Canary Islands

The islands are a year-round swimming vacation, though the water is Atlantic rather than tropical: about 18°C in late winter and about 23°C by September and October. Beach life is the main point of most stays. The best sand is on the eastern islands. Fuerteventura has the white dunes of Corralejo and the long lagoon beaches of Sotavento on the Jandía peninsula. Lanzarote has the sheltered Papagayo coves, and in the south of Gran Canaria the dunes at Maspalomas run down to a wide golden beach.

Tenerife's south coast is built around small resort beaches, many of them dark volcanic sand or sheltered by breakwaters. Las Canteras in Las Palmas is a rare thing, a real city beach protected by a natural reef. The north coasts of most islands catch rougher swell, and the trade winds that keep the air mild can make some beaches gusty.

Canarian cooking is simple and rooted in the islands: wrinkled salt-crusted potatoes with red and green mojo sauces, gofio made from toasted grain, stews of goat and rabbit, grilled cheese with palm honey, and whatever fish came in that morning. Fuerteventura's Majorero goat cheese and the wines grown in black volcanic ash at La Geria on Lanzarote, or on the slopes of northern Tenerife, are worth looking for. In autumn the informal guachinches of Tenerife's north serve home wine and home cooking.

The catch is the resorts. The south of Tenerife and Gran Canaria is lined with places serving generic international menus, and you have to go inland, up to harbour villages or into Las Palmas and La Laguna to eat well. Fine dining exists but is a small tier.

The heritage is real but modest, and it is spread across several islands. On Tenerife, San Cristóbal de La Laguna is a UNESCO-listed colonial grid of painted mansions and balconied streets, and La Orotava and Garachico keep handsome old centres. In Las Palmas, the Vegueta quarter holds the cathedral and the Casa de Colón, which recalls Columbus's stops on his way west.

Lanzarote has the most original sights: the artist César Manrique's buildings shaped into lava tubes and cliffs, such as Jameos del Agua and the Mirador del Río, and his house set into volcanic bubbles. In Gáldar on Gran Canaria, the Cueva Pintada shows the painted dwellings of the islands' pre-Hispanic people. These are good half-days, not a reason to plan a trip.

Going out happens in a few places, and late. Playa de las Américas in southern Tenerife and Playa del Inglés in Gran Canaria run bars and clubs until dawn all year. Playa del Inglés is also the centre of one of Europe's largest gay scenes, built around its shopping-centre bar complexes. Most of this is resort nightlife, loud and cheerful but not very distinctive. Las Palmas and La Laguna, with their student population, have more local bar life in their old quarters.

The high point is carnival, usually in February or early March. Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas turn into weeks of street parties that last all night. Elsewhere, and on the smaller islands, evenings end quietly.

This is the islands' strongest suit. Tenerife alone makes a superb base: the 3,715m volcano of Teide rises from a vast caldera of lava and coloured rock, the Anaga mountains in the north hold ancient laurel forest and cliff paths, and the Masca gorge drops to the sea in the west. Pilot whales and dolphins live year-round in the strait off the south-west coast, and the high mountains offer some of Europe's clearest night skies.

The other islands add their own landscapes. Lanzarote has the lava fields of Timanfaya, Gran Canaria the pinnacle of Roque Nublo and deep central ravines, and La Gomera the misty Garajonay forest. La Palma has the great crater of the Caldera de Taburiente. Fuerteventura's wind and swell draw windsurfers, kitesurfers and surfers, and the clear water is good for diving. Walking is best from autumn to spring.

Day trips mostly mean crossing to another island or touring small towns on your own. From southern Tenerife, a short ferry reaches La Gomera, with its quiet port capital and terraced valleys. From the north, the wine villages and the old harbour town of Garachico are easy drives. A fast ferry links Tenerife and Gran Canaria in under two hours, so Las Palmas is a feasible day out.

From Lanzarote, ferries cross to Corralejo on Fuerteventura and to the sandy-street village of La Graciosa, and the old capital Teguise holds a large Sunday market. The towns are pleasant rather than remarkable, and once you have seen a few, the list thins.

The islands are one of Europe's easiest family vacations, especially in winter, when the weather stays mild while the continent is cold. The resorts are set up for children, with pools, apartments and kids' clubs. The calmest sandy water is at Corralejo and Sotavento on Fuerteventura, Playa Blanca on Lanzarote and the sheltered beaches of southern Gran Canaria.

Tenerife has the biggest attractions: a large zoo and marine park in Puerto de la Cruz and a huge, much-loved water park in the south. Gran Canaria has a large aquarium by the port in Las Palmas, along with zoo and water parks in the south. Whale-watching boats and the cable car up Teide are memorable for older children. Mountain roads can be long for toddlers, and strong sun calls for care.

Most visitors base themselves on one island and hire a car, which is simple and works well. The coastal motorways on Tenerife and Gran Canaria are fast, but they can clog around Santa Cruz and Las Palmas. Roads into the interior are slow, steep and full of hairpins, so a short distance on the map can take an hour. Buses on the two big islands reach most towns and resorts, and a tram links Santa Cruz and La Laguna. Lanzarote and Fuerteventura are flatter and easy to drive.

Reaching another island means a ferry or a short flight, and that limits how much of the archipelago fits into one trip. Within the resorts and old towns, walking is easy.

Shopping is practical rather than a draw. Las Palmas has the most to offer, with the pedestrian street of Triana, the busy shopping avenue of Mesa y López and the main department stores. Santa Cruz de Tenerife has a smaller version. The islands' lower sales tax makes perfume, tobacco and spirits a common purchase, and resort shopping centres stock beachwear and electronics.

For something local, look for embroidered linen and lace, pottery made without a wheel, palm-leaf baskets, the timple guitar, and cheeses and wines. Teguise's Sunday market on Lanzarote and the municipal markets in the capitals are the best places to find them.

Prices are moderate for a European sun vacation. A lower sales tax than mainland Spain keeps drinks, fuel and everyday goods cheap, car hire costs little, and local bars and village restaurants serve honest food at fair prices. Self-catering apartments and package deals make a week affordable for families.

Costs rise in the main season, which runs through winter and peaks at Christmas, carnival and Easter, when beachfront hotels in southern Tenerife and Gran Canaria fill up. The luxury enclaves around Costa Adeje and Meloneras cost as much as any Mediterranean resort, while the smaller islands and the northern towns are noticeably cheaper.

There is a serious classical scene for an island region, but it lives in the two capitals, not in the resorts. In Santa Cruz, the white-sailed Auditorio de Tenerife on the seafront is home to the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra. In Las Palmas, the Alfredo Kraus Auditorium by Las Canteras beach and the historic Pérez Galdós theatre host the Gran Canaria Philharmonic and a long-standing opera season. In winter, the Canary Islands Music Festival brings visiting orchestras.

Folk music, played on the small timple guitar, turns up at village fiestas. In the resorts, live entertainment mostly means tribute acts and dinner shows.

The islands have no hot springs or bathing culture of their own. Wellness here means large hotel spas, especially in the upmarket resorts of southern Tenerife and Gran Canaria, several of which offer seawater thalassotherapy circuits. The mild, steady climate is restful in itself, and many people come in winter simply to slow down in the sun.

For real quiet, choose the smaller islands. La Gomera and El Hierro have little traffic, tiny villages and a slow rhythm, and they host yoga and walking retreats. Rural cottages in northern Tenerife and the Gran Canaria highlands offer the same calm. The big southern resorts are pleasant but busy.