by The Canaries on September 13, 2008
Among all the five huge islands I found La Palma as the most beautiful and absolutely untouched. The only thing which separated it from the rest was, its not so perfect climate. The place was lush green but wet most of the times. The place is hardly 200 kilometers away from West of Africa and Brazil is the nearest land to island’s west.
I found the central islands, Tenerife and Gran Canaria to be the liveliest of all. The terrific beach activity and ceaseless night life on these islands are the real secrets behind their popularity. I seriously advise you to forget about all other holiday canters and relish the exotic natural beauty on these quite and marvelous islands. I found them apt for relaxing my strained nerves and an escape from maddening crowds.
Gran Canaria proudly exhibits its horticulture including innumerable exotic fruits, crops and trees. I was surprised to see such vast and well maintained coffee and banana plantations. During a long walk I also came across innumerable fields of tobacco and sugar cane. There are plenty of orange grooves and date palm forests on the island. I enjoyed these awesome contrasts and was fortunate enough to relish the fresh fruits from the braches namely mangoes, avocadoes and papayas. It is approximately a forty kilometer stretch from north to south and offers a splendid view of volcanic mountains, desert areas, tropical forests and golden beaches.
Fuerteventura on the other hand is the oldest and offers the longest beaches among all. I could not find much of night life here but the place can be classified as a perfect destination for those families and couples, who plan to spend a nice sunny holiday during winters.
I found canaries to be a mixture of wonderful contrasts and feel that it can cater to a huge variety of interests among tourists. The place simply offers anything and everything; let it be frantic beaches, all-night clubs, exotic hotels, foam parties or fish and chip shoes. The place can provide with a non-stop entertainment for all age groups.
by The Canaries on September 11, 2008
I opted to be based at Las Palmas, as the island is not only a seamy port and historical town, but also a beachside resort and a sophisticated shopping center. After filling myself at one of the pavement cafes, I approached towards Las Cateras and found the golden sands full of joggers and strollers.
I wandered around the building called Colombus memorabilia; surrounded by palm trees and patios. From there it was mosey around the galleries and surrounding shops before the market actually began. Ingenio is a lovely place and a short ride by bus. You get a chance to admire the perfect restoration of the pretty town. The streets are lined with old buildings of practically each pastel color.
I found Macabeo to be one of the coolest places for drinking and sat for hours together, chatting with locals to explore each and every aspect of these beautiful islands.
by The Canaries on September 10, 2008
Though it took a little longer but I found ferry as a cheaper way to move from one island to other as when compared with airfares. Islas Airways (tel: 902 47 74 78; www.islasairways.com )and Binter (tel: 902 39 13 92; www.bintercanarias.es), both have regular flights connecting all the seven islands.
Biking was a nice experience for site-seeing, but there were no lanes in the urban areas, but beachside boulevards were definitely better. You will be disappointed in case you expect the drivers to accommodate you, so better to hire one. There are many companies which can provide with ferries and jetfoils, but the best among them are Navieara Armas (tel: 902 45 65 00; www.navieraarmas.com), Trasmediterránea (tel: 902 45 46 45; www.trasmediterranea.com )and Fred Olsen (tel: 901 10 01 07; www.fredolsen.es).
All the islands own an interurban bus service, bus being called a guagua( sounds wa-wa). Gran Canaria and Tenerife display the best transport system but the frequency of the runs per day is not fixed. But the system, in all the islands,is good enough to take you to all the main locations.
I was surprised to find Canary Islands on the list of all the major international car-rental companies. I was happy to book a car, well in advance and was smart enough to carry my driving license as it is a must for all the vehicles, which are over 50 cc. I advise you not to drive if you are not at least 21 and to carry your driving license, passport and the rental agreement, while going for a rental.
by The Canaries on September 9, 2008
Your trip to Canary Islands can be planned absolutely according to your own convenience, as the weather remains great, throughout the year. In fact what could gather from the locals was that the months from December to March being cooler, are fairly more crowded and hence more expensive than any other months of the year. July to September is regarded as the summer season and also a rival high season. February to march being the carnival season is once again crowded and expensive. Statistics show that the best airfare deals can be found from November to December or from April to May.
In fact at Canaries you can relish “spring” year-around. The climate remains benign, keeping the mean temperature of the tarmac well in between 27 degree Fahrenheit to 30 degree C; but the daily high often reaches around 33 degree C. I advise you to carry woolens as it can be cold at higher altitudes.
by The Canaries on September 8, 2008
I came across innumerable flights to Canary Islands as all the seven in the archipelago have airports. Though four of the airports can only be used for inter-island destinations, the other three namely Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Tenerife take care of all the international flights including the ones from mainland Spain.
Tenerife has two main airports namely Tenerife Sur (Reina Sofía) and Tenerife Norte (Los Rodeos). The latter handles all the inter-island hops and also those to the Spanish mainland, whereas the former being more modern caters to all the charter flights. All the fights, which are directly serving the islands are called charters.
The airport at Gran Canaria is 16 kilometers to the south of Las Palmas whereas the airport at Lanzarote is at a convenient distance of 6 kilometers from the capital, Arricife. The only other way to get to these islands is Trasmediterránea (tel: 902 45 46 45; www.trasmediterranea.com) ferry, which is used to carry cars and daily supplies to the island. But you ought to be tough to withstand the long bumpy journey. The ferry gets started from Cadiz (on Mediterranean coast of Spain) on Tuesday evening and arrives at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria ,on the following Thursday. Then further it moves to Santa Cruz de Tenerife, where it reaches by mid-afternoon and from there around midnight, it sails on to Santa Cruz de La Palma. It arrives at Santa Cruz de La Palma on Friday morning.
by The Canaries on September 7, 2008
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