Canary Islands Combo: Tenerife and La Gomera

Rise and shine, it’s your first full day in Tenerife. Today you’ll have the opportunity to meet with a local member of our Concierge team who knows the island through and through. This is a chance for you to get a general introduction to the island and the wider archipelago. You can discuss weather patterns, distances between points of interest, the best roads to use, the must-dos to weave into your itinerary, the landscapes, the history and the best hiking trails. It is also an opportunity to learn a little more about everyday life in the Canaries and to pick up a few handy tips and tricks for your journey ahead. The rest of today is yours to spend at leisure. Kick back and relax at the hotel or head out to explore Garachico. This peaceful village is full of charm, with churches, convents, elegant mansions, leafy patios, beaches and coves, and it’s hard to believe that everything here was rebuilt after a tragic volcanic eruption in 1706, which completely destroyed the town.

You have the next three days to explore Tenerife. And there’s plenty to keep you busy. You can stroll through the cobbled streets of Garachico; take a dip in one of the natural volcanic pools near the village; discover the rich architectural heritage of the old town of La Orotava, which dates back more than 500 years; visit a plantation to learn about banana growing; relax on the beaches, which vary from white to black sand; and, of course, enjoy plenty of indulgent local food, including the catch of the day, ‘puchero’ (Canarian stew) and the locally-produced wines.

One of your days in Tenerife is dedicated to embarking on a hike in the Teide National Park. The park’s landscape is dominated by Spain's highest volcano, Teide, which last erupted in 1798. The volcanic lava forms an extraordinary palette of colours and shapes amd supports an exceptional diversity of flora. The park is also home to several species of reptile (including the endemic Gallotia galloti lizard) and numerous birds (including Egyptian vultures, sparrow hawks, buzzards and red kites).

You’ll also have the opportunity to visit to the Cueva del Viento (the ‘Wind Cave’). Stretching for a whopping 11 miles, the cave’s network of volcano lava tunnels is the fifth longest in the world. The cave stands out for its unusual geomorphological features which were formed 27,000 years ago and its rich underground fauna, including 190 common species, most of them invertebrates. The tour is led by an expert local guide who is passionate about all things volcanological, geological, environmental and historical related to the cave. Our local Concierge team can also arrange for you to explore Garachico with a local to discover some hidden gems that the tourists don’t know about.

It’s time to bid farewell to Tenerife and hop across the ocean to La Gomera. Head to the port in Los Cristianos to catch a one-hour ferry to La Gomera. From the port here it’s just a quick drive to your home for the next four nights: a beautiful hotel nestled in a hilltop neighbourhood in the island’s capital, San Sebastian.

The next three days are yours to explore the wild natural landscape of La Gomera at your leisure. One of our favourite things to do on the island is a botanical hike in Garajonay National Park. Head out to this sweeping UNESCO World Heritage site in the company of a knowledgeable local guide and spend the day discovering an array of different landscapes, including a dense green forest shrouded in mist that is thought to be thousands of years old and beautiful laurisilva forests, a living relic of the subtropical forests that populated the Mediterranean basin in the Tertiary era several million years ago. We can also arrange for you to spend a day between land and sea, with an easy hike in the morning, lunch in a restaurant popular among locals and an afternoon at sea on a boat tour.

Today it’s time to hop back across to Tenerife. From the port in Los Cristianos, it’s just a 30-minute drive to your next destination: Santiago del Teide. You’ll drive along the rugged coastline under the aegis of the Teide volcano, then along the Teno massif and the western coastline. Check in for one night in a charmingly rustic retreat in the small town of Santiago del Teide. Everything here is about slowing down and relaxing, the perfect way to end your adventure in the Canary Islands.