The Canary Islands are perennial hot spots for holiday-makers. We take a look at the four firm favourites: Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote
This year-round sunny destination is the largest and most visited of the Canary Islands. It’s capital Santa Cruz is a popular cruise destination and around half a million passengers a year get a preview of the shopping, botanical gardens, plazas, art galleries and La Teresitas beach.
Some may remember Tenerife as a place for the tacky beer swilling night life but this has all changed. Playa de las America and its neighbouring resort Los Cristianod, once riddled with tourist tat is now adorned with designer labels and pretty bougainvillea flowers. Slightly more upmarket is the Costa Adeje resort, where the four and five-star hotels, chic boutiques and well-kept beaches are found.
They remain the most popular tourist traps, offering big resort neon lights and a buzzy night life, but these days its families and couples that visit attracted by wide open, sweeping soft sand beaches designed to be child-friendly and lively.
El Medani is much loved by surfers thanks to the trade winds and has some of the best beaches on the island.
If you head to the west, the tempo slows and quiet descends especially around Los Gigantes, a sheltered location thanks to the giant cliffs.
