Canary Islands - the main resorts and areas, excursions and attractions, museums, map and photos, tourist reviews about the Canary Islands.
The Canary Islands is an area of 13 volcanic islands located in the Atlantic Ocean, 1,000 km from mainland Spain and just 115 km from the African coast. The Canary Islands are part of Spain, although today they have their own government, the Cabildo Insular. The six islands (Alegranza, La Graciosa, Lobos, Montaña Clara, Roque del Este and Roque del Osté) are tiny pieces of land in the middle of the ocean and remain uninhabited. The oldest geologically are the three eastern islands closest to Africa: Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. They also have the longest coastline and the most beaches.
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The Canary Islands are a picturesque archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, a land of eternal summer with an ideal climate, emerald valleys, quaint cliffs and sandy beaches. Officially, the Canaries are an autonomous province of Spain, consisting of 7 large islands (El Hierro, La Palma, La Gomera, Tenerife, Lanzarote, Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura) and several small ones. The title of the capital of the archipelago is passed to each other every 4 years by the cities of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
Despite the fact that the Canary Islands formally belong to Spain, the atmosphere here is by no means European. Tourists come here for real exotic: magnificent tropical landscapes, soft ocean waves, black volcanic beaches and delicious ripe fruits. Fortunately, this exotic is close and accessible: it takes only a few hours to fly to the islands, excluding transfers. In the Canaries, you can not only idly relax on the beach: all the islands are scattered with unique prehistoric monuments, volcanoes, waterfalls, "lunar" valleys of frozen lava. It also has excellent service and a real paradise for surfers and divers.
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Major resorts and islands
The largest island in the Canary archipelago, Tenerife, offers a choice of both calm, secluded relaxation and bustling fun. For example, Los Cristianos, like neighboring Las Americas, is a "lively" resort, visited mainly by the British and Germans, who are hungry for booze and discos. And Puerto de la Cruz, in turn, is well suited for a relaxing holiday "at one with nature." Only here the coast is steep and rocky, there are practically no beaches as such: tourists mostly splash in hotel pools.
The island of Gran Canaria is good from all sides. Those who like to relax in large tourist centers with many hotels and apartments, shops, restaurants, bars and attractions will certainly like it. But there are also small resorts on the island specializing in water sports and equipped with yacht parking. Here you can take excursions by the sea, go windsurfing, fish in the open ocean, jump with a parachute - in general, actively have fun. The real pearl of the island is the Dunes (Dunas de Maspalomas). This is practically a "Sahara in miniature" with the purest golden sand and a comfortable 5-kilometer beach.
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The sandy beaches of Fuerteventura, many kilometers long, wide in African style and mostly deserted, are the best and longest in the Canary archipelago.
Finally, Lanzarote is a reserve island, not flora or fauna, but volcanoes. "Lunar landscape" is the main exotic of this place. The island is perfect for a holiday that is not saturated with civilized entertainment.
Other islands and resorts in the Canary Islands are La Palma, Hierro and Gomera.