A Different View of the Canary Islands

Tacky, touristy and terrible if you’re a discerning traveller. Anyone who still believes that about The Canary Islands has either been going to the wrong bits or needs to change what paper/blogs they read.

The Rain Forest in La Gomera


Ah, I hear you say, La Gomera is one of the okay ones. There’s no need to lie about where we’re visiting when we go there. La Gomera does attract a more discerning tourist and it still has its secrets like this Louisiana-esque scene at the Meriga Dam (or Damp if you go with the local misspelling). Good luck in trying to find this spot.

Colonial La Palma


Aha, another of the okay Canary Islands. La Palma has escaped the mass tourism tag despite it being one of the most sophisticated islands. Santa Cruz de la Palma, home to these wonderful, creaky colonial balconies, is the little Havana of The Canary Islands.

Latino Las Palmas de Gran Canaria


It helps when you’ve been shown around by an up and coming local indie rock musician, but the streets behind Playa de las Canteras in Gran Canaria‘s capital Las Palmas are mass tourism free and home to great little restaurants and signs like this that reveal the strong kinship with the New World across the Atlantic.

Not so Grotty in Lanzarote


Now were talking mass tourism land… except we’re not. Sun, sand and sea there may be but there is a noticeable lack of sun beds and rows of human lobsters on this paradise bay on Lanzarote’s La Graciosa.

Surprising Tenerife


The biggest and tackiest of them all, Tenerife is to be avoided at all costs. Well if you choose to stay in the bits where chavs and chavettes rule supreme fuelled by a diet of all day bumper British breakfasts, John Smith’s, watered down shots and sex on the beach guess what you’ll find?
Personally I’ll stick to the cool, old towns like La Orotava which attracted the great and the good for centuries and where the sand beneath your toes is from the world record breaking Corpus Christi tapestry created using sand and soil from Teide National Park.

About Jack 798 Articles
Jack is co-editor, writer and photographer for BuzzTrips and the Real Tenerife series of travel websites as well as a Slow Travel consultant and a contributor to online travel sites and travel magazines. Follow Jack on Facebook for more travel photos and snippets.

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