Yes, we too love our freedom and prefer to do our own thing on our trips. Really not a fan of coach trips and spending such limited time at each stop, then taking 2 hours for lunch (when we'd rather be exploring). We are just a bit wary of hiring a car on a cruise, as I'd be scared about getting back to the ship on time. We will do it on this trip in Tenerife as we do an overnight there, so can get back to the ship late evening. It's a shame some of the port car hire places are closed over the Christmas period too and you have to hire from the airports, which takes up valuable time getting to and from said airports to pick up/drop off the car. Thanks for your reply though Hank and will surely hire a car if we go back to La Palma.