Canary Islands
Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria is one of those destinations that has somehow managed to acquire two completely different personalities.
Along the coast you have the familiar Canary Islands holiday scene: enormous hotels, British pubs, sunbeds, swimming pools and enough fish and chips to keep a small army happy.
Head inland, however, and you discover dramatic mountains, deep valleys, attractive villages and scenery that can make you wonder whether you are actually on the same island.
more
La Palma
La Palma is sometimes rather unfairly overlooked in favour of Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote, but that is precisely what makes it so appealing.
If you are looking for endless hotel complexes, water parks and rows of British pubs, there are better places to go.
If you want spectacular scenery, beautiful villages, peace and quiet and an island that still feels genuinely Spanish, La Palma is difficult to beat.
more
Lanzarote
Now we come to the Canary Island that, for me, is rather less Isla Bonita and rather more Lanza Grotty.
Lanzarote is undoubtedly popular, and millions of people clearly love it, but I have never quite understood the attraction. There are some genuinely spectacular sights, but for me they are surrounded by an island that can feel stark, barren and overdeveloped in all the wrong places.
more
Tenerife
Tenerife is the big one. The largest and probably best-known of the Canary Islands, it has been attracting British holidaymakers for decades, and there is a very good reason for its popularity: almost anything you want from a holiday can be found here.
Unfortunately, that also means almost everything that is good about Tenerife has been accompanied by everything that is bad about mass tourism.
more
Return to Spain Home Page