Theme parks, wildlife, volcanoes and boat trips — the attractions and activities worth your time across the islands, with up-to-date prices and opening hours.
The Canary Guide
Things to Do in the Canary Islands
Theme parks, wildlife, volcanoes and boat trips — the attractions and activities worth your time across the islands, with up-to-date prices and opening hours.
Gran Canaria
Theme parks & attractions
Palmitos Park
A subtropical wildlife park in a palm-filled ravine — dolphins, eagles and one of Europe's biggest bird shows.
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Sioux City Park
A Wild West town in a rocky canyon, built as a 1960s film set — gunfights, cancan and a lively barbecue night.
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Aqualand Maspalomas
Gran Canaria's biggest water park — fast slides, lazy rivers and a dedicated area for younger children.
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Holiday World Maspalomas
A seafront funfair with a landmark big wheel, rides for all ages, bowling and live evening shows.
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Mundo Aborigen
An open-air recreation of ancient Canarian life on a hillside above Maspalomas — a low-key, family-friendly history stop.
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Reptilandia Park
A quirky reptile and animal park in Gran Canaria's green north — snakes, crocodiles, giant tortoises and lemurs.
Read more →Nature, volcanoes & viewpoints
Roque Nublo
Gran Canaria's sacred 80-metre rock monolith, reached by an easy hill walk with island-wide views to Teide.
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The Maspalomas Dunes
A protected sea of Saharan-gold sand rolling into the Atlantic — how to explore it without harming it.
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Barranco de Guayadeque
A lush ravine where people still live in caves — with cave restaurants and a cave chapel, near the island's aboriginal heartland.
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Jardín Botánico Canario
Spain's biggest botanical garden, just outside Las Palmas — a free, shady showcase of the islands' extraordinary plant life.
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Caldera de Bandama
A near-perfect volcanic crater you can peer into — or hike down into — with sweeping views over Gran Canaria.
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Barranco de las Vacas
Gran Canaria's mini 'Antelope Canyon' — a photogenic sculpted slot in the rock near Agüimes (go early to beat the crowds).
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Natural Pools of Gran Canaria
The rugged north coast hides Gran Canaria's best lava pools — Bañaderos, Roque Prieto and the pools at Agaete.
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Pico de las Nieves
Gran Canaria's rooftop — a viewpoint over Roque Nublo and the peaks, with Tenerife's Teide floating on the horizon.
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Mirador del Balcón
A dizzying clifftop walkway on Gran Canaria's wild west coast — one of the island's most jaw-dropping views.
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Tamadaba Pine Forest
A fragrant Canary-pine forest on Gran Canaria's north-west heights — walking, camping and cliff-edge views over the sea.
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Roque Bentayga
A sacred rock in the heart of the Tejeda caldera — an aboriginal holy place of carvings and star-aligned shrines, near Roque Nublo.
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Culture, museums & landmarks
Cenobio de Valerón
A honeycomb of 300+ caves carved into a cliff — the ancient Canarians' communal granary, one of the island's great archaeological sites.
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Teror
Gran Canaria's prettiest inland town — carved balconies, a revered basilica and a much-loved Sunday market.
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Arehucas Rum Distillery
Tour Gran Canaria's historic rum distillery in Arucas — barrels signed by the famous, and a tasting of the island's spirit.
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Casa de Colón
A gorgeous museum in Las Palmas's old town telling the story of Columbus, the Canaries and the crossing to the Americas.
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El Museo Canario
The islands' great archaeology museum in Vegueta — the definitive collection of Guanche artefacts, and their haunting mummies.
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Museo Elder de la Ciencia
A large hands-on science museum in Las Palmas port — planes, planetarium and buttons to press, made for curious kids.
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Cueva Pintada de Gáldar
A pre-Hispanic painted cave and whole excavated aboriginal town under glass — Gran Canaria's finest archaeological experience.
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Nightlife & entertainment
Best of & roundups
Tenerife
Theme parks & attractions
Nature, volcanoes & viewpoints
Mount Teide & the Cable Car
Spain's highest peak and the Canaries' number-one sight — the cable car, the free summit permit and a Mars-like national park.
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Anaga Rural Park
Tenerife's prehistoric north-east — misty laurel forest, knife-edge ridges and tiny hamlets, all a short drive from the capital.
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Masca Village & Gorge
A cluster of houses perched on a knife-edge ridge deep in the Teno mountains — Tenerife's most jaw-dropping village.
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Cueva del Viento
One of the world's longest volcanic lava tubes — a guided underground walk through Teide's plumbing near Icod de los Vinos.
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Punta de Teno
Tenerife's wild north-west tip — a lighthouse under towering cliffs with views to La Gomera (reached by shuttle bus).
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Drago Milenario de Icod
Tenerife's giant thousand-year-old dragon tree — the island's living emblem, in the wine town of Icod de los Vinos.
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Montaña Roja
A rust-red volcano rising from the beach at El Médano — an easy climb, wild sands and a protected haven for birds.
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Malpaís de Güímar
A protected 'badland' of black lava and rare desert plants — a strange, flat, easy walk on Tenerife's east coast.
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Barranco del Infierno
A gorgeous protected ravine walk above Costa Adeje ending at a rare Tenerife waterfall — but you must book ahead.
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Natural Pools of Tenerife
From Garachico's famous lava pools to the wild north coast — Tenerife's best natural seawater swimming spots.
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Palmetum de Santa Cruz
A world-class palm garden reclaimed from a rubbish tip — thousands of palms and sweeping sea views above Santa Cruz.
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Parque García Sanabria
Santa Cruz's lush central park — exotic trees, modern sculptures and a famous floral clock, a shady heart of the city.
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Teno Rural Park
Tenerife's wild north-west — deep ravines, ancient hamlets and Masca, one of the island's greatest walking landscapes.
Read more →Historic towns & markets
Wildlife & water parks
Loro Parque
Tenerife's world-famous animal park near Puerto de la Cruz — parrots, penguins, big aquariums and lush gardens.
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Siam Park
Regularly voted the world's best water park — colossal slides, a giant wave pool and Thai theming above Costa Adeje.
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Aqualand Costa Adeje
Tenerife's family water park in Costa Adeje — slides, a wave pool and a big splash zone for younger children.
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Monkey Park
A small, friendly hands-on animal park near Los Cristianos — lemurs, marmosets and meerkats that delight little ones.
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Pyramids of Güímar
Mysterious stepped stone 'pyramids' and a leafy ethnographic park on Tenerife's east coast — intriguing whatever their origin.
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Basílica de Candelaria
The Canaries' most important church, on a seafront square lined with bronze Guanche kings — the islands' spiritual home.
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Museum of Nature & Archaeology
Tenerife's superb nature-and-archaeology museum — home to the island's extraordinary Guanche mummies.
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Lago Martiánez
Manrique's dazzling seawater lido in Puerto de la Cruz — a lagoon of pools, palm islands and sculpture by the crashing Atlantic.
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Nightlife & entertainment
Best of & roundups
Lanzarote
Theme parks & attractions
Nature, volcanoes & viewpoints
Timanfaya National Park
Lanzarote's Fire Mountains — geothermal demonstrations, a coach route through raw lava fields and an unforgettable volcanic landscape.
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César Manrique's Lanzarote
The volcanic art that shaped a whole island — Jameos del Agua, Cueva de los Verdes, Mirador del Río and the Cactus Garden.
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El Golfo & the Green Lagoon
Lanzarote's emerald-green crater lagoon beside a black beach — and a village famous for fresh fish.
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Salinas de Janubio
The islands' biggest salt pans — a mosaic of pink and white lagoons that glow at sunset, on Lanzarote's south-west coast.
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Natural Pools of Lanzarote
Turquoise pools framed by jet-black lava — where to swim in Lanzarote's wild volcanic rock pools.
Read more →Historic towns & markets
Culture, museums & landmarks
Museo Atlántico (Underwater Museum)
Europe's first underwater sculpture museum, off Lanzarote — an eerie, beautiful dive (or snorkel) among submerged human figures.
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Jameos del Agua
César Manrique's most magical creation — a lava-tube lagoon with tiny blind white crabs, gardens and a concert cave.
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Cueva de los Verdes
An awe-inspiring lava tunnel with a jaw-dropping optical trick — one of the world's longest volcanic tubes, on Lanzarote.
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Mirador del Río
Manrique's cliff-top eyrie 400 m above the waves — the grandest view in the islands, over La Graciosa and the Chinijo isles.
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Jardín de Cactus
Manrique's final masterpiece — thousands of cacti spiralling through a sculpted volcanic quarry, crowned by an old windmill.
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MIAC – Castillo de San José
Modern art inside an 18th-century sea fortress in Arrecife — a Manrique restoration with a cliff-edge restaurant.
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Fundación César Manrique
Manrique's own home, built inside a string of volcanic bubbles — the beating heart of his vision, now a museum.
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Nightlife & entertainment
Best of & roundups
Fuerteventura
Theme parks & attractions
Nature, volcanoes & viewpoints
Isla de Lobos
A tiny volcanic islet off Corralejo — turquoise lagoons, easy trails and no crowds (a day permit and ferry are needed).
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Calderón Hondo Volcano
An easy family hike to the rim of a perfect little volcano near Lajares — big views and cheeky ground squirrels.
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Montaña Tindaya
Fuerteventura's sacred mountain — a lone, mystical peak carved with ancient foot-shaped engravings, steeped in legend.
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Wildlife & water parks
Culture, museums & landmarks
Salinas del Carmen
Restored salt pans and a little museum on Fuerteventura's east coast — the story of salt, fish and island life by a quiet cove.
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Ecomuseo La Alcogida
A living museum of old Fuerteventura — restored farmhouses and craft demonstrations that bring traditional rural life back to life.
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Best of & roundups
La Palma
Nature, volcanoes & viewpoints
Caldera de Taburiente
An immense pine-forested crater on La Palma — springs, waterfalls and some of the finest hiking in the islands.
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Los Tilos Laurel Forest
A dripping, prehistoric laurel forest of tree ferns and springs — the green heart of La Palma's UNESCO Biosphere.
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Volcanoes of Fuencaliente
La Palma's southern volcanoes — San Antonio and the young Teneguía crater — with a visitor centre and dramatic lava walks.
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Salinas de Fuencaliente
Working sea-salt pans and twin lighthouses at La Palma's black southern tip — white salt, black lava and blue sea.
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Roque de los Muchachos
La Palma's roof — a 2,426 m summit above the clouds, ringed by giant telescopes and some of the finest views in the islands.
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La Cumbrecita
The easiest grandstand view into La Palma's giant crater — short forest walks and huge views (book the parking ahead).
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Natural Pools of La Palma
La Palma's coast is made for it — the dramatic La Fajana and Charco Azul pools, safe and clear on the green north-east.
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La Gomera
Nature, volcanoes & viewpoints
Garajonay National Park
A UNESCO cloud forest that feels prehistoric — the green, dripping heart of La Gomera, laced with walking trails.
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Los Órganos
A cliff of soaring basalt columns like a giant organ — La Gomera's natural wonder, seen from the sea by boat.
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Mirador de Abrante
A glass skywalk jutting over a cliff above the village of Agulo — with views across to Tenerife's Teide.
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Roque Agando
La Gomera's most striking landmark — a colossal volcanic rock spire beside the road into Garajonay.
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El Hierro
Nature, volcanoes & viewpoints
Activities & experiences
Across the islands
Nature, volcanoes & viewpoints
Wildlife & water parks
Activities & experiences
Whale & Dolphin Watching
The waters off south Tenerife hold resident whales and dolphins year-round — how (and how responsibly) to see them.
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Hiking in the Canary Islands
Volcano rims, cloud forest and coastal ravines — where to walk on each island, and how to do it safely.
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Stargazing in the Canaries
Some of the clearest night skies on Earth — where to look up, from Teide to the Roque de los Muchachos on La Palma.
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Boat Trips & Watersports
From catamaran cruises to world-class surf and dive sites — the islands' best on and under the water.
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Diving in the Canary Islands
Clear, warm Atlantic water and volcanic seascapes all year — where to dive, from El Hierro's marine reserve to Lanzarote.
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Surfing in the Canary Islands
Consistent Atlantic swell all winter has earned the islands the nickname 'the Hawaii of Europe' — where to surf and learn.
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Golf in the Canary Islands
Year-round sunshine and dozens of courses make the islands a top winter golf escape — where to play on each island.
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Jeep Safaris & Island Tours
See the wild interior without the driving — guided 4x4 safaris and coach tours into the mountains, villages and volcanoes.
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Paragliding & Adventure Sports
Soar off a volcano or abseil down a ravine — the islands' best paragliding, canyoning and adventure thrills.
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Horse Riding in the Canaries
Trek through volcanic countryside or ride along the sand — where to saddle up across the islands.
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Deep-Sea Fishing
The deep Atlantic drops away fast here — big-game charters for marlin, tuna and wahoo, from the southern marinas.
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Camel Rides
A legacy of the islands' African trade — where to ride a camel, from Timanfaya's lava to the southern dunes.
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Kayaking & Paddleboarding
Glide into sea caves and along volcanic cliffs — the calmest bays for kayaking and paddleboarding, and where to start.
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Glass-Bottom Boats & Submarines
See the Atlantic's fish and wrecks without getting wet — glass-bottom boats and a real tourist submarine off the south.
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Shopping & wellness
Shopping in the Canary Islands
Low taxes and everything from big malls to craft markets — where to shop and what's actually worth buying.
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Canary Islands Markets
The islands' colourful weekly markets — from Teguise to Puerto de Mogán — which day, and what to look for.
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Spas & Wellness
Warm sea, volcanic mud and aloe — the islands' spas, thalasso centres and wellness retreats.
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The Best Day Trips
Island-hop by ferry, sail to a hidden cove or climb a volcano — the excursions genuinely worth a day of your holiday.
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Free Things to Do
The best days out that cost nothing — beaches, old towns, viewpoints and natural pools across the islands.
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Rainy-Day Activities
Clouds rolled in? Museums, caves, aquariums and indoor attractions to rescue a grey day on the islands.
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Go-Karting
Where to race — the islands' go-kart circuits, prices, and the age and height rules for younger drivers.
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