Getting Oriented
- Tenerife. Tenerife, with the largest population of the Canaries, also has the most attractions—even if it has suffered terribly at the hands of tasteless developers. Ride a cable car up the slopes of El Teide, swim in a huge artificial lake, wander botanical gardens, or dance at glittering discos. The beaches are small, with mostly black sand. The verdant (read: rainy) north coast has some unspoiled villages, while the southern Playa de las Américas's skyline is filled with modern high-rise hotels.
- Gran Canaria. The hot spot of the '60s, Gran Canaria no longer draws as many visitors as Tenerife (it does have one of Europe’s biggest and brightest gay scenes, though). Maspalomas beach is one of the islands' most arresting, and the magnificent sand dunes behind it are a must-visit nature reserve. The volcanic center is a succession of dramatic peaks and canyons veined with white-knuckle mountain roads that lead to hidden villages. The seaside capital, Las Palmas, is the Canaries' most cosmopolitan city and is always abuzz with locals and tourists. The old town around Vegueta and Triana is quaint and authentic, and there’s a sparkling stretch of beach downtown, with a lantern-lit boardwalk lined with restaurants and bars.
- Lanzarote. Lanzarote is a desert isle that improbably escaped the ravages of rampant speculation that scarred Tenerife and Gran Canaria. That's largely thanks to renowned architect and activist César Manrique, who pioneered most of the development of responsible tourist attractions on the island. Lanzarote has golden beaches, white villages, caves, and a volcanic national park where heat from an eruption in 1730 is still rising through vents in the earth. Vegetation is scarce, but the grapes grown by farmers in volcanic ash produce a distinctive Canarian wine.
- Fuerteventura. Fuerteventura is the least visited of the four largest islands, but construction of new hotels has kept up with the demands of tourists, who come to windsurf and kitesurf and enjoy the endless white beaches, reminiscent of those in the Caribbean. Luxury hotels dot the coastal resorts, though the barren interior remains largely the domain of goats.
