There are seven Canary Islands. They belong to Spain and, thanks to their position off the coast of Africa and our love of good-value winter sun, they have a very successful year-round holiday industry. The islands are the tips of a huge volcanic mountain range formed around 30 million years ago. Hence the black sand beaches you find on the islands. Tenerife is the largest island. Fuerteventura is best known for its beaches and sand dunes; Lanzarote for its dramatically barren interior. Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria and Tenerife are the most well known Canary Islands. La Palma, Hierro and Gomera make up the archipelago.
Beaches.
Sunshine – winter and summer.
Watersports.
Golf.
Black beaches - they may sound interesting, but when the black sand (inevitable on a volcanic island) starts getting in your clothes and on your towel, it just looks like dirt.
There’s an official ban on drinking alcohol in the streets in the Canary Islands. Slurp in the streets and you risk a fine.
The weather is one of the biggest attractions of the Canary Islands. This holiday destination likes to be described as being ‘spring like all year’. Average winter
temperatures by the coast are 20°C/68°F. Temperatures are cooler and less predictable inland and around the mountains.
Flights from the UK to the Canaries take around four hours.
Driving is on the right in the Canary Islands. It's easy to hire a car and there's plenty of choice. Spanish law dictates that you carry two red warning triangles and a reflective jacket to use if you break down or have an accident.