The Canary Islands itinerary, day by day

Lunar volcanoes, golden dunes and a sea that stays mild all year: three islands linked by short flights, with the map, what is worth booking, everything that costs nothing, and where to sleep at three budgets.

🗓️ 4 or 7 days📍 3 stops☀️ Best time: All year round (ideal in winter)

Teide · Photo Claudio Fornaciari / Pexels

Route map (numbers = order of the stops).

The Canary Islands in 4 days

2 stops · 6 things to do · Inter-island flights + car

1Tenerife and Mount Teide

Days 1-2

The largest of the islands, under the cone of Mount Teide, at 3,715 metres the highest peak in Spain, surrounded by a national park of lava fields and craters.

🎟️ Worth booking

Teide cable car and national parkHalf day · from €40
A ride up to 3,555 metres through a lunar landscape. Going on to the summit itself requires a free permit booked well in advance.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Teide National Park · La Gomera (day trip) · Masca

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Hotel Rural Vilaflor (€70 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Rural Victoria (€100 a night) · Luxury: Parador de Las Cañadas del Teide (€160 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Los Cipreses de La Casa Inglesa ★ 4.9 · 1464 reviews · €€
ZenZero Gastro Restaurant Cocktail Bar ★ 4.9 · 308 reviews
Almar Tenerife ★ 4.8 · 3185 reviews · €€
Restaurante "El Guanche " Alte Schule ★ 4.8 · 2648 reviews · €€
Etéreo by Pedro Nel ★ 4.8 · 2466 reviews · €€€

Photo Pexels

✈️ Inter-island flight · 45 min · flight

2Lanzarote

Days 3-4

The black island shaped by César Manrique: lava fields, art built into the landscape and vines planted in pits of volcanic ash.

🎟️ Worth booking

Timanfaya National Park (Montañas del Fuego)Half day · from €30
The Fire Mountains, where the ground is still hot enough for water poured into a hole to shoot back up as steam.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

La Geria

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Hotel THB Flora (€75 a night) · Mid-range: La Isla y el Mar Hotel Boutique (€130 a night) · Luxury: Seaside Los Jameos (€170 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Casa Rafa Restaurante De Mar ★ 4.8 · 5188 reviews · €€
Mumbai Masala Jameos Playa ★ 4.8 · 1857 reviews · €€
Restaurante Mirador de Los Valles ★ 4.8 · 1763 reviews · €€
La Carmencita del Puerto ★ 4.8 · 1685 reviews · €€
Sergio ★ 4.8 · 698 reviews · €€

Photo Pexels

The Canary Islands in 7 days

3 stops · 9 things to do · Inter-island flights + car

1Tenerife and Mount Teide

Days 1-3

The largest of the islands, under the cone of Mount Teide, at 3,715 metres the highest peak in Spain, surrounded by a national park of lava fields and craters.

🎟️ Worth booking

Teide cable car and national parkHalf day · from €40
A ride up to 3,555 metres through a lunar landscape. Going on to the summit itself requires a free permit booked well in advance.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Teide National Park · La Gomera (day trip) · Masca

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Pexels

✈️ Inter-island flight · 45 min · flight

2Lanzarote

Days 4-5

The black island shaped by César Manrique: lava fields, art built into the landscape and vines planted in pits of volcanic ash.

🎟️ Worth booking

Timanfaya National Park (Montañas del Fuego)Half day · from €30
The Fire Mountains, where the ground is still hot enough for water poured into a hole to shoot back up as steam.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

La Geria

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Hotel THB Flora (€75 a night) · Mid-range: La Isla y el Mar Hotel Boutique (€130 a night) · Luxury: Seaside Los Jameos (€170 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Pexels

✈️ Inter-island flight · 40 min · flight

3Gran Canaria

Days 6-7

Often called a continent in miniature: desert dunes in the south, green mountains and deep ravines in the centre.

🎟️ Worth booking

Into the mountains (Roque Nublo)Half day · from €35
A half-day through white villages and ridgetop viewpoints to the basalt monolith of Roque Nublo, the symbol of the island.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The dunes of Maspalomas · Las Palmas and Vegueta

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Hotel Parque Tropical (€70 a night) · Mid-range: Seaside Sandy Beach (€140 a night) · Luxury: Bohemia Suites & Spa (€200 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Restaurante Origen SteakHouse Gran Canaria ★ 4.8 · 1409 reviews · €€
Restaurante Parque Romántico ★ 4.8 · 1273 reviews · €€
Viejo Rincón ★ 4.8 · 1228 reviews · €
Atis Tirma Restaurante ★ 4.8 · 689 reviews · €
Restaurante La Guagua Blanca ★ 4.8 · 684 reviews

Photo Pexels

Hotel prices are per room per night, activity prices per person, checked when written. Some links are affiliate links (Booking, GetYourGuide): we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

Take this itinerary with you

The free printable Canary Islands guide: map, stops day by day, hotels by budget. Works offline.

📥 Get the free guide

Good to know before you go

🍽️ What to eat

Papas arrugadas: small potatoes boiled in salty water until the skins wrinkle, served with mojo.
Mojo: the island sauces, red with chilli and paprika, green with coriander or parsley.
Gofio: toasted grain flour, a staple since before the Spanish arrived, stirred into soups and desserts.
Goat's cheese: fresh or smoked, from farms on every island.
Malvasía from La Geria: white wine from vines grown in volcanic ash on Lanzarote.
Barraquito: the layered coffee of Tenerife, with condensed milk, a dash of liqueur and cinnamon.

⚠️ What to avoid

Book the free Teide summit permit weeks ahead and the cable car before you go, and check the forecast: wind or ice close the cable car.
At 3,500 metres it is cold and the air is thin, even in summer: bring a warm layer and go slowly.
The Atlantic has strong currents: swim at beaches with lifeguards and respect the flags.
The Masca gorge trail is capped at a few hundred walkers a day: book online in advance, and leave the car behind, since access is by bus.

Plan this trip

📒 The free printable Canary Islands guide→ 🗓️ Best time to visit the Canary Islands, month by month→ 🎟️ What to book before you go→

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