STE’s Holiday Editor, Tony Taylor, and his wife give their advice on how to have truly enjoyable holidays in three of the Canary Islands: Gran Canaria, La Gomera and Lanzarote.
Amadores – Gran Canaria
We have often chosen the Canary Islands for a holiday in the autumn, winter or spring in order to take advantage of the good weather there compared to the UK. The temperatures in those periods are usually in the 20s and the flight time from the UK is only about four hours. Only on one occasion, in Tenerife, did we have bad weather – it rained for a week!
We were fortunate last year to have three visits to the Canary Islands, namely to: Gran Canaria, La Gomera and Lanzarote. The three islands have many differences and our advice will hopefully help you make the most of holidays in each of the three islands and have enjoyable, memorable times.
The article is primarily based on our visits this year, but also includes additional experiences from our visits over the past forty years or so.
Gran Canaria
West Coast of Gran Canaria
This is the third largest of the seven main Canary Islands with an area of about 600 sq miles. It has some very densely populated holiday resorts in the south east of the island.
We have stayed several times near Puerto Rico, a large town, but not as built up as around the resort of Maspalomas. Puerto Rico has a fine large beach, two shopping centres and a harbour from which ferries go to Puerto de Mogán and Arguineguin.
The beach has numerous bars and restaurants which are open until early evening. It has a bus station from which visitors can travel to many places including the capital, Las Palmas, in the north of the island. Buses are frequent and the fares are reasonable.
Sunset at Amadores
From Puerto Rico there is a lovely mile long walk along the promenade to Amadores, a large purpose-built beach area with shops and restaurants. It is a lovely place from which to watch the sunset. For those fit enough, between Amadores and Puerto Rico, there is a steep walk up to the Europa Shopping Centre, which has wide range of restaurants and bars, some of which have great views down to the sea.
I always hire a car to get away from the busy tourist centres and see the inland towns and villages and the spectacular and varied scenery. We particularly enjoy sitting at cafés in little villages and watching the local life go by.
From Puerto Rico it is a short drive to Puerto de Mogán, a picturesque little town, built for tourism. There is the usual range of bars and restaurants overlooking the beach. The harbour has striking white washed houses, built over small canals and covered with many flowers.
St José Church in Fataga
There is a dual carriageway running from Puerto de Mogán up the east coast of the island past the capital Las Palmas and along the north coast. This is currently being extended down the west coast.
The roads to the interior are usually in good condition, but can be narrow, winding and hilly. You need to take time and not rush.
As a driver I very often pull in at laybys so I can enjoy the scenic views, from stark barren crags to lush green areas, and from cliffs to reservoirs.
We have enjoyed visiting a wide range of other places, including:
Guayadeque Ravine near Agüimes
Fataga – A pretty mountain village with a quaint little church.
Arucas – Has a large gothic cathedral and hillside botanical garden, Jardin Canario.
Firgas – Lovely little village with a wonderful water feature running down a street, interesting tiled mosaics, pleasant church area and good views to the north coast. Mundo Aborigen – A large outdoor museum with buildings and models showing how the original habitants lived, their crafts and their traditions. Agüimes – Historical centre, museum, church, attractive squares and cafes. Artenara – Small village with lovely views of the countryside.
La Gomera
Playa Santiago
La Gomera is the fifth largest Canary Islands with an area of just over 140 sq miles. The most common way of getting there from the UK, is to fly to Tenerife and then catch the ferry from Los Cristianos. Consequently the journey there occupies a whole day and an early flight from the UK is advisable in order to arrive in Tenerife in time to catch a ferry for the one hour crossing.
It is relatively unspoilt and quiet compared to Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Tenerife. That suits us!
The ferry from Los Christianos arrives at the capital, San Sebastián, in the east coast of the island. An onward ferry from there goes to Playa Santiago in the south of the island and Valle Gran Rey in the west, the other two major tourist destinations in La Gomera.
La Gomera Airport
San Sebastián is a pleasant, small town with a fair number of shops, a market, a beach and many interesting places associated with Christopher Columbus, who left from there on his epic voyage across the Atlantic.
The main bus station is located by the market and reasonably priced bus services go to most towns and villages on the island and also to the airport.
La Gomera has a large airport, but it only has four flights a day, two from Tenerife and two from Gran Canaria. The airport is well worth a visit just to admire its unexpected grandeur.
There is no road around the island, in part because of the many sheer cliffs around the coast. Consequently, to get anywhere from San Sebastian normally involves a drive to the centre of the island and then out again, resulting in journeys being longer in time and distance than might be expected. As it is a volcanic island, the roads inevitably have some very steep slopes and many bends. Nevertheless the roads are generally in good condition and fairly quiet.
Roque de Agando
The thirty mile drive to Playa Santiago takes about one hour. The town is in a bay between headlands and has a new promenade with cafes and restaurants overlooking the beach and leading to harbour. To the east there is an agreeable one and half mile seaside walk, which ends at the cliffs.
The road to Valle Gran Rey passes the symbolic volcanic plug, the Roque de Agando, before descending a steep scenic valley. On arrival at the coast, the port and its established hilly centre is to the left. There is a pleasant one mile walk along the seafront, past some shops and restaurants overlooking the sandy beach.
The views from the roads are often spectacular and there are a good number of viewing points along the way. In contrast to the often stark, barren scenery in the south of the island, there are some lush valleys in the north and west.
Agulo with Mt Teide in the background
In the centre of the island, the Garajonay National Park has a laurisilva forest comprising laurels, ferns and trees which thrive in the often misty, damp and relatively cool conditions.
There are many other interesting, small towns and villages on the island, including Alajeró in the south, and Hermigua and Agulo in the north. However, in our opinion each is only worth visiting for an hour or so at most.
If you do not want to hire a car, I would recommend taking a one day coach tour. This will provide a good overview of the island and its different regions, together with interesting information provided by the tour guide.
Lanzarote
Parque Nacionale de Timanfaya
Lanzarote is the fourth largest Canary Island with an area of just over 300 sq miles. Our limited stays over the years have been restricted to Costa Teguise.
We have noticed that the weather seems to be windier than in Gran Canaria, La Gomera or Tenerife. Maybe because Lanzarote is near to the island of Fuerteventura, whose name means ‘strong winds’.
Needless to say it was still much warmer and sunnier than in the UK. Lanzarote is also different in that there are no high-rise blocks, thanks in part to the campaigning artist, César Manrique. His house and visitor attractions are well worth seeing.
Wood rapidly catches fire
We decided to take a day coach trip to the national park, Parque Nacional de Timanfaya, the volcanic Mountains of Fire region. This way of travelling avoids queues of up to an hour when cars try to enter the park.
The coach trip included an hour tour around the amazing volcanic park. The heat is very close to the surface in places and this was demonstrated in two ways. Firstly by the conversion of buckets of water, poured into holes, into spectacular geysers of steam, and secondly by poking pieces of wood into holes and seeing them rapidly catch fire.
The coach tour also visited the wine region, where vines are planted in black volcanic ash and protected from the wind by small stone walls.
El Golfo
On this occasion we did not hire a car as our visit was only for one week. The buses were cheap and convenient. We used them for a day trip to Arrecife, getting off at the west end of the town and enjoying a long leisurely walk along the pleasant seafront to the eastern end (with an interesting array of shops along the way, to my wife’s delight).
We also had a very scenic bus trip across the island to La Caleta de Famara in the north. On the return trip, we dismounted at Teguise, the old capital of Lanzarote, which we explored for two hours. We could have easily spent longer in the museums, shops, plazas, churches and cafés.
On previous visits we have hired a car and seen many other interesting places in Lanzarote, including: Jameos del Agua (caves with bar and pond with blind crabs), Fundación César Manrique (Manrique’s House) and villages such as El Golfo, which has a striking black sandy beach and a green lagoon.
Overall
Hermigua – La Gomera
Whilst we enjoy many holidays in the UK and worldwide, a fairly short flight can take us to the Canary Islands for a warm and sunny holiday when it’s relatively cold in the UK.
The three Canary Islands described here have many large busy, lively tourist centres. However, if you follow our advice, you will be able to enjoy visiting many quieter villages and towns, whilst also seeing a wide variety of spectacular scenery.
The same general advice applies to the other main Canary Islands: Tenerife, Fuerteventura,La Palma, and El Hierro.
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Canary Islands: Enjoy Gran Canaria, La Gomera and Lanzarote
STE’s Holiday Editor, Tony Taylor, and his wife give their advice on how to have truly enjoyable holidays in three of the Canary Islands: Gran Canaria, La Gomera and Lanzarote.
We have often chosen the Canary Islands for a holiday in the autumn, winter or spring in order to take advantage of the good weather there compared to the UK. The temperatures in those periods are usually in the 20s and the flight time from the UK is only about four hours. Only on one occasion, in Tenerife, did we have bad weather – it rained for a week!
We were fortunate last year to have three visits to the Canary Islands, namely to: Gran Canaria, La Gomera and Lanzarote. The three islands have many differences and our advice will hopefully help you make the most of holidays in each of the three islands and have enjoyable, memorable times.
The article is primarily based on our visits this year, but also includes additional experiences from our visits over the past forty years or so.
Gran Canaria
This is the third largest of the seven main Canary Islands with an area of about 600 sq miles. It has some very densely populated holiday resorts in the south east of the island.
We have stayed several times near Puerto Rico, a large town, but not as built up as around the resort of Maspalomas. Puerto Rico has a fine large beach, two shopping centres and a harbour from which ferries go to Puerto de Mogán and Arguineguin.
The beach has numerous bars and restaurants which are open until early evening. It has a bus station from which visitors can travel to many places including the capital, Las Palmas, in the north of the island. Buses are frequent and the fares are reasonable.
From Puerto Rico there is a lovely mile long walk along the promenade to Amadores, a large purpose-built beach area with shops and restaurants. It is a lovely place from which to watch the sunset. For those fit enough, between Amadores and Puerto Rico, there is a steep walk up to the Europa Shopping Centre, which has wide range of restaurants and bars, some of which have great views down to the sea.
I always hire a car to get away from the busy tourist centres and see the inland towns and villages and the spectacular and varied scenery. We particularly enjoy sitting at cafés in little villages and watching the local life go by.
From Puerto Rico it is a short drive to Puerto de Mogán, a picturesque little town, built for tourism. There is the usual range of bars and restaurants overlooking the beach. The harbour has striking white washed houses, built over small canals and covered with many flowers.
There is a dual carriageway running from Puerto de Mogán up the east coast of the island past the capital Las Palmas and along the north coast. This is currently being extended down the west coast.
The roads to the interior are usually in good condition, but can be narrow, winding and hilly. You need to take time and not rush.
As a driver I very often pull in at laybys so I can enjoy the scenic views, from stark barren crags to lush green areas, and from cliffs to reservoirs.
We have enjoyed visiting a wide range of other places, including:
Fataga – A pretty mountain village with a quaint little church.
Arucas – Has a large gothic cathedral and hillside botanical garden, Jardin Canario.
Firgas – Lovely little village with a wonderful water feature running down a street, interesting tiled mosaics, pleasant church area and good views to the north coast.
Mundo Aborigen – A large outdoor museum with buildings and models showing how the original habitants lived, their crafts and their traditions.
Agüimes – Historical centre, museum, church, attractive squares and cafes.
Artenara – Small village with lovely views of the countryside.
La Gomera
La Gomera is the fifth largest Canary Islands with an area of just over 140 sq miles. The most common way of getting there from the UK, is to fly to Tenerife and then catch the ferry from Los Cristianos. Consequently the journey there occupies a whole day and an early flight from the UK is advisable in order to arrive in Tenerife in time to catch a ferry for the one hour crossing.
It is relatively unspoilt and quiet compared to Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Tenerife. That suits us!
The ferry from Los Christianos arrives at the capital, San Sebastián, in the east coast of the island. An onward ferry from there goes to Playa Santiago in the south of the island and Valle Gran Rey in the west, the other two major tourist destinations in La Gomera.
San Sebastián is a pleasant, small town with a fair number of shops, a market, a beach and many interesting places associated with Christopher Columbus, who left from there on his epic voyage across the Atlantic.
The main bus station is located by the market and reasonably priced bus services go to most towns and villages on the island and also to the airport.
La Gomera has a large airport, but it only has four flights a day, two from Tenerife and two from Gran Canaria. The airport is well worth a visit just to admire its unexpected grandeur.
There is no road around the island, in part because of the many sheer cliffs around the coast. Consequently, to get anywhere from San Sebastian normally involves a drive to the centre of the island and then out again, resulting in journeys being longer in time and distance than might be expected. As it is a volcanic island, the roads inevitably have some very steep slopes and many bends. Nevertheless the roads are generally in good condition and fairly quiet.
The thirty mile drive to Playa Santiago takes about one hour. The town is in a bay between headlands and has a new promenade with cafes and restaurants overlooking the beach and leading to harbour. To the east there is an agreeable one and half mile seaside walk, which ends at the cliffs.
The road to Valle Gran Rey passes the symbolic volcanic plug, the Roque de Agando, before descending a steep scenic valley. On arrival at the coast, the port and its established hilly centre is to the left. There is a pleasant one mile walk along the seafront, past some shops and restaurants overlooking the sandy beach.
The views from the roads are often spectacular and there are a good number of viewing points along the way. In contrast to the often stark, barren scenery in the south of the island, there are some lush valleys in the north and west.
In the centre of the island, the Garajonay National Park has a laurisilva forest comprising laurels, ferns and trees which thrive in the often misty, damp and relatively cool conditions.
There are many other interesting, small towns and villages on the island, including Alajeró in the south, and Hermigua and Agulo in the north. However, in our opinion each is only worth visiting for an hour or so at most.
If you do not want to hire a car, I would recommend taking a one day coach tour. This will provide a good overview of the island and its different regions, together with interesting information provided by the tour guide.
Lanzarote
Lanzarote is the fourth largest Canary Island with an area of just over 300 sq miles. Our limited stays over the years have been restricted to Costa Teguise.
We have noticed that the weather seems to be windier than in Gran Canaria, La Gomera or Tenerife. Maybe because Lanzarote is near to the island of Fuerteventura, whose name means ‘strong winds’.
Needless to say it was still much warmer and sunnier than in the UK. Lanzarote is also different in that there are no high-rise blocks, thanks in part to the campaigning artist, César Manrique. His house and visitor attractions are well worth seeing.
We decided to take a day coach trip to the national park, Parque Nacional de Timanfaya, the volcanic Mountains of Fire region. This way of travelling avoids queues of up to an hour when cars try to enter the park.
The coach trip included an hour tour around the amazing volcanic park. The heat is very close to the surface in places and this was demonstrated in two ways. Firstly by the conversion of buckets of water, poured into holes, into spectacular geysers of steam, and secondly by poking pieces of wood into holes and seeing them rapidly catch fire.
The coach tour also visited the wine region, where vines are planted in black volcanic ash and protected from the wind by small stone walls.
On this occasion we did not hire a car as our visit was only for one week. The buses were cheap and convenient. We used them for a day trip to Arrecife, getting off at the west end of the town and enjoying a long leisurely walk along the pleasant seafront to the eastern end (with an interesting array of shops along the way, to my wife’s delight).
We also had a very scenic bus trip across the island to La Caleta de Famara in the north. On the return trip, we dismounted at Teguise, the old capital of Lanzarote, which we explored for two hours. We could have easily spent longer in the museums, shops, plazas, churches and cafés.
On previous visits we have hired a car and seen many other interesting places in Lanzarote, including: Jameos del Agua (caves with bar and pond with blind crabs), Fundación César Manrique (Manrique’s House) and villages such as El Golfo, which has a striking black sandy beach and a green lagoon.
Overall
Whilst we enjoy many holidays in the UK and worldwide, a fairly short flight can take us to the Canary Islands for a warm and sunny holiday when it’s relatively cold in the UK.
The three Canary Islands described here have many large busy, lively tourist centres. However, if you follow our advice, you will be able to enjoy visiting many quieter villages and towns, whilst also seeing a wide variety of spectacular scenery.
The same general advice applies to the other main Canary Islands: Tenerife, Fuerteventura, La Palma, and El Hierro.
See also: Top Ten Winter Breaks and More Than Beaches to a Spanish Costas Holiday
POSTED 7th FEBRUARY 2025 by TONY TAYLOR.