The Beaches The beaches are why you guys head to the Canary Islands so let's have a look at what the

The Sunshine Guide aims to give you the best independent Gran Canaria information. We skip the guidebook hyperbole and tired old clichés and show the best Gran Canaria beaches, restaurants and activities. Enjoy Gran Canaria and let us know what you think!
siesta key florida hotels Both islands get great weather all year round and are the same distance from Europe. We live in Gran Canaria and love the island, but Tenerife is a cracking destination as well. Here's what we think:
The Beaches The beaches siesta key florida hotels are why you guys head to the Canary Islands so let's have a look at what the two islands offer: We think Gran Canaria has the edge because of its natural sandy beaches: Between the golden beach and dunes at Maspalomas and Playa del Inglés, and the stunning Las Canteras Beach in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria has two of Europe's siesta key florida hotels best beaches. Tenerife has beautiful natural stretches of sand, such as El Medano, La Tejita and Playa Jardín, but they are not on the same scale. When it comes to artificial beaches both Gran Canaria and Tenerife have some crackers. Las Teresitas in Tenerife is beautiful, siesta key florida hotels as are Playa de las Americas, Playa del Duque and Fañabé. On Gran Canaria you have Anfi, Amadores and Mogan, all pretty beaches close to the resorts. Again, Gran Canaria has the edge, in our slightly biased opinion, due to its number and range of beaches. Both Tenerife and Gran Canaria have excellent little beaches that rarely get any tourists. siesta key florida hotels The best beaches on both islands are often the little ones at the mouth of quiet barrancos. You get the sun and the sea all to yourself! Overall, we give the beach crown to Gran Canaria.
Food and Drink Tenerife just seems to do food better than Gran Canaria. siesta key florida hotels From its little Guachinche restaurants in the hills to its quality resort restaurants, Tenerife is a cut above. There are plenty of good places to eat in Gran Canaria, especially in small towns and in the capital Las Palmas, but Tenerife still has the edge: We think it is because is more popular with French and Italian visitors and residents. Tenerife's Dorada beer is slightly nicer than Gran Canaria's Tropical (hope nobody siesta key florida hotels from Gran Canaria is reading this ;-D), even though both brews are made by South Africa's SAB Miller brewery. Gran Canaria's Arehucas siesta key florida hotels rum is the Canary Islands' most popular spirit. With Tenerife's beer topping Tropical and Arehucas carrying the spirits category we have to give the overall food and drink prize to Tenerife.
Landscapes and Nature Tenerife has a 3,718 metre volcano and you can't argue with that: The Las Cañadas national park is unique in Europe and Teide is a stunning peak. The far north of Tenerife is rugged and spectacular and its laurel and pine forests siesta key florida hotels are pristine. Gran Canaria on the other hand has its spectacular ravines or barrancos and gorgeous pine forests, as well as the sheers cliffs siesta key florida hotels of the west coast. Both islands have a huge range of outdoor sporting siesta key florida hotels options such as cycling, siesta key florida hotels diving and hiking. In the battle of landscapes, we think both islands come out equal.
Nightlife and Fun Tenerife's Playa de Las Americas siesta key florida hotels is the liveliest resort in the Canary Islands siesta key florida hotels and beats Playa del Inglés in Gran Canaria. The famous Veronica Strip is where the young-uns head for fun after sunset. Where Gran Canaria siesta key florida hotels wins out is in its local night-life: Las Palmas' bars and clubs are full most nights of the week and Santa Cruz just doesn't have the same energy. While La Laguna has a fantastic university scene, we think that Las Palmas' is best thanks siesta key florida hotels to its size and diversity. With Tenerife taking the resort crown and Gran Canaria the local one, its another draw. So which island is better? It's a tough call as both islands have world-class highlights, but we have to give the overall prize to Gran Canaria. But then we would: If we liked Tenerife more we would move there!
What do you think? Have we been fair? Or have we missed something that pushes Tenerife into the top spot? Let us know in a comment, or visit our Gran Canaria siesta key florida hotels Facebook page . Like this post? Try these other Sunshine siesta key florida hotels posts: Gran Canaria: The Perfect Conference Destination Gran Canaria's Top Twenty Beaches
Pretty spot on! Well balanced review, I thought when I read this the article it was going to be completely one sided. As a dweller of Tenerife having just visited Gran Canaria I totally agree with the win to beaches for GC. The dunes of Maspalomas go on and on forever. There is no beach in Tenerife of this size you can walk for miles up and down! Reply Delete Replies Alex Bramwell 3 December 2012 18:08
Thank you for your comment. We were a bit hesitant to publish the article in case it made people angry. Every tourist has to choose a destination and we believe that the more information we make available, the happier they will be with their choices.Now someone has to write the piece about why Tenerife is best ;-D Delete Reply Anonymous 3 December 2012 18:10
I don t think the climate/weather is equal. GC is further south and the S and SW of GC have much better warmer weather in winter than anywhere on Tenerife. I think you ve omitted that to make them come out equal ;) Reply Delete Replies Alex Bramwell 3 December 2012 18:12
The south of Tenerife gets ALMOST as much sunshine as the south of Gran Canaria. If you spend a week or two there you wouldn t really notice the difference :-D Delete Reply Jack 3 December 2012 18:17
Nicely balanced view and I totally agree with everything... except for one little aspect. Mount Teide has just got to push landscapes and nature siesta key florida hotels Tenerife s way. And I am in no way biased :) Reply Delete Alex Bramwell 3 December 2012 18:24
Fair enough. siesta key florida hotels Teide is spectacular, but we think that the incredible barrancos, such as Fataga and Mogan, balance it out. You get the view of Teide from Gran Canaria anyway :-D Reply Delete Jack 3 December 2012 18:31
People from La Gomera would claim they have the best view of Teide, though, Alex. As the author of Going Local in Gran Canaria, I m going to have to plump of the island I went native in. Reply Delete Replies Alex Bramwell 3 December 2012 18:48
Teide isn t a patch on the Caldera de Taburiente, and La Palma has barrancos, pine forest, laurel forest, volcanoes, volcanic caves and a year- round river. OK year-round is stretching it, since it s a mere trickle by late August, but the waterfall in Los Tilos keeps on cascading. And we ve got the best night skies by light-years. Reply Delete scammed 3 December 2012 23:05
The beaches and promenades in Tenerife are beautiful and the locals are charming and helpful - downside is the corruption and scamming of tourists with counterfeit cameras and jewellery particularly in Los Cristianos by Asian shops. Reply Delete Add comment Load more...