What is the best island in the Canary Islands? Possibly the most difficult question we have to answer on this blog. Maybe we have to put the question in another way, that is, which canary island to visit. The best island in the Canary Islands It depends on what for, since they are all different and each one has its attractions. Us We are lucky to have visited them all.. So, below we are going to give you a brief summary about the Islands so that you can choose yourself. which Canary Island to visit.

Canary Islands what to see
First of all, before deciding which Canary Islands to visit, you should know that the canary archipelago is made up of eight islands: La Palma, El Hierro, La Gomera, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote and La Graciosa. There are also several islets such as Lobos (visitable), Alegranza, Montaña Clara and several smaller rocks. The Canary Islands have belonged to Spain since the 15th century, the date on which the crown of Castile conquered the Canarian aborigines. But, Where are the canary islands? Geographically they are located in the Atlantic Ocean, a few kilometers from the coasts of West Africa, facing Morocco and the Sahara. That is, about a 2 and a half hour flight from the Peninsula.

El Climate in the Canary Islands is subtropical with temperate temperatures all year round. It doesn't usually rain much and, luckily, there are no tornadoes or earthquakes here. Still, you should know that islands are small miniature continents. That is, in mountainous areas there can be temperatures below zero (only in winter) and, at the same time, on the southern beaches it can be more than 20 degrees. In any case, We believe that the best months to visit them are from October to May, since it is still cold in Europe and the entire northern hemisphere.

Discover which is the best Canary Island for you
If what you are looking for is sun and beach, you will find it in all of them. However, you should know that the eastern islands are sandier (playones). On the other hand, the western islands are more rocky (cliffs). In Gran Canaria you can find both types of landscapes. In any case, in the next lines we detail the essential places and outstanding activities on each island so that you decide yourself which is the best canary island for you.
1. Gran Canaria: beach, mountains, wide gastronomic and cultural offer
- Its capital, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is the most populated city in the Canary Islands with a wide cultural offer. Discover here what to see in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
- Sacred Mountains of Gran Canaria and Risco Caído, World Heritage Site by UNESCO
- dunes of Maspalomas and its kilometer-long beach
- Nublo Rural Park and Roque Nublo Natural Monument, symbol of the island
- Las Canteras Beach, One best urban beaches in the world
- Beaches and bathing areas of different types: golden sand, black sand, stones, puddles and pools of sea water
- Wide nightlife offer
- large network of trails in Gran Canaria and MTB routes
- Good rums and wines with wineries to visit.
- Wide gastronomic offer, includes three Michelin Star restaurants
- World award-winning cheeses (mixture, sheep, goat and cow), highlights the flower cheese with vegetable rennet.
- Good offer of leisure for families: Poem of the Sea Aquarium and Holiday World Maspalomas
- It has overcrowded tourist areas: mainly English beach y Puerto Rico
- It is the second most populated Canary Island
- It has an international airport
You already know that we have a blog about the island of Gran Canaria because we live here, If you would like more information about the places we like the most on the island, you can take a quick look at the following article.

2. Tenerife: beach, mountains, wide gastronomic and cultural offer
- Teide National Park. Mount Teide is the highest peak in Spain with 3.718m of altitude.
- City of La Laguna, Heritage of humanity by unesco
- Sighting of cetaceans: whales and dolphins all year
- Anaga Rural Park
- Tourism astronomical
- Beaches and bathing areas of different types: golden sand, black sand, stones, puddles and pools of sea water
- large network of trails and MTB routes
- good wines and wineries to visit
- Wide nightlife offer
- Network of guachinches, places with homemade Canarian food at a good price
- Wide gastronomic offer, includes four Michelin Star restaurants
- Good offer of leisure for families: Loro Parque and Siam Park water park
- It has crowded tourist areas: mainly Las Américas beach and Puerto de La Cruz
- It is the most populated Canary Island
- It has two airports: one in the south mainly for international flights and another in the north for national and island flights
We have a super article with recommendations of places to visit in Tenerife to discover its most authentic side, with recommendations for restaurants, hotels and advice. It is the Canary Island that we have visited the most due to its proximity to Gran Canaria and, at the same time, being one of the most complete.

3. Lanzarote, best Canary Island for beach holidays
- Paradise beaches and coves of white sand, golden and crystal clear waters, being one of the favorite islands to travel by sailboat
- Timanfaya National Park
- The Jameos del Agua
- Beaches of Parrot
- green lagoon (or Click Pond)
- César Manrique Foundation
- Good wines and wineries to visit
- Good gastronomic offer
- It has overcrowded tourist areas: mainly Puerto del Carmen (and Costa Teguise)
- Practically flat island with unattractive for mountain sports
- It has an international airport
- Less than an hour by boat from La Graciosa (recommended day trip if you visit this island)

4. La Graciosa, beaches and disconnection from civilization
- Paradise beaches and coves with golden sand and crystal clear waters
- Is the Smallest island of the archipelago, so it is sparsely populated.
- It has a limited leisure offer, ideal to disconnect
- streets and sand roadsThere are hardly any cars
- Preserve 100% authenticity throughout the territory, that is, without overcrowding. However, the months from July to September its population triples with local tourism. with what It is not the best Canary Island to spend the summer. If you can, visit it from October to June and avoid Easter
- Without an airport, you can only get there by ferry to La Graciosa from Lanzarote or by private boat

5. Fuerteventura, best Canary Island for beach holidays
- Kilometer-long beaches and paradises of white, golden sand and crystal clear waters
- Jandía Natural Park, highlighting the beaches of Jandía and Cofete
- Dunes of Corralejo
- Paradise for water sports, mainly windsurfing and surfing (Sotavento beach).
- Known for its award-winning goat cheeses
- Possibility of visiting the Lobos islet in one boat excursion, since it is less than an hour away (you cannot stay overnight)
- Practically flat and desert island with unattractive for mountain sports
- It has an international airport

6. La Gomera, the best island in the Canary Islands to disconnect
- Garajonay National Park
- Good network of trails and MTB routes
- This is where the origin comes from canarian almogrote
- Acantilado The organs
- Beaches of stones and black sand. It also has puddles and some seawater pools.
- Sparsely populated island with limited leisure options, ideal to disconnect. In fact, it has locations to carry out retreats, yoga and meditation
- Preserve 100% authenticity throughout the territory, without overcrowding
- The airport is small and only for flights from Tenerife or Gran Canaria. You can also arrive by boat from other Canary Islands (the closest ones)
You can get more information about this destination at our complete guide to La Gomera with 10 incredible places to visit, restaurants and tips to organize your trip. We spent the summer on this island and my mother and grandparents are from here, so we have a lot of information to share.

7. El Hierro, best Canary Island for diving
- La Restinga-Mar de las Calmas Marine Reserve, ideal for diving
- La Sabina from El Hierro
- Beaches of stones and black sand. It also has natural puddles and seawater pools.
- Good gastronomic offer, mainly fish and seafood
- Isla sparsely populated and with little leisure offer, ideal for disconnecting
- Preserve 100% authenticity throughout the territory, without massifying
- Good network trails and MTB routes
- Garoe Tree
- Ancient meridian 0
- The airport is small and only for flights from Tenerife or Gran Canaria. You can also arrive by boat from other Canary Islands (the closest ones)
We invite you to learn more about El Hierro in our specific article about this destination with more information about the places to visit, where to eat, where to stay, etc. We've been four times now!

8. La Palma, hiking paradise
- Volcano tourism, mainly due to the erosion of the La Palma Cumbre Vieja volcano last 2021
- Good network of trails and MTB routes, it is the greenest Canary Island
- Caldera de Taburiente National Park
- Astronomical tourism, Roque de Los Muchachos
- Stone and black sand beaches. It also has some seawater pools.
- Good gastronomic offer
- It preserves 100% of its authenticity throughout the territory, without overcrowding
- International Airport

Which island is the best in the Canary Islands?
In short, as you may have seen, it is impossible to choose the best Canary Island for holidays, since not all of us like the same thing. However, we hope that after highlighting the main characteristics of each island you can decide which canary island to visit. In any case, we believe that, if you have the opportunity, you should consider which Canary Islands to visit (plural), some are perfectly combinable due to proximity or directly visit them all little by little.

Possibly, if you are looking to be away from the masses, the best Canary Island to go to in summer be one of the least touristy. These are El Hierro, La Gomera and La Palma. On the other hand, if you want to know what the best Canary Island to go in October, any one is fine depending on your tastes. The climate is quite similar in all of them and in October the temperatures are great.
What is the cheapest island in the Canary Islands?
Finally, another question that usually comes up in all the forums is what is the cheapest island in the Canary Islands. In principle they are all similar, but The most populated ones have a greater range of accommodation and restaurants, so there is more competitiveness in prices.

In addition, they are better connected, so you can save a lot on flights. In any case, being more populated they have a greater range of leisure and activities, so spending at destination can be higher. The same goes for the question of which is the cheapest canary island to liveSure, rental housing will be cheaper on the less populated islands, but here you also have fewer leisure options. So you have to choose once again based on your tastes.

Video: which Canary island is better?
In this video of On our YouTube channel we review the places to visit in the Canary Islands, highlighting the charms and peculiarities of each one.. This way, you can choose which Canary Island to visit more easily. You can subscribe this article and leave us any questions in the comments.
Podcast: which Canary island to visit?
In the next episode of our podcast about Gran Canaria we dedicate a specific chapter to explaining which Canary island to visit based on your tastes. It is the same audio as the previous video, but we leave it in podcast format so you can listen to us while you are doing something else. We are waiting for you on Spotify and iTunes with more episodes!
Finally, If you choose to travel to Gran Canaria, we invite you to take a look at our digital guides to get to know the most authentic side of the island on your own without wasting time organizing your itinerary.


Hello! I am Ruth, Canarian with a traveling soul. With training and experience in the tourism and digital marketing sector. In this blog I tell you all the tips you need to get to know the most authentic side of Gran Canaria on your own. I also share my travel guides to all the places in the world that I am visiting so that you can discover the destinations like a local and save time planning. In addition to traveling, I love gastronomy and sports. I run and hike in the mountains with my “dog-children” (Silver and Plata). In all these adventures my partner accompanies me, Jorge, which you will also see a lot on this blog.
I want to travel to the Canary Islands in July and I want to know which of the islands I should visit?
Hello María Leonor! In this article we briefly explain what each island offers so that you can choose based on your tastes and preferences. The climate is similar in all of them.
Greetings,
Ruth
Hello. It seems that you are from Gran Canaria, and therefore very unbiased with your comments. The Carnival of Tenerife is the authentic and most touristy one (the one in Gran Canaria is a cheap copy of the one in Tenerife, no offense intended...), Furthermore, Tenerife has more than 10 essential sites that you have not included. You should be more impartial in your comments…
Hello Roberto! Thank you very much for your comment.
In this article we have tried to be as impartial as possible. I don't know what you're basing yourself on to say that... and nowhere is it talked about carnivals...
On the other hand, the list highlights the most characteristic places of each island. We cannot mention them all, otherwise this will become the encyclopedia of the Canary Islands.
If we have missed any essential places in Tenerife and we must replace them with others, that's what comments are for, to contribute and enrich the article 🙂 so when you want to comment again providing the places you indicate, we will be happy to read you here 🙂
All the best