Which Canary Island are you?
Are you a nature romantic, an adventurer, a bon vivant, or someone who wants it all?
By Dahn
Sun, sea, volcanoes, and hiking. That's what the Canary Islands have in common. But that's where the similarities end (almost). Despite the islands being so close to one another, the differences are surprisingly large, both in nature, climate, and hiking experiences.
So which island should you choose? Lush La Gomera, dramatic La Palma, versatile Gran Canaria, or perhaps Tenerife, which has a bit of everything? We compare the islands' strengths and weaknesses and help you find the right fit in the Canarian jungle.
La Gomera
For the nature romantic
Spain's Madeira, one might say. La Gomera is small, green, and almost entirely free of mass tourism. Here, hiking is about deep ravines, small mountain villages, and ancient laurel forests. Garajonay National Park is the island's green heart, but some of the finest hikes run along the dramatic mountainsides down toward the sea.
The hiking is often hilly and the trails can be steep, but the distances are relatively short. La Gomera suits you if you prioritize the nature experience over entertainment and crowds.
Choose La Gomera if: you seek calm, greenery, and a genuine island atmosphere. Choose one of the larger islands instead if you want more variety in restaurants, towns, and activities. Also count on a ferry crossing from Tenerife. We include that in the trip.
La Palma
For the adventurer
La isla bonita, the beautiful island. An epithet that carries weight, especially considering how beautiful all the islands are if you're willing to look past the prejudices. But La Palma truly lives up to its name. Here you'll find some of the Canary Islands' most spectacular hikes, from the otherworldly volcanic trail Ruta de los Volcanes to the vast erosion crater Caldera de Taburiente.
La Palma is perhaps the most dramatic hiking island, with large elevation differences, long mountain ridges, and landscapes that shift between lava deserts and lush forests with waterfalls. The hikes are generally more demanding than on Gran Canaria and Tenerife, at least if you want to experience the island's true highlights.
Choose La Palma if: you're an experienced hiker who appreciates magnificent nature and wants to challenge both your legs and your expectations. Less suitable for those seeking easier walks, beach life, or a wide range of entertainment. Flight connections can also be a bit more cumbersome, but you can experience La Palma on an island-hopping trip together with Tenerife and La Gomera, in which case we handle the logistics.
Gran Canaria
For the bon vivant
This favorite has considerably more to offer than the beaches in the south. In fact, large parts of the island are surprisingly rural, with small villages, green valleys, and a spectacular mountain landscape around Tejeda and the sacred Roque Nublo.
Gran Canaria's great strength is the combination of varied hiking, a pleasant climate, and lively villages. Here you can hike among almond trees and pine forests, enjoy good food at a village tavern, and end the trip by the sea. The trails are often well-trodden, but the elevation differences shouldn't be underestimated.
Choose Gran Canaria if: you want to combine great hikes with culture, gastronomy, and a bit of comfort. A good first choice for those who haven't hiked in the Canary Islands before.
Tenerife
For those who want it all
Now objectivity breaks down, since the undersigned has lived for several years on Tenerife itself. But for those who don't want to rule anything out, it's hard to beat the Canary Islands' largest island. Here you'll find the Cañadas desert around Teide, which resembles Utah or Mars more than anything else, the moisture-drenched laurel forests in Teno and Anaga, which are the same as on La Gomera, the lush north coast with its beautiful colonial towns, and almost eternal sunshine and great surfing waves in the south.
Tenerife's strength is its breadth. The hikes vary from easy forest trails to serious mountain tours, and there's much to discover even on rest days. Tenerife is also referred to as the gastronomic island by the Canarians themselves, and the restaurant selection is enormous across all price ranges. At the same time, the island is large, which means the distances between hiking areas can be long. A rental car is a convenient way to get around, but we also offer trips with luggage transport and transfers in the usual way.
Choose Tenerife if: you want direct flights, maximum variety, and like to combine hiking with other experiences. If, on the other hand, you're looking for tranquility and the feeling of being far from civilization, La Gomera or La Palma might suit you better.
Skip the choice and island-hop instead
The only thing better than escaping 8 days of winter is surely escaping 11. If you treat yourself to a somewhat longer trip, we'll take you to three of the islands on a magical island-hopping adventure with the best of Tenerife, La Gomera, and La Palma on one and the same trip.
When should you travel to the Canary Islands?
The Canary Islands work as a hiking destination year-round, but autumn and spring are especially fine. During winter, few places are better for hiking in winter sun, but it's wise to keep the altitude in mind, as it can get colder there. The northern parts of the islands are generally greener, but also cloudier and more humid than the southern sides. The secret hiking season in the Canary Islands is actually summer: that's when they're cooler than the Mediterranean.
5 things you (maybe) didn't know about the Canary Islands
On La Gomera there's an ancient laurel forest that is both a national park and a UNESCO World Heritage site. This laurisilva is a remnant of the subtropical forests that covered large parts of Europe millions of years ago. Hiking here is a bit like traveling back in time.
The insider perspective
I can't write about the Canary Islands without sharing a bit of myself. On Gran Canaria, I was struck for the first time by how magnificent the sea looked from a height; on Fuerteventura, I met my future wife; and on Tenerife, we lived for three years with the children. Places where you've lived through several eras of your life tend to feel like home. And it becomes a bit of a mission to change people's perception of these "fortunate islands" (the ancient name, clearly more fitting than "Dog Islands"). Europe's Hawaii might sound pretentious, but it's getting closer to the truth. Not quite as green, but much sunnier, and with the same drama. It's also becoming more exclusive, deservedly so. And beyond the resort towns, which are so vanishingly small compared to the rest, we love eating fish in small villages that only Canarians find their way to, soaking up the almost South American atmosphere in the towns, and enjoying the rawness that only islands in the ocean can display.
So which island is my own favorite? Tenerife naturally holds a special place in my heart. But when it comes to pure hiking joy, it's hard to choose between La Gomera's green ravines and La Palma's volcanic drama. Perhaps that's exactly the point: there isn't one best Canary Island. Just one that suits you best. Or you take one a year – you're happy to return to the fortunate islands again and again.
Hiking trips to the Canary Islands
