The Canary Islands are one of the most spectacular vacation spots in the world. If you are planning a Canary Islands-hopping trip anytime soon, you know it boasts some of the most beautiful beaches. Some of the most exquisite natural tourist attractions are situated in the Canary Islands. The weather, the blue waters, and the golden beaches across the seven islands are unique. As a traveler, one would want to visit each of these islands individually to take in each of these island’s spectacles.

Now the big 4 islands (Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, and Lanzarote) are the most popular out of the 7 and you would be pleased to know that each of them has an airport. Traveling by plane is easy from island to island but it might be a little heavy on your wallet. The other three La Gomera, El Hierro, and La Palma are a little smaller and are not as connected as the other islands so a ferry is your most available option although La Palma and El Hierro do have airports.

The inter-island travel by plane is done by the airlines CanaryFly and there are different routes this airline takes across the islands. Some places might require a stop at an island though. The biggest hub for airline travel is Tenerife as it is the biggest island and is connected to all the other big islands by air and all the small islands by sea.

There are quite a few ferry services in the islands as well. They all have their own benefits and routes that they take across the islands. Some of the notable services include Fred Olsen, Biosfera Express, Lineas Romero, Naveira Armas and Transmediterranea.

Island Hopping around the Canary Islands

Tenerife

Being the largest of the seven islands, Tenerife is actually the easiest to get to. It is home to two international airports. Tenerife Sur, the second biggest in the Canary Islands, is served by numerous international and budget airlines to different European destinations.

Tenerife is also close to many of the other islands by sea, especially within easy reach of La Gomera and Gran Canaria by ferry. On direct route by sea includes daily ferries from Los Cristianos de Tenerife to San Sebastian de La Gomera and which will take you about 40 minutes.

Lanzarote

When Canary Islands-hopping and want to get to the northernmost island, you can either choose a plane or ferry service. Namely, Lanzarote is home to Arrecife Airport from which you can hop around the islands. Likewise, you can use it to travel to various European destinations and mainland Spain. On the other hand, when it comes to ferry service, there is one direct route from Lanzarote to the island of Fuerteventura. Three different ferry companies operate here and they go daily and take only half an hour.

Gran Canaria

Being home to the capital of the Canary Islands, Las Palmas, there’s no doubt that you can easily travel to and from Gran Canaria Island. It hosts quite a significant amount of air traffic in comparison to the other islands. Moreover, there are also ferries from Gran Canaria to Tenerife that run regularly.

Precisely speaking, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria international airport is the busiest one on the islands when speaking of cargo and passenger traffic. It’s served by numerous European airlines as well as many airlines from West Africa. On the other hand, there are two direct ferry routes between Gran Canaria and Tenerife, offering about 60 sailings per week. This indeed sounds great when Canary Islands-hopping, right?

La Gomera

As it is one of the three smaller islands, you have fewer options when it comes to traveling to and from La Gomera. Although it has one domestic airport, it is only for local usage unlike the first three mentioned. It only caters to flights from Tenerife North offering two return flights per day. There is also one ferry route operated by two ferry companies from La Palma to La Gomera. It will only take you about 2 hours to get from one to the other.

La Palma

La Palma has one main airport as well which is served mainly by Binter Canarias and Canary Fly. The airport caters to many of the inter-island airlines with island-hopping flights from Tenerife and Gran Canaria. Plus, it also serves some European countries like Germany, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and the UK.

In addition to air traffic, this island is also connected to Tenerife through ferries. Indeed, there are two ferry routes between La Palma and Tenerife, offering about 30 sailings per week.

El Hierro

This island may also be one of the smallest of the group of Canary Islands, but similar to La Gomera and La Palma, it also has a domestic airport. Yet, the airport only offers flights to Tenerife North and Gran Canaria. However, El Hierro is also connected by ferry traffic to Tenerife. The route operates weekly and takes about two or two and a half hours.

Fuerteventura

Finally, here’s the last one of the four larger islands among the Canary Islands. Situated just south of Lanzarote, Fuerteventura is home to the international El Matorral airport. This airport serves numerous destinations around Europe via both international and low-cost companies.

But, that’s not all! Fuerteventura is also connected to Gran Canaria, situated southwest of the island, by sea traffic. The two ferry routes between the islands offer more than 30 sailings per week.

These are the best ways to ‘island hop’ from one island to the other for your vacation. Hope you find them convenient for exploring the Canaries.