Volcanoes, black sand beaches and winter sun holidays – that was pretty much the extent of my knowledge of the Canary Islands. But as part of my cruise on board P&O Cruises’ Britannia, I got the chance to visit three of the islands and discovered there’s a lot more to them than I expected. The Canaries are a unique group of islands. They’re part of Spain but are actually far closer to Morocco (60 miles away versus 600 miles). They were formed by underwater volcanoes that erupted millions of years ago. They’re subtropical with long warm summers and mild winters. But what I didn’t realise was just how varied they are.
There are seven Canary Islands, with famous names Tenerife, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and Gran Canaria as well the lesser-known La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro. They’re surprisingly varied – the landscapes, architecture and even the climate can be totally different between islands only a few hours apart. So a cruise was a good way to island-hop and get a taste of the Canaries in La Palma, Tenerife and Lanzarote.
Read more: Cruise life: A day on board P&O Cruises’ Britannia

Arrecife’s Museo Historica
La Palma
Our first port of call was the island of La Palma. It’s the furthest north of the Canary Islands and the one with the steepest and rockiest landscape, with sharp peaks jutting up along the coastline as we sailed past. The ‘Isla Bonita’ hasn’t had much major development over the years, so it still has a traditional feel and peaceful atmosphere. We took a walk around the capital Santa Cruz de la Palma, where you can catch a glimpse of what life was like during its glory days as one of the most important ports in the Spanish Empire.
Calle Real is lined with old colonial merchants’ houses, Renaissance churches and pretty squares. Along waterside Avenida Maritima we found a row of colourful houses that looked straight from the Caribbean, with carved wooden balconies almost groaning with the weight of flowers. The town has a few museums, galleries and churches, but it’s also good to just wander around or sit in a pavement café and people-watch.
What else to do: Tour a replica of Columbus’ ship the Santa Maria, visit the Iglesia De El Salvador, check out the Flemish art at the Museo Bellas Artes, walk around the crater of the Caldera de Taburiente.

Wooden balconies on the Avenida Maritima

La Palma harbour
Tenerife
Our second stop was in Tenerife, the biggest Canary Island. It’s famous for its beach resorts, but we headed to the north of the island to explore its greener side. Tenerife gets plenty of sunshine so the south is as dry as you’d expect from somewhere the same latitude as the Sahara Desert. But the trade winds condense humidity over the north so there’s more rainfall and areas like the Ortavia Valle are surprisingly green.
The island has over 1400 different plant species, 100 of which aren’t found anywhere else in the world. Our garden tour started with some of them in the Botanic Gardens. It’s a lush green oasis filled with shady palm trees, exotic flowers, ponds full of waterlilies and lizards basking on the rocks. Even more colourful was the nearby Orchid Garden Sitio Litre, Tenerife’s oldest garden. A historic mansion is surrounded by fountains and a rainbow of beautiful orchids. It’s all very different to what you’d expect from a rocky volcanic island.
What else to do: Visit Mount Teide National Park and get the cable car to the top of Spain’s highest mountain, hike the Masca Gorge, take a whale-watching boat trip, explore historic former capital La Laguna.

The Botanic Garden and Sitio Litre Orchid Garden

Waterlilies in the Botanic Gardens
Lanzarote
After the rocky peaks of the other islands, Lanzarote’s dusty landscape felt like being transported to the Moon. It’s closest to Africa and has a dramatic mix of volcanoes, red and black beaches and lava tubes. One of the lava tubes makes up the quirky Jameos del Agua nightclub and concert venue, part of our tour of the north of the island. It’s the work of local artist and architect César Manrique. When the island was developed developed for tourism in the 1960s he helped keep buildings low-rise and using traditional colours.
The Jameos has staircases cut into the rock down to an underground grotto with a clear pool of water that’s home to a special species of tiny white blind crabs. We also visited the island’s former capital Teguise, which was the oldest Spanish settlement in the Canaries. Its quiet streets were a contrast to the busy new capital Arrecife. Our last stop was a walk around Arrecife’s lagoon, known as El Charco or ‘the puddle’. It’s more of Manrique’s handiwork, with boats lined up and a backdrop of white buildings straight out of a postcard.
What else to do: Check out the rock formations and Fire Mountains in Timanfaya National Park, tour César Manrique’s house and studio, visit the waterside Museo Historica in Arrecife.

The Jameos del Agua

El Charco aka the puddle
Three days, three different islands and not one volcano or beach visited – have you even been to the Canary Islands, or would you like to visit?
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Many thanks to P&O Cruises for hosting us. All views and opinions are, as always, my own. We took P&O’s Gardens of the Valley shore excursion in Tenerife (£34) and Discover the North (£40) in Lanzarote.
29 Comments
Noelle
July 7, 2016 at 2:17 pmI loved the north part of Tenerife when I went. I went to El Teide and just drove around that part of the island; it was really, really beautiful. A bonus is that Tenerife is really inexpensive!
Lucy
July 14, 2016 at 10:33 amThe prices are a definite bonus too!
Suzanne Jones
July 9, 2016 at 12:12 pmI think the Canary Islands are incredibly underrated. I’ve visited Tenerife countless times with work and there are so many beautiful spots on the island. Mount Teide National Park is absolutely stunning as is La Gomera which is accessible by boat from Tenerife. Lanzarote’s wine region and volcanic areas are fascinating too.
Lucy
July 14, 2016 at 10:31 amLa Gomera looks lovely, one to try next time (as well as the vineyards!).
kezdjetekelelnix
July 9, 2016 at 4:02 pmYour blog is very inspiring. I am so happy I found it and now my wanderlust is increasing so damn fast! ^^
Lucy
July 14, 2016 at 10:30 amThanks so much, great to hear you like it!
MummyTravels
July 9, 2016 at 10:16 pmI love the Canary Islands – I think they have a reputation that’s not entirely deserved. A lot of my daughter’s first trips were there: I’d been to Tenerife a few times including Teide and the north though would love to do star spotting too, but she’s been to Lanzarote three times. I can never get enough of the volcanic landscape and Timanfaya, while the vineyards are wonderful. Then last year we were in Gran Canaria which was a revelation – incredible mountain roads and cave restaurants, a rum distillery in the north and some stunning villages. Next, La Gomera!
Lucy
July 14, 2016 at 10:30 amThere’s definitely the winter sun beach trip reputation but there really is a lot more to them. Would’ve loved to have seen the vineyards and climbed a volcano too but a bit short of time this trip, good to get a taster though!
sophie nadeau
July 11, 2016 at 2:38 pmThis looks like it was an amazing trip. I’ve never been to the Canary islands but I’ll definitely be adding them to my list now!!
Lucy
July 14, 2016 at 10:19 amThanks Sophie, I was pleasantly surprised by the Canaries and how diverse they are!
Gina Gomez
July 15, 2016 at 6:56 amI’ve never been to Canary Island too, and it’s my pleasure to visit this place. I guess, the experience is priceless. I want to see the botanic and orchid garden too.
Lucy
July 18, 2016 at 5:25 pmThe gardens were so pretty – and so green! – really not what I’d expected from the Canary Islands.
Cara
July 15, 2016 at 8:20 amI visited the Canary Islands quite a few years ago and had a wonderful time, but they are often not really shown off to be how great they really are. 13 million Brits visit the Canary Islands last year, and Majorca and Tenerife have been named British tourists top destinations. However, you can still feel some authenticity when you visit, and don’t have to be surrounded by other Brits. There is such a diversity of places to visit and hidden gems off the beaten track too.
Lucy
July 18, 2016 at 5:26 pmVery true, their reputation really is of being a beach destination for Brits but it’s easy to escape that side of the islands and get to see some of the more interesting aspects instead.
John
July 17, 2016 at 4:50 pmGreat post again Luce! The photos look beautiful and really unexpected, didn’t realise the Canaries had such a rich cultural side. Which place was your favourite?
Lucy
July 18, 2016 at 5:27 pmThanks John – and no, me neither! They were definitely a nice surprise. I think I like La Palma best as the scenery was really dramatic, it’s a bit smaller and I loved all those colourful buildings.
abitofculture
July 28, 2016 at 4:40 pmI went to Tenerife on far too many lads’ holidays in the 90s, but secretly wanted to see the quieter islands. I think La Gomera and La Palma would be right up my street, and a cruise of them all would be perfect – I must see if you can do that.
Lucy
July 29, 2016 at 12:06 pmI never really fancied the Canaries but they were much nicer than I thought – could definitely go back for a few days on one of the quieter islands.
sunbonoo
August 6, 2016 at 11:53 amHi Lucy,
thanks for sharing your travel tips and the stunning pictures! The Canary islands are really different, making each of them a special goal for travelling.
We just wanted to add, that Tenerife is not only famous for the beach resorts, but also for it’s breathtaking scenery. The huge cliffs of Los Gigantes are absolutely impressive, the mountains offer great possibilities to go hiking and walking, and loads of boat trips are making it possible to enjoy a day out at sea, watching dolphines and whales (make sure you choose a boat with a blue flag, these boats watch the cetaceans carefully without disturbing them).
On all of the Canary islands, also watersports and sports related to wind (parasailing, paragliding, kitesurfing, surfing) play a major role since the conditions there are perfect.
Sunny greetings from Mallorca
sunbonoo
Lucy
August 8, 2016 at 9:31 amThanks for the tips, seems like there is a lot more to see!
Eldin van der Dussen
September 1, 2017 at 8:30 amThanks for sharing your thoughts and experience in some places of Canary Islands. Truly this places carries all that what you want in a place. Good weather, sumptuous food, friendly Canarios, and plenty of activities to enjoy especially to all adventure seekers. You can also add in your next travel the other places in Canary Islands like Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, La Gomera, and El Hierro.
Enjoy your travel.
Lucy
September 1, 2017 at 5:50 pmThanks – yes would love to explore some of the other islands next time, it looks like they’re really diverse with a lot to see!
jan
January 7, 2019 at 2:58 amMy husband has just been asked to go to Tenerife for a meeting and I have booked tickets 24 Jan-10 Feb. Other than Tenerife, what islands would you suggest we see and what is the easiest way to get around? We are not really beach people, enjoy driving around and seeing national parks, historic towns, hiking etc. Would really appreciate any advice!
Lucy
January 7, 2019 at 9:29 pmHi, I’m afraid I’ve only done a brief taster of the islands but away from the resort areas, Tenerife has some good walks including the climb up Mount Teide and through the National Park. I thought La Palma was lovely – gorgeous scenery, lots of greenery and pretty villages. You can catch the ferry from Tenerife to the other islands then it’s probably easiest to hire a car to get away from the resorts. Have a great trip!
Albert Brown
June 25, 2019 at 10:32 amHi Lucy thanks for sharing your canary island holidays experience. I have been to Gran Canaria a couple of years back an absolutely loved the experience especially the camel ride across the Maspalomas sand dunes is an unforgettable experience. Planning to visit Tenerife sometime around hopefully.
Lucy
July 8, 2019 at 5:14 pmHope you have a great trip!
Kanaren Urlaub
October 4, 2019 at 8:54 amThanks for sharing these beautiful islands with us. We love the Canary Islands and are happy to be on Fuerteventura this month. Enjoy sun, sea and culture!
Last-Minute Kanaren
November 21, 2020 at 10:04 amThe Canary Islands are a great place to stay. Can’t wait to get to Fuerteventura or Tenerife again. Thanks for posting!
Lucy Dodsworth
November 23, 2020 at 12:39 pmYou’re welcome – hope you make it out there again sometime soon!