A Holiday Guide To The Canary Islands
The Canary Islands are located in the Atlantic Ocean, little more than 100 miles from the coast of Africa. The weather is reputed to be the best in the world, a bit like Goldilocks’ porridge: neither too hot nor too cold, and much the same all year. Average temperatures fall between 21 degrees in winter and 27 degrees in the peak of the summer.
The islands are the most popular winter holiday destination in Europe and attract self catering holidaymakers throughout the year. Although the Canary Islands are a part of Spain, English is widely spoken and tourism is the largest industry.
There is also a large ex-pat population with mostly British, German, and Swedish people moving there to retire or to make a living in the tourism industry. The coastlines of all the islands are fully developed with hotels, apartments and villas. Many of the villas and apartments have been bought by absentee owners who occupy their property for part of the year and let the accommodation for self catering holidays; so there is a wide choice of rental accommodation available.
The largest of the islands,Tenerife, is triangular in shape with Mount Teide, a dormant volcano, in the middle of the island. Tenerife is the most popular islands for tourists, although tourism is concentrated in the hotter and drier south. The north of the island is cooler and greener. The volcano and mountains separate the two distinct parts of the island and are responsible for the two different mini-climates.
In terms of population, Gran Canaria is the largest of the Canary Islands. Like Tenerife, the island is divided into two distinct halves: the warmer, drier south separated from the greener, cooler north by a mountain range. The capital, Las Palmas, is reputed to be a shopper’s paradise.
The most popular beaches (Maspolmas, El Ingles, and Casa de los Coroneles) are in the south of the islands. The fishing villages of Puerto Rico, Puerto de Morgan and Pasito Blanco enjoy picture-postcard scenery and are a ‘must’ for your holiday itinerary.
The Canary Islands are volcanic and nowhere is this more apparent than on Lanzarote where the landscape is almost black. The island hosts the fantastic scenery of the National Park of Timanfaya, and the beaches are of fine sand.
The island of Fuerteventura boasts the longest beaches in the Canaries. Best is the 4 mile stretch running between Pajara and Jandia which is home to uninterrupted golden sands and a spectacular underwater world which attracts divers from all over the world.
The three other islands in the Canaries group are less popular with tourists and there are few hotels or self catering apartments or villas available. They are, however, worth a visit if only for the day. The island of La Gomera is connected to Tenerife by ferry and is home to large banana plantations. It has small, sandy bays. La Palma, also known as Green Island because of its lush vegetation and forests, has a wild landscape, huge waterfalls and tall pine trees. El Hierro is the smallest of the islands and is popular with divers.
The popularity of the Canary Islands results from a climate that is close to perfection, and varied and spectacular scenery. Tenerife and Gran Canaria take this variation to an extreme with the north and south of each island experiencing different local climates and vegetation. Visitors to these islands return time after time, as each experience is a different one.
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