How to Get to the Canary Islands

Travel notes

We stayed in the marked area: Puerto Rico, Mogán, on Gran Canaria.

Capital listed in the original post: Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Population recorded at publication: 2,098,593

Currency: euro

After three years, we finally managed a proper beach holiday. Between city trips and other things getting in the way, we hadn't arranged one. Looking for somewhere to go, we found a place in Puerto Rico on Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands—somewhere we knew almost nothing about. We did a little research, of course. The Canaries are a Spanish archipelago in the Atlantic, west of Morocco. My original account listed seven main islands—Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro—plus smaller islands. They form an autonomous community of Spain. The name does not come from canary birds, but from the Latin 'canis', meaning dog. The explanation I recorded was that the many dogs on the islands, especially Gran Canaria, led to the name 'Islands of Dogs'.

The view from our hotel balcony

It is such a different place: below mainland Spain, beside Morocco and close to Africa, out in the Atlantic. We stayed from 18 to 24 September. The first day was overcast, which dampened our spirits—we worried the season was ending and every day would be like that. Not at all! The rest were lovely and warm. The islands have a mild, warm climate through the year, and we had temperatures around 25–27°C. We returned thoroughly satisfied with the sun, sea and pool, and very tanned.

Playa de Amadores

Even in September, there were so many visitors, especially Germans and British people. Amadores beach was directly opposite our hotel. The water was clear, clean and a delightful turquoise; we couldn't get enough of it. The hotel was built into the rocks, with magnificent views. Many hotels there cling to the rock faces, leaving you staring up and wondering how on earth they built them! I imagine you want the hotel's name, but I will save it until later to keep you curious 🙂 Is that mean of me? We were so pleased with it: very clean, sea views, a spotless cliff-edge pool looking out over the water, and wonderful staff.

Amadores is an artificial beach; we were told its sand came from the Bahamas. There were also lots of women sunbathing topless, which surprised me. In the original post I was particularly taken aback by older women doing so. After a while, though, there were so many that it simply became normal to us 🙂

Where to stay

Finally, our hotel: Gloria Palace Royal Hotel & Spa, which I thought was the best place to stay in Puerto Rico. Built on the rocks, it had such an unusual setting, and both the hotel and rooms were immaculate. The waiters and other staff were lovely. Its location opposite Amadores, one of the islands' best beaches in my view, was exceptional. The huge, sparkling pool had massage features and sat at the cliff edge, with extraordinary sea views. You could go to the edge and look down over the beach. We used the sauna, steam room and warm spa pool with different massage functions; it was incredibly relaxing. We didn't want to leave! The only disappointment was the entertainment team, who didn't seem especially entertaining or organised. In the evenings, different groups came to the hotel bar for live music or performances. My favourite was the flamenco group: a proper, heartfelt show. Along the beach were hut-like restaurants, shops and souvenir sellers, where we sometimes had lunch. Hotel food was good overall, though there was a lot of pork and the flavours were different from ours. We still found things to eat. One rule to remember: men had to wear long trousers to dinner or they wouldn't be admitted. We discovered that the hard way 😀 Apparently guests wanted the rule, and it was displayed everywhere—we simply hadn't noticed. Everyone followed it. In short, we loved the holiday and had a wonderful time. We would absolutely return to the same place and hotel.

Gloria Palace Royal Hotel & Spa

The view from the room's balcony was magnificent.

The restaurant's view

Looking out to sea from the cliff edge 🙂

This flamenco performance was excellent. They put so much feeling into it that we were captivated.

Fried peppers with sea salt at a beach restaurant, a well-known Spanish tapa. The peppers were delicious.

Schnitzel with blue-cheese sauce

Getting there

The original travel information discussed air and sea connections from Turkey, naming Spanish airlines Spanair and Iberia for Tenerife, and connecting services from Istanbul with Turkish Airlines, Air France, Lufthansa, Air Berlin and Hahn Air. It said there were no direct flights and described connections through Madrid–Barajas, with journeys of around ten hours at best and sometimes over twenty. Those airline and route details are historical, not current booking guidance. We ourselves flew Ryanair from London Stansted, taking about four hours to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Airport. Transfer representatives waited outside the airport. We had booked a shared hotel transfer through Resorthoppa in advance, at around £15 per person. Reaching the hotel took about an hour and a half, longer than the direct journey because the bus dropped everyone at their hotels one by one.

Visas

The original post advised Turkish visitors that a Schengen visa was required to enter the Canary Islands. Check the rules for your nationality and circumstances before travelling.