Looking for five nights somewhere solo in January to break up the winter. I've narrowed it down to the Canary Islands for the best chance of being able to be outdoors and a relatively short flight. I'll mostly be walking/exploring but if I luck out with the weather I'd like a bit of beach time and some snorkelling and water sports options.
Want – Sand beach relatively close, snorkelling (with a chance of seeing things), walking routes (I'll probably do an island tour of some description if anybody can recommend one), nice choice of restaurants and nice bars to relax in and public transport access as I don't fancy driving abroad.
Don't want – Any of the lively places like Playa de las Americas. I want options in the evening as a solo but also don't want to be surrounded by boozed up Brits. I don't want somewhere so secluded that five days feels like a drag either…
TLDR: Which Canary island and resort would best suit a late 30's solo traveller who doesn't want to be completely secluded but also doesn't want to be around stag/hen parties. I'm open to all of the islands!
Thanks for any input!
10 comments
If you’re heading to that part of the world does it have to be the Canary Islands? Madeira is stunning and the same distance more or less, I’ve been twice and loved it.
Puerto de la Cruz in northern Tenerife matches all those except the sandy beach. Most Canaries beaches are like that though – more volcanic ash than sand.
I’ve stayed at 4 different places in the Canaries and the one that most fits is outside Playa Blanca on Lanzarote. It’s in the south which is good with the wind. Playa Blanca is a nice town which isn’t ridiculously busy/touristy (I’ve also stayed near Playa de las Americas in Tenerife).
Playa Blanca on Lanzarote sounds like it would suit you.
Callao salvaje – Tenerife is nice
Madeira (not canaries) is beautiful and I would strongly recommend
Lanzarote – Papagayo / Playa Blanca. The bottom right corner of Lanzarote is beautiful, doesn’t have that whole night life thing. There is a series of undeveloped sand beaches perfect for snorkeling, loads of fish to see. All surrounded by natural coastal paths that go up and down cliffs that separate the beaches.
As others have said Madeira is stunning and we go once a year.
It rained a bit last January tho
Beach wise the natural beaches are black sand. There is a couple of imported golden sand beaches
Mogán, Gran Canaria. The only thing missing from your list is probably walking routes.
I’ll throw La Palma in the mix. Stay in Santa Cruz. Not overly touristy. Good restaurants. Beach nearby, we spent a day sunbathing in Jan. Decent transport, we took the bus everywhere.
I am currently in Fuerteventura. If you’re not into super fancy accommodation, El Cotillo is just lovely. Fuerteventura has amazing sandy beaches for days, definitely the best among the Canaries.
I’ve seen a few suggestions for Madeira – totally agree. Stay on the south coast if you can. We went 2 years ago and stayed in a wonderful place in Sao Jorge (north coast) and we were literally on j the shadow of the cliff behind us all day! It was crazy. But not really what we’d hoped for, lol. So yeah, go to the south, lol.