Islands in the stream: Why the Canaries make for a perfect island-hopping holiday

Forget fly and flop – this Spanish archipelago was made to be explored by boat thanks to excellent ferry connections, discovers James Litston

Monday 27 December 2021 08:00 GMT
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Macizo de Anaga in northeast Tenerife
Macizo de Anaga in northeast Tenerife (James Litston)

Arriving at a resort after dark can sometimes deliver a wonderful surprise. It's my first morning in Gran Canaria and I've just pulled back the curtains to reveal the view from my balcony into a grove of poolside palms. The first of the day's sunshine is brightening their fronds, bringing them into textural relief with shadows and colour and light. Green parakeets dash noisily over the heads of early risers who are already laying out towels to reserve their loungers by the pool. It's all looking to be a typical December day in this holiday haven.

A four-hour flight from Britain, the Canaries are our nearest and best bet for winter sun escapes – and Seaside Palm Beach, my home for the next few days, is the perfect retreat. Its palm-grove setting is right beside the famous Maspalomas dunes: a rolling mass of towering sand that resembles a mini Sahara. The hotel provides great cuisine, friendly service and a joyfully retro environment whose bright colours celebrate its 1970s heritage. With the promise of sea swims and hot stone massages at the spa, I can already feel myself easing into a holiday frame of mind.

If all that sounds like a typical Canaries beach break, you'd be right. Fly-and-flop sunshine escapes are the islands' biggest draw; but I haven't come all this way to settle for just one type of holiday. Being such a diverse archipelago interconnected with frequent ferries, the Canaries are as well-suited to island-hopping as Greece or Croatia but with the added advantage of summery weather year-round. My plan is to mix my sunny Gran Canaria beach stay with a city break and some outdoor adventures in neighbouring Tenerife.

Seaside Palm Beach Hotel in Gran Canaria
Seaside Palm Beach Hotel in Gran Canaria (James Litston)

When I'm tanned, relaxed and ready to move on, it's a very straightforward, 90-minute bus ride from right outside Seaside Palm Beach to the end of the line in Las Palmas, up on the island's north coast. The shiny new ferry terminal is a short hop by cab from Santa Catalina bus station (don't walk: I tried, and will remain forever grateful to the two kindly dock-workers who gave me a lift).

The Las Palmas to Santa Cruz de Tenerife services are operated by Armas, which plies the route by high-speed catamaran in under two hours. I take a seat up front in the observation lounge, lured by the promise of dolphin-spotting and wraparound Atlantic views. The sea, however, has other ideas: its soporific, rolling motion soon lulls me into an afternoon doze.

Green parakeets dash noisily over the heads of early risers who are already laying out towels to reserve their loungers by the pool

Things liven up once I launch myself into bustling Santa Cruz. A stroll along its waterfront takes me to the futuristic, Santiago Calatrava-designed opera house before changing course to admire the Old Town's colonial and neoclassical buildings. A stop at the Museum of Nature and Archaeology educates me on the islands' wildlife (which once included giant tortoises) and indigenous people, the Guanches, whose story and mummified remains are fascinating. More light-hearted are the camp and colourful costumes at Casa de Carnival, which leave me keen to come for the city's month-long, feather-and-sparkle-filled fiesta in February.

The rolling Maspalomas dunes
The rolling Maspalomas dunes (James Litston)

Even more characterful is La Laguna, the former capital that lies a half-hour tram ride inland. Founded in 1497, it became the blueprint on which numerous New World cities (San Juan, Cartagena, Havana) were founded. Crafted in volcanic stone, painted stucco and hardy Canarian pine, La Laguna's palaces, convents, churches and other heritage buildings are of such significance that this is a World Heritage Site. I nose my way around galleried courtyards before hitting the Church of the Immaculate Conception, whose bell tower is the tallest point in town. Atop its stairs are views across the rooftops to Mount Teide, Spain's highest peak, with the forested Anaga highlands rising up in the other direction.

We follow trails beneath twisting branches from which masses of moss hang down like green beards

Anaga, a biosphere reserve, merits a full day's explorations, so I join a guided tour with Anaga Experience (€45pp including lunch, anagaexperience.com). Unlike the rest of this arid isle, Anaga's peaks catch the clouds and fog that blow in on the tradewinds, their moisture nurturing evergreen laurels, heathers and yews in profusion. We follow trails beneath twisting branches from which masses of moss hang down like green beards, then head out into open country towards Roque de Taborno. This volcanic plug towers over the coast and is peppered with caves that once sheltered the Guanches. It's the sort of discovery I'd never have had if I'd spent all my time on the beach.

Santa Cruz waterfront and Opera House
Santa Cruz waterfront and Opera House (James Litston)

After this... who knows? Should I take a ferry to sleepy La Gomera, or perhaps go see the aftermath of La Palma's recent volcanic eruption? Or should I round off my trip with another lazy beach stay? After what feels like a lifetime of tedious testing and travel restrictions, it's this sense of variety and freedom that makes island-hopping so marvellous.

Travel essentials

Getting there

Trying to fly less?

Take a Eurostar from London to Paris and change for a train to Barcelona. The following day you can catch a train to Cadiz with a change in Seville. From there, it’s possible to get a ferry to Tenerife from the port of Cadiz.

Fine with flying?

Jet2, Ryanair, easyJet, TUI, Wizz Air and British Airways all fly direct from the UK to Tenerife.

Staying there

B&B at Gran Canaria's Seaside Palm Beach Hotel starts from £140pp per night (two sharing) in January. hotel-palm-beach.com

More information

Ferries can be booked in advance with directferries.co.uk.

For more information, visit webtenerife.com and hellocanaryislands.com.

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