Where do you collect your Cíes Islands ferry ticket?

Short answer: yes, you have to go to the ticket desk. Even if you booked and paid online, the booking on your phone is not the ticket. You collect it at the operator's office before boarding. It is the most repeated surprise in reviews from people who have been.

The National Park itself says it plainly:

"Print it or carry it on your phone, as it will be requested when boarding. And remember that you must go to the operator's ticket desk before boarding to collect your ticket."

Where the office is, port by port

Vigo	Calle Cánovas del Castillo, 26
Cangas do Morrazo	Av. de Montero Ríos, 14 (Puerto Deportivo)
Moaña	Estación marítima de Moaña
Sanxenxo	Puerto Deportivo Juan Carlos I
Portonovo	Rúa Rafael Pico, 5
Baiona	At the town harbour (the listing gives no street)

Careful, the address can change. The booking listing itself warns that "depending on the date and time selected, your meeting point may vary". Always check the address on your own confirmation, not the one you remembered.

The Cangas case, which confuses everyone

The booking listing gives Av. de Montero Ríos 14 as the meeting point — the avenue running along the marina. But depending on where you search, the map sends you to one spot or another. A traveller put it this way in June 2026: "depending on which link I used to find the ticket collection office, I was taken to different places — either the port itself, or Av. de Montero Ríos 14". He eventually found it at the port itself, and wrote it in capitals so nobody else would go through it. They are a short walk apart, but if you are tight on time, head for the port and ask there.

And a second Cangas warning nobody gives you at booking: some sailings stop over in Vigo and you change boats. Two separate travellers report it without having been told beforehand. It is not a service failure, but factor it in if you are tight on time.

When should you collect it?

The trick recommended by people who have done it: collect it the day before, if you are sleeping in town. One traveller wrote in August 2026: "we arrived in Vigo the day before and went to get the tickets so we would not have to do it on the day". In high season, with ten sailings and a full quota, the early-morning queue is real.

The same traveller notes two practical details about Vigo harbour: there is a café where you can have a decent breakfast and a supermarket that opens at nine — useful, because food on the islands is expensive and many people prefer to bring their own.

What to bring with you

Your booking confirmation, on your phone or printed.
ID or passport. Under-14s do not need one: it is enough to travel with an adult who shows theirs and authorises them.
The Xunta permit, but only in high season: from 15 May to 30 September and at Easter you carry it, on your phone or on paper. The rest of the year the guide carries it and nothing will be emailed to you — we explain it here.

The most common summer scare: reaching the port without having received the permit email. If you booked well ahead, check your spam folder and keep your booking reference handy: the permit can also be downloaded from the Xunta website with that code.

If you do not have a ticket yet: you can book up to 12 hours before departure, as long as places remain in the quota. And the Xunta permit handling is included.

CHECK AVAILABILITY FROM VIGO → OTHER PORTS →

Addresses and conditions verified on 14 August 2026 on the Atlantic Islands National Park portal and the booking listings. Traveller quotes come from dated reviews published on the operator's listing. The boarding point can vary by date and time: your own confirmation always takes precedence.