Ultimate Canary Islands

Arrival at Tenerife Sur airport and transfer to Vilaflor, one of Spain's highest situated villages. Here you will spend three nights at the welcoming hotel, with garden and pool, with the opportunity to explore the village's historic parts.

After a short 10-minute transfer you begin a fascinating hike through a real lunar landscape (Paisaje Lunar), along well-maintained and clearly marked trails and forest roads. Pleasant pine forests and striking views over peculiar volcanic rock formations and all of southern Tenerife. Finally you hike back to the hotel.

The day begins with a transfer to Parador del Teide - the wilderness hotel that stands in solitary majesty in the middle of the giant crater Las Cañadas and in the shadow of Teide. Here follows a two-hour circular hike at Roques de Garcia, which offers all the bizarre forms and colors of the volcanic landscape. Another alternative is to be dropped off at the cable car and take a short walk from the top station (read more below about what applies if you want to climb the actual summit). Then you hike through the extraterrestrial desert from the valley station back to the Parador (1.5 hours) where a taxi takes you home to Vilaflor.

After an early breakfast you get a 30-minute private transfer to the port in Los Cristianos to take the first ferry to San Sebastián de la Gomera, where a taxi waits to take you to El Contadero, a remote crossroads high up in Garajonay National Park. From there you do a 4.5-hour hike down to Hermigua. The first part (2.5 hours) is a long but easy descent on wide trails through the magical laurel forest. Near El Cedro you tackle a short, steep section on a paved trail and then continue on quiet country roads to your comfortable and charming country hotel in Hermigua.

NOTE - Ferry departures may change during the season. If you want a rest day and prefer to book an afternoon ferry, please let us know at the time of booking.

Today you walk a circular tour north from Hermigua, past abandoned villages along La Gomera's dramatic and lush north coast. Spectacular views over Tenerife and the peak of El Teide form a beautiful backdrop. You alternate between both wide gravel roads and narrower trails; all are well marked and protected with wooden railings at exposed sections. The final part takes you through papaya and mango fields in the valley. Here most subtropical fruits grow, thanks to the humid trade winds.

Morning transfer to Garajonay's visitor center at Juego de Bolas, where you can marvel at the tropical flowers in their botanical garden. Then you begin an easy hike on the long-distance trail GR-132 to Vallehermoso. Along the way you pass two natural monuments, Roque Blanco and Roque Cano, before descending into the lush valley Vallehermoso (whose name means "the beautiful valley"). After a refreshing drink at the village square side by side with locals, you get a transfer back to your hotel in Hermigua.

Check-out and transfer to Degollada de la Peraza for an easy but very rewarding panoramic hike down towards the sea. It takes 4 to 4.5 hours on GR-131 to reach San Sebastian, where you take the afternoon ferry to the trip's third island La Palma. Once there you check in at your charming accommodation in Santa Cruz's historic city center - one of the finest in the Canary Islands.

Your first hike on La isla bonita (the beautiful island) goes through one of the cloud forests that are so typical of the Canary Islands: El Cubo de Galga. In this fresh, lush and humid environment the beaches feel far away. Early in the morning a taxi transfer is arranged for you to the starting point. The hike begins on wide forest trails but then transitions to both paved and unpaved country roads when you reach the coast. The banana plantations stretch out in a green carpet and looking closer you see many other exotic fruits and plants along the way. You can choose to end the hike after 7 or 12 km at one of the bus stops where you can hop on a guagua (Canarian for local bus) back to Santa Cruz de la Palma.

After a 45-minute transfer up to La Cumbrecita awaits a very beautiful hike to the summit of Pico Bejenado (1854 m). This is a tough ascent to the summit with extensive views over the Jurassic Park-like Caldera de Taburiente, Los Llanos de Aridane and the island's eastern parts under Teide's constantly watchful eye. The descent is long but goes along shady forest trails. The last two kilometers you follow a quiet paved road to the national park's visitor center in El Paso, where you take the bus back to Santa Cruz.

On your last day you will do another classic in the island's hiking repertoire: Ruta de los Volcanes, which follows the island's volcanically active ridge from north to south. Here the latest eruption occurred in 2021 but the route is again open and safe. The landscape resembles nothing else and is of great geological interest. It displays nature's both formative and destructive power, which the island's inhabitants live with from day to day.

Since the route in its entirety is long, you can ask the taxi driver to take you to Los Canarios and from there hike the final part down towards Fuencaliente lighthouse (possible taxi supplement paid on site). After the tour you return to Santa Cruz by bus.

You take the ferry back to Tenerife. At the port in Los Cristianos a taxi waits to take you to Tenerife Sur airport, where the trip ends.