here.
Do this: allow 20–30 minutes to Las Palmas and about an hour to the southern resorts by road