Canary Islands - Kanarieöarna

Canary Islands (Spanish: Canary Islands) is an archipelago in the Atlantic beyond Africa west coast. It belongs Spain.

Regions

• El Hierro
• Fuerteventura - Best place for windsurfing.
• Gran Canaria - The island with the largest population, here is also the capital of the Canary Islands, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
• La Gomera - Excellent for hiking.
• La Palma
• Lanzarote
• Tenerife

Cities

Playa del Inglés

Other destinations

Facts about the Canary Islands

The Canary Islands have a population of about 2 million. As it is one of the most common destinations for European tourists, the island has a well-developed communication system, airports and ports.

History

Locals

Climate

Language

The official language is Spanish, but since most of the inhabitants live off tourism, most can also speak English.

Getting to the Canary Islands

Relocation in the Canary Islands

With car

• Renting a car is the best option if you want to discover the remote wilderness areas on the island. Secure rental companies are CICAR, Payless and Cabrera Medina.

By train

A tram line between the bus station in Santa Cruz and La Laguna opened in 2007 and a ticket costs € 2.35. The journey takes about 40 minutes.

There are also plans to build a railroad between Santa Cruz and Los Cristianos.

By bus

Buses are the most common mode of transport in the Canary Islands. However, a trip is more expensive than on the Spanish mainland. Most tourist buses are in excellent condition. Do not expect the drivers to know more than a few sentences in English and German, but they always try to be as helpful as possible.

By taxi

Taxi journeys are usually expensive, and are not worth the money if you just have to get around in a city, unless you are in a hurry or have shopped a lot. The risk of being cheated is small.

By boat

If you want to travel between the islands and are in a hurry, a boat trip is a good choice, especially if there is a short distance between the islands. Most ferries are modern and fairly inexpensive. The largest and most tourist-oriented companies are Fred Olsen, Transmediterránea and Armas.

By plane

If for some reason you do not want to go by boat, airplanes are the second option, and it is usually a turbocharged ATR-72 from one of the local airports such as Binter or Islas Airways. They are guaranteed to be safe and fairly fast; you will probably spend more time at the airport than in the air.

To see

To do

• Palmitos Park Zoo.
• Waterland Aqualand.

Food and drinks

• The local fish is recommended.
• The Canary Islands are Europe's only exporter of bananas, so they taste better than at home in the store.
• Papas Arrugadas or papa sancochada - Potatoes boiled in salted water until wrinkled and served with mojo picon, a spicy, cold red sauce made from chili and garlic.
• Gofio - Grainy flour usually served for breakfast or with potaje, a local stew.
• Conejo and salmorejo
• Miel de Palma - Palm honey

Security

The emergency number is 112 like the rest of the EU