Great insights, thank you. We’ve been travelling for 2 winters now and are on the same search for the perfect winter spot. Loved SMA’s weather but agree I had safety concerns with exploring beyond the city. I do love the Spanish culture, but as you say the meals out get repetitive and very fried food centric, a great incentive for prioritizing healthy home cooked meals. We spent a port day in Las Palmas, did 20,000 steps from one end to the other and we were intrigued. I look forward to more info on how Tenerife compares to Las Palmas for a month long stay - fitness facilities, walkability and public transport are all important to us too. Enjoy your last few weeks!
Happy to share our experience! Certainly I would say that the Canaries held up very well for our 2.5 month stay. La Gomera was perfect for a hiking trip and Tenerife turned out to be just as great as Gran Canaria for excursions, public transit and overall setting. And, yes, we’ve captured it all in our next couple of videos. Really, the only downside to the Canaries were the three flights it took to get back to Toronto!
Loved your video as always. Nice to see the poochies with you two. I hope you share more about the Canary Islands as you explore them. I felt like it was a teaser and you have more hikes to do and places to explore and share with us as viewers. I look forward to seeing more in the future about this area. ;)
Glad to hear that you enjoyed the video! Indeed, we have two more videos about the Canary Islands coming your way. One sharing the highlights of our hiking trip in La Gomera and the other covering off a wonderful month of slow travel in Tenerife.
Have you been to the Azores? I am wondering how that compares. I’ve been to neither, but I am tired of MN winters. This year we spent some time in Florida which was fine, but not really my thing. I’d much rather be overseas but we have an 80lb dog.
We haven't been to the Azores but looked at it a couple times as a possibility. For us, I think the Azores don't have the range of experiences that we're looking for in a winner getaway -- although the islands certainly seem beautiful. It's quite a small population size when compared to the Canaries, which affects rental accommodations, restaurants, and more.
We were in Tenerife in mid-February for a day; a stop on the Queen Anne traveling to Capetown. We enjoyed it quite a bit, although Funchal rates just a tad higher. However, this might have been because I was able to meet a zoom friend there🙂.
I have to say that Funchal is a uniquely beautiful city - we loved our month there. That said, hopefully you can make a repeat visit to the Canaries one day as they're worth another look.
Thanks so much for your article. This winter in Toronto has been particularly difficult with both the cold and amount of snow. It has accelerated my desire to escape the winters in Canada. My husband and I have been debating between Mexico and Palm Springs but have never considered the Canary Islands until your post. I will do some more research but you have opened may eyes to a new possibility. One question I do have for you is did you ever get island fever? Much appreciated and hope to join you next year on escaping the cold.
Great question! There was really no room for island fever as both Gran Canaria and Tenerife are both quite sizeable with many possible excursions and experiences on offer. We only included a small sampling of excursions in our video but there is certainly enough left over for a repeat visit. We also appreciated that the Canaries don't have the same income disparity as Mexico, and there were no safety issues or stray animals running around.
Great insights, thank you. We’ve been travelling for 2 winters now and are on the same search for the perfect winter spot. Loved SMA’s weather but agree I had safety concerns with exploring beyond the city. I do love the Spanish culture, but as you say the meals out get repetitive and very fried food centric, a great incentive for prioritizing healthy home cooked meals. We spent a port day in Las Palmas, did 20,000 steps from one end to the other and we were intrigued. I look forward to more info on how Tenerife compares to Las Palmas for a month long stay - fitness facilities, walkability and public transport are all important to us too. Enjoy your last few weeks!
Happy to share our experience! Certainly I would say that the Canaries held up very well for our 2.5 month stay. La Gomera was perfect for a hiking trip and Tenerife turned out to be just as great as Gran Canaria for excursions, public transit and overall setting. And, yes, we’ve captured it all in our next couple of videos. Really, the only downside to the Canaries were the three flights it took to get back to Toronto!
Always wanted to go there! Thx for the info and I can’t wait to watch the video.
Enjoy! Let us know if it makes your "maybe one day" list once you've given it a watch.
Loved your video as always. Nice to see the poochies with you two. I hope you share more about the Canary Islands as you explore them. I felt like it was a teaser and you have more hikes to do and places to explore and share with us as viewers. I look forward to seeing more in the future about this area. ;)
Glad to hear that you enjoyed the video! Indeed, we have two more videos about the Canary Islands coming your way. One sharing the highlights of our hiking trip in La Gomera and the other covering off a wonderful month of slow travel in Tenerife.
Have you been to the Azores? I am wondering how that compares. I’ve been to neither, but I am tired of MN winters. This year we spent some time in Florida which was fine, but not really my thing. I’d much rather be overseas but we have an 80lb dog.
We haven't been to the Azores but looked at it a couple times as a possibility. For us, I think the Azores don't have the range of experiences that we're looking for in a winner getaway -- although the islands certainly seem beautiful. It's quite a small population size when compared to the Canaries, which affects rental accommodations, restaurants, and more.
We were in Tenerife in mid-February for a day; a stop on the Queen Anne traveling to Capetown. We enjoyed it quite a bit, although Funchal rates just a tad higher. However, this might have been because I was able to meet a zoom friend there🙂.
I have to say that Funchal is a uniquely beautiful city - we loved our month there. That said, hopefully you can make a repeat visit to the Canaries one day as they're worth another look.
Well, we mostly live in Porto now, so it's a very distinct possibility.
That sounds lovely and just moved it higher on our list.
Well done! I think you would find it quite pleasant here.
Thanks so much for your article. This winter in Toronto has been particularly difficult with both the cold and amount of snow. It has accelerated my desire to escape the winters in Canada. My husband and I have been debating between Mexico and Palm Springs but have never considered the Canary Islands until your post. I will do some more research but you have opened may eyes to a new possibility. One question I do have for you is did you ever get island fever? Much appreciated and hope to join you next year on escaping the cold.
Great question! There was really no room for island fever as both Gran Canaria and Tenerife are both quite sizeable with many possible excursions and experiences on offer. We only included a small sampling of excursions in our video but there is certainly enough left over for a repeat visit. We also appreciated that the Canaries don't have the same income disparity as Mexico, and there were no safety issues or stray animals running around.