Dariac

My husband & I would like to visit Spain & the Canary Islands in mid January. We are flying from Canada and wondering how to get to the islands. Are there flights from anywhere other than Madrid? We can fly into either Madrid or Barcelona and would like to see S Spain. Do we have from Canada to fly to Madrid to the islands back to Madrid and then make our way down to the coast again? What are the best airlines (for cost)? What about ferries from Spain to the islands? Not sure which ones we will go to but so far I am leaning towards Tenerife, La Palma and Lanzarote.

Is it easy/expensive to island hop? Should we make hotel reservations ahead of time or are they easy to find (do people meet the boats as they do in Greece)?

We are hoping for 2-3 weeks. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

elina

Sorry, I cannot help you with flights from Spain, I have always just taken a charter flight from where I live. Since Canaries are a major package destination from Central & Northern Europe (particularly in winter), I suggest you book hotels or villas in advance. There are no people offering accomodation in harbours like in Greece.

It is easy to take a boat between Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, and between Teneriffe and La Gomera, because they are so near each other. But for example for Teneriffe - La Palma stretch I took a plane. Although there are boats between all the islands.

If you choose the three islands you mentioned, you will see three very different islands (in Teneriffe choose the northern side of the island). But remember that La Gomera is also beautiful, mountainous with ancient forests. That is if you like hiking.

Dariac

Thanks for taking the time to respond Elina. Someone else suggested that we arrive in Spain and look for packages there for last minute deals. Are B&Bs, pensions, usually full? Do you know of a good site to find some? The reason I don't want to pre-book is that we'd like to travel around S Spain (Seville, etc.). I was thinking of buying a Parador pass for 5 nights. Do you have any experience with this?

Thanks again for your help.

Bedar

I seem to remember that flights to the Canaries were cheaper from Malaga than from Madrid. Check it out on Iberia.

My husband was there in Jan.-Feb. and had no difficulty getting rooms. In fact, strangely enough the islands seemed empty at that time. Even though winter should be high season he was told that many more people visit in summer !!

Bedar

Forgot to mention that the ferry runs from Cadiz (just south of Seville)to the islands.

antonio

From mainland Spain to Tenerife you will find many offers by Iberia, Spanair or Air europa airlines. Very often from Madrid but also from cities like Barcelona, Sevilla, Malaga, Alicante etc. ( retour ticket from 90 € till 240 €, depends dates ). Tenerife has two internationals airports - North and South - and every single island has one as well.
Tenerife - Gran Canaria by fast ferry in one hour.
Tenerife - La Gomera by modern ferry in abouth one hour.
Tenerife - La Palma by modern ferry in two and a half hours.
Have a look in Fred Olsen ferries Cia.
Here you will discover that paradise exist ( landscapes, peaciful villages and great temperatures )
Antonio

lincasanova

i would either book a package from USA to islands with a later return date, and then fly from there up to mainland and back, or vice versa.
fly into spain mainland, go to large travel agency and check out packages to islands and plan your trip around those travel dates. only complicated around easter.
you can get excellent packages, but few visit all the islands. it would take a good part of your stay to do that.

www.solmelia.com has nice hotels there, as do many .
www.rumbo.es is good spanish website for worldwide flights.

there are non stop flights from everywhere to the canaries practically.

we have been on tenerife all over, and some friends from the canaries really recommend fuenteventura. the least developed of them and most natural i understand.

each island has its interesting features.

the ferry from spain to canaries must take forever. the flight itself is about three hours.