Canary Islands

General

The largest and most populous of the islands, a beautiful and diverse island with the well known southern resorts, mountain villages, the old school resort of Puerto de la Cruz and the capital Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The view of snow capped Mount Teide adds to the drama of this island.

The main airport is Tenerife south for international flights, Tenerife North at La Laguna is mainly domestic flights. The Titsa bus company provide an excellent efficient service throughout the islands and buying a card for a small fee gives you discounted fares and can be used by more than one person.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

General

The city is not really on the tourist list of places to visit but we enjoyed the atmosphere of this port city, although it lacks a beach La Teresitas is only 20 minutes away by bus and is a lovely beach with a selection of bars and restaurants.

Accommodation

Check out the usual booking sites such as www.booking.com or www.hotels.com, we chose the Urban Anaga Hotel, C/ Imeldo Serris 19 and it suited us on our first visit to the city. It is in a great location for exploring the city and close to a variety of bars & restaurants and is a modern hotel with a rooftop bar, a vermut bar and a new Japanese restaurant soon to open in addition the staff are exceptionally helpful.

Restaurants & Bars

La Esquina de Gamonal, C/Clavel 7, was without a doubt our favourite restaurant during our visit. We found it on our first night for a drink and went back for lunch and drinks on several occasions. Excellent food, great service and a lovely atmosphere made it a home from home.

Guannabi, C/Antonio Dominguez Alfonso 34, was another good choice in a street with a wide selection of places to eat. It is stylishly designed and offers traditional food but with a twist, lovely service but booking recommended at weekends.

La Cuadra del Palmero, C/Imeldo Serris 25, we stopped one evening for a drink but were tempted to try the food in the lovely open courtyard and enjoyed an excellent meal so much so we returned on another evening and again thought the food and service was very good.

Plaza 18, C/ de San Francisco 18, the outdoor setting is lovely, the food is good but not outstanding but always appreciated the warm welcome.

Wine & Cheese Bar, C/ de San Francisco 28, we visited twice, once for a paella lunch which was good and then one evening for a cheese selection and wine, had intended to return but always very busy.

La Concepcion, C/Antonio Dominguez Alfonso 4, is a highly rated and popular modern tapas restaurant in this lovely street. The cooking was very good and the service good, booking recommended at weekends.

Caminito, Callejon del Combate 10, in another street with a wide choice of places to eat we chose this for a drink and some empanadas, they were not the best I have had but there are good comments about the tapas they serve.

Tasca La Monteria, Callejon del Combate 12, just next door to Caminito above we had lunch here and enjoyed the dishes we had. It is very popular and gets consistently good reports.

La Salita, C/Bethancourt Alfonso 10, nice small place with good jamon and other tapas and pleasant service.

Sal de Campo & Café Guimera, Plaza Isla de la Madera, this was our go to café for breakfast but it was also a very popular restaurant particularly at lunchtime, we ate there one evening and enjoyed the food.

El Rinconcito de Dalia, C/Sabino Berthelot 48, while in search of an upmarket tapas bar we found this lovely place in the same square and had a really well cooked three course set lunch, great value.

Café Palmelita, C/del Castillo 9, is a beautiful old school café and cake shop which also serves wine and cava and is a gem of a place to sit outside and watch the world go by.

Opera Vermuteria, C/ Imeldo Serris is part of the Urban Anaga Hotel and as the name implies specialises in vermut with a wide selection and also of course a wide selection of other drinks.

Caramba, C/Marina 1, great setting by the Plaza Espana this fusion & Spanish mix café is very popular, great for a drink or to try some of the interesting dishes on offer, popular so service can be slow.

Strasse, Parque Garcia Sanabria, is an upmarket café & restaurant in this lovely park we only stopped for a drink but they have a branch at Las Teresitas beach and we ate there and the food and service was good.

Culture

La Laguna is a beautiful historic town, a world heritage site and is conveniently only 20 minutes from Santa Cruz at the end of the tram route it is beautiful to wander around but beware it is 500 metres above sea level and much colder than Santa Cruz.

Parque Garcia Sanabria is beautiful and well worth exploring, it is a lovely walk along the Rambla de Santa Cruz to get there.

Las Teresitas is the nearest beach to Santa Cruz and well worth visiting, the bus 910 has its terminus there, it is just past the small town of San Andres which we didn’t find very inspiring.

Mercado de Nuestra Senora de Africa should be on the list of things to see and as well as the various market stalls there is a wide selection of places to eat.

Puerto de la Cruz

General

Spread out over the slopes of Northern Tenerife Puerto de la Cruz is the elder statesman of tourism on the island and has been welcoming visitors since the late 19^th century. It has of course expanded hugely and there are many large resort hotels along the front and up the slopes of the city.

The heart of it as far as we were concerned was the old port area and it’s surrounding area, the lovely square Plaza Charco and the old fisherman’s area of La Ranilla with it’s great choice of places to eat, quirky shops and the murals decorating many of the buildings.

The Titsa bus station is around a 15 minute uphill walk from the old port and from there with your Travel Card you can visit some of the lovely towns in the hills surrounding the city and the Botanic Gardens.

Accommodation

Check out the usual booking sites such as www.booking.com or www.hotels.com we chose an apartment in the old fisherman’s area La Ranilla, loads of places to eat, a short walk from the old port and almost flat unlike most of the city.

Restaurants & Bars

Hannen, Plaza del Charco was our first stop on arrival, it is a German style bar with excellent beer and food, the meat quality is top notch. It has great staff and and a top location near the port and on the square. It was a firm favourite during our stay.

Agora, Plaza Benito Perez Galdos, was our other favourite place, this gem of a bar & café is on a lovely square with a number of restaurants & a lively local atmosphere. They have a great drinks selection and also a small selection of small tapas style dishes, the staff are excellent and it is of course very popular especially for the comfortable large wicker chairs near the door.

Vulk, C/Cruz Verde 2, is one of a number of restaurants in this small street in La Ranilla. It is an Argentinian restaurant and micro brewery run by two young Argentinians. The food is excellent and reasonably priced, the service can be slow when it is busy but it is definitely worth a visit.

Templo de Vino, C/El Lomo 2, is another popular restaurant in the area and has a wide and varied menu however one of it’s specialities is Schnitzel and they offer a variety and they are excellent. The friendly owner/manager is on hand in the evening to advise on choices.

Tropical, C/El Lomo 7, is one of the old school restaurants in the area and justifiably popular with visitors and locals. A wide choice of dishes are on offer and a number of set menus at lunchtime. The staff are great, helpful and generous with post meal drinks.

Don Camillo, is on the corner of Plaza Benito Perez Galdos and C/Mequinez and is an Italian restaurant with a variety of Italian staples on offer including very good pizzas. The setting is lovely and the food reasonably priced, the service could be warmer.

La Pescaderia, have two restaurants one on Plaza Benito Perez Galdos and one at C/Perdomo near the port. We had lunch at the latter and chose the mixed grilled fish & seafood plate to share. It wasn’t the best I have had and perhaps not the best choice from our point of view but well prepared & decent value. Both places are popular with locals and visitors and they have a place at the Mercado Municipal.

Zumaque, C/Puerto Viejo 18, is a fairly new restaurant and is very cool and stylish. We booked for Sunday lunch and were impressed with the service and the food, there is a lot of fusion choices and we enjoyed the gyoza dumplings and the ramen.

Mil Sabores, C/Cruz Verde 5, another in this great street and we gave it a try for Sunday lunch and enjoyed the whole roast chicken which we shared along with a salad and a generous serving of chips. Simple food, well served by friendly staff.

El Patio, Plaza Benito Perez Galdos, although this was on the list to try for lunch or dinner we only managed to stop a couple of times for a drink. The service was excellent and what was being served looked very good so sadly it is for another time.

Saigon Delize, C/San Juan is as you may guess a Vietnamese restaurant and never ones to miss eating this lovely cuisine we booked for Sunday lunch. The food was good however the service very slow indeed and rather spoilt the lunch. The owner whose wife, the chef, is Vietnamese did apologise saying Sundays were always busy.

Cofradia de Pescadores, C/Las Lonjas 5, this has the prime setting of a terrace overlooking the old port and booking is essential. We had a lovely table, the food was excellent, the service very good and reasonably priced for the quality. I can fully understand why it is so popular.

El Bajo, C/Mequinez 21, is another old school restaurant in the old fisherman’s quarter and we were impressed with the quality of the service and the food.

La Fragata, C/La Marina 5 is a good bar with a great terrace overlooking the port, we used it frequently for a nightcap and the friendly service and very reasonable prices made it a firm favourite.

Café Ebano, C/La Hoya 2, was another favourite place to stop for a refreshment. It is opposite the beautiful church of Nuestra Senora de la Pena de Francia. Service can be slow but the seats at the front are prized for the setting.

Delizia, C/San Juan 4, was our breakfast place during our stay. The outside table are very popular as their coffees and pastries are outstanding. They also have a wide range of excellent ice creams., enjoy one with the local coffee speciality a Zaperoco (also known as a Barraquito) a multi layered coffee including Licor 43.

Africa Gastrobar, C/Agustin de Betancourt 3, had read good things about this place but unfortunately they were closed for holidays during most of our stay, we did stop for a drink once they re-opened but did not have a chance to try the food.

F&M Café, C/Agustin de Betancourt 5, had a good local feel about it and we stopped for a drink but stayed for lunch, friendly service, good food and great value.

Barako, C/Mequinez 2, we only found this place towards the end of our stay but were impressed with the friendly service and the quality of the couple of small dishes we tried.

Oliva, C/Retama 3, is one of a number of restaurants opposite the lovely Botanic Gardens. We stopped by for a drink and were taken aback by how many tables were reserved for lunch and resolved to return on another occasion which we did. There is not a huge range of dishes but what there is are very well done and Schnitzels are a speciality and available in half portions. We enjoyed the food and the service and can understand it’s popularity.

Delhi Darbar, C/Retama 3, is one of the other restaurants in this street and is also very popular. We shared three starters and enjoyed the food and the atmosphere.

Culture

The Botanic Gardens are beautiful and well worth a visit, they can easily be reached by bus from the Bus Station or by taxi. There are some very good eating places opposite the entrance which are worth trying, see above.

La Orotava is in the hills above the city and is a beautiful historic town with some lovely gardens but it is extremely hilly, we also visited Icod de Los Vinos but were slightly disappointed with the town.

The Mercado Municipal near the Bus Station has a number of food stalls and produce plus other stall on a Saturday. The food stalls sell amazingly cheap wine and cava by the glass and also some good seafood dishes. It is very popular with locals and ex-pat residents.

Drink

Given the excellent warm all year round climate beer is of course popular on all the islands, in Tenerife the local beer is Dorada, in Gran Canaria it is Tropical, both are lager type beers Dorada has a bit more substance than Tropical. Craft beers are becoming very popular and are available in a number of bars. There are also a number of local beers which are more of a malt variety than lager type and this is particularly the case in Gran Canaria where if you ask for a cana, a small beer, you really need to say Pilsen to ensure you get the lager style.

As a huge Spanish wine enthusiast, I was surprised and delighted to find that wine was produced in the Canaries. Tenerife and Lanzarote are the main wine growing islands and the most common grapes are local varieties listan negro, listan blanco and malvasia. In Tenerife we were lucky enough to meet the wine producer of Bamboo wines, we really liked both the white & the red and found it in a number of restaurants also in the supermarket. We had planned to do a wine tour in Lanzarote but we did not manage to get there which was a disappointment as much of the crop is grown on black volcanic soil.

General

Gran Canaria is the third largest island but has almost half of the total population. We were only in the northern part of the island which has a stunning, green, mountainous landscape and also a number of micro climates.

We travelled from Tenerife to Gran Canaria by ferry and the Fred Olsen fast ferry docka at Agaete from where there is a complimentary bus to Las Palmas which takes about 40 minutes. The airport for the island is close to the capital Las Palmas.

Getting around the island by bus is very easy, the company Global run all the services and buying a travel card gives you a discount on all fares.

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

General

Las Palmas is a large city, I was surprised by how large it was but also impressed by the city with a wonderful historic area, a stunning beach and a bustling area of shops, bars and restaurants. The three main parts that visitors will see are Vegueta, which is the historic part, Playa de las Canteras the stunning beach area and Triana which is the heart of the lively city.

It is a large city and there is a municipal bus service for getting around as the distance from Vegueta to Playa de las  Canteras is around 5km. Vegueta is not well served by buses and Triana might well be a better option for exploring the city as the main bus station for the island is there and Vegueta is an easy walk.

Accommodation

Check out the usual booking sites such as www.booking.com or www.hotels.com we chose an apartment in the historic part of Vegueta, we loved the area but with hindsight Triana would have been a better choice for transport links and for a wider choice of places to eat and drink. It also has the advantage of being close to Vegueta for exploring this area.

Restaurants & Bars

Te Lo Dije Perez, C/Obispo Codina 6, Vegueta, was a favourite during our stay, it is styled almost as a Belgian beer bar, with an amazing range of beers, but also good wines and other drinks. The food is very good with a wide range of choice ranging from Begian beef casserole to Canarian classic dishes. The staff are incredibly friendly and run a great place.

Tasca La Picadita, C/Herreria 12, Vegueta,  was another favourite for a drink, a snack or a full meal. They specialise in South American dishes including empanadas which are top notch and beef dishes such as Uruguayan Steak. The staff are great and the atmosphere always welcoming.

El Rifeno, C/Pelota 15, Vegueta, is a Moroccan restaurant in the main restaurant street in this historic area. We booked for Sunday lunch and enjoyed the food, atmosphere and service.

Restaurant 18, C/Mendizabal 38, Vegueta, we popped in for a post dinner drink one evening and were impressed by the friendly service, we returned for lunch having booked a table and were equally impressed by the food, the portions were as is often the case in the Canaries larger than expected.

La Barberia, C/Mendizabal 14, Vegueta, another of the many restaurants in this street and they were happy to serve you with a glass of wine or a couple of small dishes.

Tasca Siete Viejas, C/Pelota 6, Vegueta, I had heard good things and were keen to try it, we managed to get a reservation for dinner but to be honest were disappointed with the service and atmosphere, the food was fine but didn’t match my expectations.

8 Canes, Plaza Santa Ana 2, Vegueta, is in the lovely square next to the cathedral, it is named after the lovely statues of 8 dogs which are in the square. They have a large selection of drinks including beer, wine, spirit and cocktails and also have a wide range of vermut.

El Monje de Santa Ana, Plaza Santa Ana, Vegueta, was always busy when we passed but we did pop in one evening and had a glass of wine and enjoyed the friendly service.

Positano, C/de Perdomo 13, Triana, is as the name suggests an Italian restaurant and having stopped for a drink one day we returned and enjoyed the thin base pizza, very friendly staff and reasonable priced.

Allende, C/Domingo J Navarro 16, Triana, I had read good reports and when we turned up just before it opened for lunch we found a queue, we were lucky enough to get a table inside and really enjoyed the food so much so we booked for another day on the terrace. The food was again very good but the service less helpful than the previous visit but it is still a top recommendation.

La Famila, C/de San Pedro 5, Triana, a small friendly café & bar serving offers such as 2 wines and some cheese for very reasonable prices.

La Travesia de Triana, C/Lagunetas 11, this is one of these places which you spot and know you have to visit, we were lucky enough to get seats at the bar on two occasions as tables are nearly always fully booked. We really enjoyed the wines and tapas on offer and the service was excellent.

Bodegon Lagunetas, C/Constantino 16, Triana, this is a Las Palmas institution and we visited a few times once for lunch when we reserved a table inside and on other occasions managed to secure a table outside for a drink. The food is traditional Canarian and is well cooked the staff are on the whole very pleasant but seem under pressure from the owners.

La Macarena, C/Prudencio Morales 21, Playa de las Canteras, we found this on our first visit to the stunning beach and were very lucky to get a terrace table, we had a couple of drinks and were impressed with the food being served and stayed for lunch sharing a couple of dishes.

Culture

The historic part of the city Vegueta is a must to explore, the Cathedral which has a list for rooftop views, the lovely squares, the excellent Casa de Colon Museum and other museums and galleries plus great places to eat and drink.

The Playa de las Canteras is a really stunning beach, the setting reminded me of San Sebastian and there are loads of places to eat and drink while enjoying the view.

We took the Global bus to Teror a small town in the hills and it was lovely, the scenery on the journey is stunning and we enjoyed a lovely lunch at a restaurant called Araucaria in the main street.

Drink

Given the excellent warm all year round climate beer is of course popular on all the islands, in Tenerife the local beer is Dorada, in Gran Canaria it is Tropical, both are lager type beers Dorada has a bit more substance than Tropical. Craft beers are becoming very popular and are available in a number of bars. There are also a number of local beers which are more of a malt variety than lager type and this is particularly the case in Gran Canaria where if you ask for a cana, a small beer, you really need to say Pilsen to ensure you get the lager style.

As a huge Spanish wine enthusiast, I was surprised and delighted to find that wine was produced in the Canaries. Tenerife and Lanzarote are the main wine growing islands and the most common grapes are local varieties listan negro, listan blanco and malvasia. In Tenerife we were lucky enough to meet the wine producer of Bamboo wines, we really liked both the white & the red and found it in a number of restaurants also in the supermarket. We had planned to do a wine tour in Lanzarote but we did not manage to get there which was a disappointment as much of the crop is grown on black volcanic soil.

General

We intended using the island as a stopping off point from Gran Canaria to Lanzarote and took the ferry from Las Palmas to Morro Jable at the southern tip of the island. We stayed there for a few days then took the local bus run by Tiadhe to the capital Puerto de Rosario with the intention of then catching the ferry from Corralejo to Lanzarote unfortunately we were not able to do this and returned to Tenerife.

Fuerteventura has been described as having a Martian type landscape and it certainly felt like that when we travelled up the long island. The beaches are stunning and reputed to be amongst the best of all the islands.

Morro Jable

General

The port is a ten minute taxi journey from the town which attracts mainly German tourists for it’s fantastic beach. There are many hotel and apartment complexes along the beach and on the edge of the town, We stayed close to the centre just by the beach which was ideal for our short stay.

Accommodation

Check out the usual booking sites such as www.booking.com or www.hotels.com we chose the Igramar Apartments just by the beach and five minutes walk from a good selection of places to eat and drink. The split level apartments facing the sea have wonderful views from the balconies.

Restaurants & Bars

Avenida del Mar, Av. Tomas Grau Gorrea 1, was our go to restaurant for dinner during our stay we really enjoyed the food and the service and it was excellent value for money and of course the setting by the ocean was lovely.

Waikiki, Av. Tomas Grau Gorrea 27 was our other favourite place for a light lunch or for a drink before dinner, lovely staff, great setting overlooking the ocean and it was two minutes from our apartment.

Culture

You are there for the beach and it is stunning so enjoy that.

Puerto de Rosario

General

I knew that this was not a tourist place but we thought for a few days it would be an interesting stop particularly as I had read they were trying to attract visitors with a series of murals and sculptures around the town. The reality was somewhat different and the town is rather run down, it was impossible to find out information on the murals, there was a lack of choice of places to eat and drink and a lack of people around. It does have a lovely clean town beach but not much else to recommend it.

Accommodation

Check out the usual booking sites such as www.booking.com or www.hotels.com there is not a lot of choice we stayed close to the beach which was a good choice.

Restaurants & Bars

El Faro de Diego, C/Garcia Escamez 22, we found when we first arrived and it was one of the few lively places in the town. We ate there and it was reasonably good and also stopped for a drink on a couple of occasions.

La Tremenda, C/Doctor Fleming 4 was another chance find and we were lucky enough to be able to book a table for Saturday night, the food and the service was excellent. They have another place La Marea just by the beach which sadly we didn’t get to try.

Bar Rocamar, C/Leon y Castillo 2, was a chance find on a walk along the seafront and it was an excellent find. Lovely owner and generous tapas served with each drink.

Culture

Had we been able to find the art works perhaps we would have enjoyed our time a bit more but I have to say that is doubtful, the beach Playa Chica is lovely.

Drink

Given the excellent warm all year round climate beer is of course popular on all the islands, in Tenerife the local beer is Dorada, in Gran Canaria it is Tropical, both are lager type beers Dorada has a bit more substance than Tropical. Craft beers are becoming very popular and are available in a number of bars. There are also a number of local beers which are more of a malt variety than lager type and this is particularly the case in Gran Canaria where if you ask for a cana, a small beer, you really need to say Pilsen to ensure you get the lager style.

As a huge Spanish wine enthusiast, I was surprised and delighted to find that wine was produced in the Canaries. Tenerife and Lanzarote are the main wine growing islands and the most common grapes are local varieties listan negro, listan blanco and malvasia. In Tenerife we were lucky enough to meet the wine producer of Bamboo wines, we really liked both the white & the red and found it in a number of restaurants also in the supermarket. We had planned to do a wine tour in Lanzarote but we did not manage to get there which was a disappointment as much of the crop is grown on black volcanic soil.