Canary Islandswhat to see, tours and where to stay

Start with Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Puerto de la Cruz, Costa Adeje, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Maspalomas. Keep one morning for the coast near Canary Islands. Three days — the centre on foot, the flagship sight plus market, one booked excursion into Canary Islands. Five days — add a second excursion and a slow day for museums, food and a local festival if the dates line up. Seven days — add two longer trips further into Canary Islands and a rest day. Group each day by walking distance and never cross Canary Islands twice in one day.

This is inside the Schengen area. EU, EEA and Swiss nationals travel with an ID card. UK, US, Canadian, Australian and most Latin American visitors enter visa-free for up to 90 days in any 180, need a passport valid for at least three months beyond departure and issued within the last ten years, and should expect the EU's ETIAS travel authorisation to be required once it starts (check the official EU page close to your trip). No vaccinations are required. Requirements change: confirm against your own government's travel advice and the official immigration site before you book.

Canary Islands is safe for visitors by the standards of Spain: violent crime is rare and the real risk is opportunistic — pickpocketing on crowded transport, at photo spots and in busy markets, plus unmetered taxis and card machines pre-set to a higher amount or your home currency. Avoid deserted station areas and unlit outskirts late at night, use the official taxi rank or a ride-hailing app after dark, keep your bag in front of you in queues, photograph your passport, and check your own foreign-office travel advice page before departure. Travel insurance with medical cover is worth it.

Walk the centre of Canary Islands and use public transport for anything further out; a hire car only pays off for the countryside of Canary Islands. In Spain, single tickets are poor value: buy a multi-journey card (T-casual style) or a 24/48 h tourist pass only if you plan more than four rides a day For accommodation, stay inside or immediately beside the historic centre for a first visit: you walk to the sights and save two taxis a day. The edge of the old town is the value option — a few minutes further out, cheaper and quieter at night — and a room over a courtyard beats one over a bar street.

Prioritise Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Puerto de la Cruz, Costa Adeje, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Maspalomas. What you can skip without regret: the restaurants with photo menus and touts on the main square, any hop-on bus if the centre is walkable, and paid "panoramic" viewpoints when a free one gives the same picture. You also have coastline within reach of Canary Islands, so keep one morning free for a beach or a coastal walk.

Use the scheduled airport bus or regional train for the cheapest transfer into Canary Islands, an official taxi from the marked rank when you arrive late or with luggage, and ignore anyone offering a private transfer inside the terminal. In Spain, single tickets are poor value: buy a multi-journey card (T-casual style) or a 24/48 h tourist pass only if you plan more than four rides a day

Day 1 — the historic core of Canary Islands on foot, clockwise from the main square, with lunch where you end up rather than walking back. Day 2 — the single biggest sight first thing, then the market and the residential streets around it, and a viewpoint at sunset. Day 3 — one excursion into Canary Islands booked in advance, back for a late dinner. Group everything by walking distance and never cross Canary Islands twice in a day.

The classics are the same everywhere: unmetered taxis quoting a flat fare, "free" bracelets or flowers, distraction pickpocketing on crowded transport and at photo spots, card machines handed over pre-set to a higher amount or to your home currency, and restaurants without printed prices. Check the meter, always pay in euros, and keep your bag in front of you in queues.

In Spain, tipping is optional and modest — round up or leave 5–10% for a good sit-down meal; nobody expects it in bars. Lunch runs 13:30–15:30 and dinner rarely starts before 20:30; kitchens close around 23:00 and many restaurants shut on Sunday evening and Monday. Cover shoulders and knees inside churches, greet staff before ordering, keep your voice down in residential streets at night, and expect shops in smaller towns around Canary Islands to close in the early afternoon.

Lunch runs 13:30–15:30 and dinner rarely starts before 20:30; kitchens close around 23:00 and many restaurants shut on Sunday evening and Monday. Book dinner for anything popular, ask for the bill (it won't arrive unprompted), and split payment is usually fine by card. Tipping is optional and modest — round up or leave 5–10% for a good sit-down meal; nobody expects it in bars.

Most of what makes Canary Islands memorable costs nothing: walking the historic centre and its squares, the market hall, the outside of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the churches that ask only for a donation, the parks and gardens, and the viewpoint that looks back over the roofs. Add the seafront promenade and the public beaches — free showers and no sunbed hire needed if you bring a towel. Municipal museums in Spain usually have one free afternoon or evening a week, and many cathedrals are free outside visiting hours if you go to pray rather than to tour — check the times at the door on your first morning.

single tickets are poor value: buy a multi-journey card (T-casual style) or a 24/48 h tourist pass only if you plan more than four rides a day If your 5-day plan is mostly on foot in Canary Islands with one excursion, buy singles or a multi-journey card and skip the tourist pass; if you're crossing the city several times a day or using it with museum entry included, a 48 h pass pays for itself.

Locals go where there's no ticket desk: the residential lanes just outside the walls of Canary Islands early in the morning, the neighbourhood bar with four tables and one dish, the cemetery or convent garden that nobody photographs, and the hill road out of town at dusk. Ask the person serving you coffee where they eat on Sunday — in Canary Islands that question opens more doors than any list.