Canary Islands
Why go?
You’re 100km west of the Moroccan coast. It’s a
short-haul flight from London (4 hours) and winter sun is
guaranteed. Sun-starved English and Germans have been coming here
for years, some to lounge by the pool, others to prop up the bar.
Quite a lot of misinformation circulates. Take the following fact:
there are no high-rise developments on Lanzarote. Not one. There
are only two resorts on the island, neither of them particularly
big. You do not encounter rampaging hordes of drunken English men
at every turn. We found gorgeous beaches to the south, lava lakes
and volcanoes to the west, an extraordinarily productive
wine-growing industry in the centre and Cesar Manrique’s
exhilarating architecture to the north (don’t miss the
Mirador del Rio, a viewing platform stuck on the side of a 400-ft
high cliff giving sublime views across the sea to Isla de
Alegranza).
All in all, the islands offer unique, diverse and strikingly
beautiful landscapes to explore. Tenerife has incredible Masca, an
impossibly remote mountain-side village that looks out to sea. Gran
Canaria has rugged mountains inland and golden beaches in the
south. Fuerteventura is flat with vast areas of sand dunes. La
Gomera is a hidden gem, as green as a Welsh valley, with deep
gorges and fine hills for intrepid walking. La Palma is the lushest
of the lot, with the most beautiful coastline, while El Hierro, a
Unesco biosphere, is rocky, rugged and utterly remote, the most
western point of Europe. It may not make great headlines in the
tabloids, but the truth about the Canaries is this: if you want to
escape the pool or the beach (or the bar, for that matter), each
island has something wonderful to offer. The archipelago’s
history, culture, communities and natural beauty remain, on the
whole, undiscovered, and those who delve further are richly
rewarded.
Any Downsides?
OK, so some of the bigger islands do play host to the bare-chested, beer-swilling lager louts that you’ve heard about, but will you come across them? Not unless you seek them out. The resorts are pretty depressing – fast-food chains, Irish pubs, lots of beer and fags. It is not 24-hour carnage; far from it. The resorts are quiet during the day (unless there’s football on TV), but drop by after 10pm and you’ll witness the touristic equivalent of watching a car crash. Most people come by at some time in search of a newspaper.
What's where?
- Gran Canaria: Avoid the tack; hike through lush valleys, vast sand dunes or up craggy mountains for spectacular views. Then laze on the beach or go wreck diving Read More >>
- Lanzarote: Completely underated as a destination, yet it's dramatically beautiful with golden sands, volcanic craters, endless green vineyards and no high-rises Read More >>
- Tenerife: Beautiful mountainous scenery and black-sand beaches, plus the less-visited north with its laid-back pace and craggy coastline Read More >>
Current Weather – Time
Tenerife