Canary Islands Anyone?

By the time you read this I will be lying in the sun in the lovely island of Tenerife, celebrating our friends 50th birthday.  I love the Canary Islands, it is a great place to go when our weather is turning into winter and there are some stunning places to visit.

A Canaries cruise gives you the opportunity to see some of the Atlantic’s most spectacular islands. The region enjoys a great climate throughout the year. Just in case you did not know exactly where they are, there situated south west of Spain, north west of Africa and directly in front of Morocco.  I think many people when they think of the Canaries, think of Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, and Lanzarote when in truth there is also the islands of La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro.  Each island is so different.

Tenerife I guess is the one island that has so many diverse parts, the biggest one and probably the most popular. Years ago the northern resort of Puerto De La Cruz was the place to go to while in the south there really was hardly anything there. If you do get the chance to spend a bit of time, go to Puerto as it is situated in the lovely Orotava valley area, very lush with fantastic scenery – the weather lets it down really.  Then you have the south which has been slightly spoiled by the pubs and night clubs in Playa De Las Americas, again move away from there and head for Costa Adeje – just a little way out – full of plush hotels and nice places to eat and drink in.

Gran Canaria is the 2nd biggest island after Tenerife. Again some lovely resorts and not so ones.  Lanzarote and Fuerteventura are the islands which are very desert like. The temperature there is usually cooled down by the fairly brisk winds.  It is said that Fuerteventura had a lot of trees but when it was the Spanish Armada time they cut them all down to make ships – not sure if that is true and just a myth but it is quite barren!  The other islands are not very touristy and therefore make a great choice to go and visit even for the day, hence why I think a Canary Island cruise is just perfect.

So, who actually cruises down to the Canaries?  Well, if your wanting to cruise from the UK you have P&O, Cunard, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Cruise & Maritime and Fred Olsen. Then there are cruises which originate from Barcelona such as NCL. If you want to fly from your local airport then try out Thomson Cruises.  You are not stuck for choice really.

Next time you want a bit of winter sun, but don’t really want to stay in one place then try out one of these cruises, I am sure you will enjoy them.  Now, please excuse me, I am off for my next sangria!