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It's so easy to rent a boat or charter a yacht in Canary Islands with Yachtious. Book Now!
It's so easy to rent a boat or charter a yacht in Canary Islands with Yachtious. Book Now!
THE CANARY ISLANDS
THE CANARY ISLANDS
A SUB-TROPICAL SAILING HEAVEN
Palm trees swaying in the breeze along pristine beaches, outdoor lover's winter playground and the walker's paradise; that’s the Canary Islands. You’ll find it in the Atlantic Ocean just 62 miles (100 km) west from the coast of Morocco. Autumn is the ideal sailing season for these sub-tropical islands, where thousands of yachts heading toward the Caribbean pop in for a sojourn. The Canary Islands have been happily welcoming sea-faring folks from all over onto their shores including Christopher Columbus in 1492.
Each island of the Canary Islands has its own unique personality. The ones closest to Africa, like Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, have dry, arid climates. Meanwhile, the one's further west like La Gomera, Hierro, and La Palma are vividly green and covered with lush foliage and fauna. Even on Tenerife, Mount Teide’s peak covered in snow that towers 12,198 feet (3718 m) above the Atlantic is an entirely different scene.
Speaking of Tenerife, it is one of the largest islands here. The other one is Gran Canaria. These are both in the middle and are a great deal more developed than the others. The short distances between the main islands mean only about a day’s worth of sailing to hop between many of them. The logical sailing route from the north on your yacht charter would be to start with Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. From there, sailing west toward Gran Canaria, then Tenerife, La Gomera, Hierro, and finally La Palma, will make your sailing adventures aboard your yacht charter complete.
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BEST TIME TO VISIT CANARY ISLANDS
Any time of year is a wonderful time to cruise on down and around the Canary Islands. This yacht charter destination is the place where plenty of tourists come to frolic, but if you want to avoid them, stay away from December to March. That’s the carnival season where crowds and prices are the highest. July to September is summer and is crowded then as well. If you don’t mind that though or that’s the reason you’d like to come, then set sail!
In both July and August, temperatures linger at 30°C with a refreshing breeze from the coast. In September and October, the temperatures drop to a cooler point, making it the best time to visit the Canary Islands, while the sea is still warm enough for swimming too. January and February are ripe for hikers when the almond trees on Gran Canaria are in bloom. The wildflowers including poppies and Cirsium are best in March and April. That’s also the best time to spot whales and dolphins playing in the waves.
GETTING TO CANARY ISLANDS
QUICK FACTS
BEST FOR CRUISING: YEAR~ROUND
TIME ZONE: GMT +0:00
LANGUAGE: SPANISH.
CURRENCY: THE EURO
REASONS TO VISIT
CESAR MANRIQUE ARCHITECTURE
CLIMATE
DIVERSE ISLANDS
LUSH FOLIAGE AND FAUNA
MOUNT TEIDE
PRISTINE BEACHES
HIKING
WATER SPORTS
Because these islands are a popular destination for Europeans, there are plenty of charters and discount flights any time of year. You’ll find international airports on Gran Canaria, Tenerife, and Lanzarote. From the UK, you can take British Airways from Gatwick to Tenerife or Lanzarote. Monarch Airlines provides flights from Luton to both Tenerife and Lanzarote. Conversely, flights to La Palma, La Gomera, and El Hierro on Binter Canarias depart from Tenerife’s airport.
More regular flights abound from places like Casablanca, Marrakech, Dakar, Agadir, Banjul, Laayoune, Nuakchot, Madeira, Azores, and Cape Verde through Binter Canarias. From Los Cristianos, Armas and Fred Olsen both operate ferries to take you to the smaller islands.
You can also rent a private jet and enjoy the freedom of choice, total comfort and flexible terms for your travel.
Always bear in mind that the airline industry is a fluid one and the services detailed here may change, sometimes from month to month. Please do not rely solely on this information for your travel plans. To keep an eye out for any new flights and to search for excellent flight deals, a website such as Tripadvisor can be a handy resource.
EXPLORE OTHER CHARTER AREAS WITHIN WESTERN EUROPE AND THE NORTH ATLANTIC
AZORES
BALTIC
BAY OF BISCAY
BERMUDA
BRITTANY
CANADA
CANARY ISLANDS
COWES
FAROE ISLANDS
HOLLAND
IRELAND
MADEIRA
NORWAY
SCOTLAND
SWEDEN
WALES
WHERE TO STAY IN CANARY ISLANDS
Hotels and apartments abound to match any style. You’ll find opulence and modern flairs in hotels on semi-private beaches plus luxury complexes for resorts that will pamper you to perfection with an endless array of services and comforts. Privacy can be had in exclusive villas that are kept to the highest standards. Charming smaller hotels near the mountains are also a nice choice for seclusion. Service standards here are quite high, making it easy to spoil yourself when you charter a yacht to the Canary Islands. It’s truly the kind of place where you’ll say to yourself, “This is the life!”
WINING AND DINING IN CANARY ISLANDS
The cuisine on the Canary Islands is certainly worth docking your yacht charter to explore. It’s a robust mix of Spanish, African, and Latin cultures. Fresh vegetables, fruits, and fish dominate your plate. These lighter foods lighten your mood, making them brilliant for the climate. With meats, you’ll find them served up as steaks or bobbing in your stew. Seafood lovers shouldn’t miss the local fish. From Tenerife, Sancocho Canario is a salted fish dish with a spicy sauce like mojo picón or mojo verde. For a land-based meal, Caldereta features goat meat, potatoes, and tomatoes.
Like Spain, tapas are very popular in the Canary Islands too. If you’ve never had tapas, quite simply they are small portion of different types of food, a morsel if you will, to have before lunch or dinner. Tapas are best with wine or beer. Sometimes they can come with a stick, are mini versions of a traditional dish, or are a canapé.
In Europe, only the Canary Islands export plantain bananas. These islands are famous for them. You’ll have to taste them here, fried up to perfection. They’re also in the West Indies. Looking for other things to try while on your yacht charter in the Canary Islands?
Papas Arrugadas or papa sancochada
Translated, it’s called “wrinkled potatoes,” and you’ll find this tasty and popular side dish of small potatoes boiled in salt water to be simply delicious. It comes out with a salty crust, hence the name.
Gofio
This grain flour is used often at breakfast or to join with a local stew called potaje.
Puchero canario
This stew is a lot like cocido madrileno. The broth is drained off and eaten as a soup for a first course, while the second course features the meat and vegetables from the stew. The only difference is that this one contains pork, beef, cabbage, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin.
Conejo al salmorejo
Forget you’re eating Thumper. This rabbit stew with tomatoes is amazing. It’s usually served with papas arrugadas.
Mojos
These famed sauces are served with just about everything from potatoes to meat to fish. There’s mojo picon, a red pepper sauce that’s made from dried red peppers and mojo verde, a green sauce which is usually made from coriander, cilantro or parsley. There are other ones too, but these are the most popular.
Bienmesabe
This tasty creamy almond dessert features honey, egg yolks and cinnamon for something refreshingly soothing any time.
Wine, Spirits, and Beverages
For centuries, the wine produced in the Canary Islands was just for the upper-class Europeans. In the 1700s though, this wine became a bit gauche and French and Portuguese wines took over in popularity. Today though, the sweet Malmsey wine produced on Lanzarote’s volcanic fields is still a delight. The islands feature 10 wine Denominations of Origin that include El Hierro, Lanzarote, Abona, La Palma, Valle de Güimar, Tacoronte-Acentejo, Gran Canaria, Valle de la Orotava, Icoden-Daute-Isora, and Monte Lentiscal. In 2006, experimenting began with sparkling wines from Gomera bananas, a tropical delight.
Rum is big here too especially in Gran Canaria in Artemi and Arehucas. Ron miel, a run and honey liquor that’s sweet is great to try. Beer lovers should try the local offerings of Dorada, Tropical, and Reina. You should taste barraquito, a coffee specialty as well if you are a coffee lover.
