Home › Canary Islands › How many days
How many days in the Canary Islands? 6 days on Tenerife and Lanzarote
By Tony Panopoulos · travel-agency planner in Greece · Updated
The seven main Canary Islands are each a different landscape, and the classic mistake is to spend a week on one beach strip. In six days, combine two islands: Tenerife for Spain's highest mountain and the laurel forests, and Lanzarote, shaped by 18th-century eruptions and by the artist César Manrique. A 50-minute Binter flight links them. Rent a car on both; the best places are not on the resort coasts.
Short answer
Four days fits Tenerife alone, with Teide, Anaga and a ferry to La Gomera. Six adds Lanzarote's volcanoes and Manrique's lava-cave architecture.
The 6-day plan, day by day
Day 1: Tenerife: La Laguna and the Anaga mountains
Morning. Start in San Cristóbal de La Laguna, the UNESCO-listed old capital 15 minutes from Tenerife North airport. Its grid of colonial streets around Calle San Agustín and the Cathedral became a model for towns in the Americas. Breakfast with a barraquito, the layered local coffee with condensed milk and liqueur.
Afternoon. Drive 30 minutes into the Anaga Rural Park to the Cruz del Carmen visitor centre and walk the Sendero de los Sentidos, a short path through laurel forest (laurisilva). Continue down to Taganana and the black-sand beach of Benijo.
Evening. Dinner at a fish restaurant in Roque de las Bodegas, or in La Laguna's student bars around Calle Herradores.
The north of Tenerife is often cloudy and cooler than the south. That is why it is green; bring a layer for Anaga.
Day 2: Mount Teide
Morning. Drive up through the pine forest to Teide National Park, about 1h15 from La Laguna or the south coast. Take the Teleférico cable car from 2,356 to 3,555 metres in 8 minutes (roughly €40-45 return). The last 160 metres to the 3,715-metre summit on the Telesforo Bravo trail need a free permit booked weeks ahead.
Afternoon. Walk the flat trail around the Roques de García rock towers (3.5 km, about 1.5 hours) near the Parador. The crater floor of Las Cañadas is 16 km across.
Evening. Stay for sunset above the clouds, or book a guided stargazing evening; the Teide Observatory is one of the main sites in Europe.
At 3,555 metres the air is thin and it can be near freezing even in summer. People with heart or breathing problems, and children under 3, should not go up.
Day 3: Day trip to La Gomera
Morning. Take the 8:00-9:00 ferry from Los Cristianos to San Sebastián de La Gomera, about 50 minutes with Fred. Olsen or Naviera Armas (roughly €35-45 each way; take the rental car if the company allows).
Afternoon. Drive into Garajonay National Park, a UNESCO-listed laurel forest of moss and mist, and walk to Alto de Garajonay (1,487 m) for the view of Teide across the sea. Stop at a viewpoint over Valle Gran Rey.
Evening. Last ferry back to Tenerife, usually around 19:00-21:00, then fly or stay in the south.
In La Gomera, try almogrote, a spicy cheese spread, and listen for silbo, the whistled language still taught in schools.
Day 4: Lanzarote: Timanfaya and the west coast
Morning. Fly from Tenerife North to Lanzarote with Binter, about 50 minutes. Drive 35 minutes to Timanfaya National Park, created by eruptions from 1730 to 1736. Entry to the Montañas del Fuego (roughly €20) includes the coach tour along the Ruta de los Volcanes; rangers pour water into a hole and it shoots up as steam.
Afternoon. Drive 15 minutes to El Golfo and the green lagoon of Charco de los Clicos, then the lava coast of Los Hervideros, where waves blast through caves. End at the salt pans of Salinas de Janubio.
Evening. Drive through La Geria, where vines grow in hollows dug in black ash behind stone walls, and taste Malvasía volcánica at El Grifo or Bodega La Geria.
Timanfaya can only be seen by car to the entrance and then by the park coach. Arrive by 9:00-10:00 to avoid queues.
Day 5: César Manrique's Lanzarote
Morning. Visit Jameos del Agua, Manrique's concert hall, pool and gardens built inside a collapsed lava tube (roughly €15-16), with tiny white blind crabs in the lagoon. Next door, the Cueva de los Verdes guided tour (about €15) goes through 1 km of the same tube.
Afternoon. Drive 15 minutes to Mirador del Río, his clifftop viewpoint over La Graciosa, then south to the Fundación César Manrique at Tahíche, his house built into five lava bubbles (about €10-12).
Evening. Dinner in Arrecife along the Charco de San Ginés, the old fishing harbour, or in Teguise.
The Cabildo's Bono combined ticket for several Lanzarote centres saves money if you visit 3 or more.
Day 6: La Graciosa or the Papagayo beaches
Morning. Take the ferry from Órzola to La Graciosa, about 25 minutes (roughly €25-30 return). The island has sand tracks instead of roads and one village, Caleta de Sebo.
Afternoon. Rent a bike (about €15) and cycle 30-40 minutes to Playa de las Conchas, under the red Montaña Bermeja. Swim with care; currents are strong.
Evening. If you prefer, stay south instead for the coves of Papagayo near Playa Blanca (a few euros car entry), then sunset from Playa Blanca's promenade.
On Sundays, Teguise market fills the old capital from about 9:00 to 14:00.
Only have 4 days?
With 4 days, stay on Tenerife: La Laguna and Anaga, Teide, La Gomera, and a fourth day for Masca and the cliffs of Los Gigantes.
Got extra days?
Add Gran Canaria for Roque Nublo and the Maspalomas dunes, Fuerteventura for beaches (30 minutes by ferry from Playa Blanca), or La Palma for night skies and the Caldera de Taburiente.
Where to stay in Canary Islands
| Budget | Area | Why | Typical double/night |
|---|---|---|---|
| Budget | La Laguna / Santa Cruz | Cheaper city rooms, close to Anaga and Tenerife North airport. | €60-100 |
| Mid-range | Puerto de la Cruz (Tenerife) | Old town on the north coast, central for Teide and Anaga. | €90-150 |
| Mid-range | Puerto del Carmen / Costa Teguise | Lanzarote's resort towns, 10-20 minutes from the airport. | €90-160 |
| Comfort | Parador de las Cañadas del Teide / Playa Blanca | Sleep inside the national park, or in Lanzarote's southern resorts. | €160-300 |
Getting around
Rent a car on each island; a small car costs about €25-45 a day, often less in winter. Buses (guaguas) are good on the main routes: TITSA on Tenerife, Arrecife Bus on Lanzarote. Tenerife has two airports: North (TFN) for La Laguna and inter-island flights, South (TFS) for most international ones, 1 hour apart. Binter flights between islands cost roughly €50-100.
What to eat in Canary Islands
Order papas arrugadas, small wrinkled potatoes boiled in salted water, with red mojo picón and green mojo verde. Try queso asado (grilled goat's cheese with palm honey or mojo), gofio (toasted grain flour) in soups and desserts, conejo en salmorejo (rabbit in a garlic marinade) and fish such as vieja (parrotfish). In the north of Tenerife, eat at a guachinche, a wine-farm kitchen open part of the year, where a meal with house wine costs €12-18. A restaurant meal with wine is €20-35.
Best time to visit
All year, which is the point: winter highs are about 20-23°C on the coasts, summer 26-30°C. Spring and autumn are best for hiking. Teide can have snow from December to March, closing the road at times. Carnival in Santa Cruz de Tenerife (February) is one of the biggest in the world.
Month-by-month weather for Canary Islands →
What a day costs
| Budget | Mid-range | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bed (per person, sharing a double) | €35 | €65 | €130 |
| Food & drink | €25 | €40 | €75 |
| Sights & tickets | €15 | €30 | €50 |
| Local transport | €15 | €25 | €45 |
| Total per person, per day | about €90 | about €160 | about €300 |
Approximate 2026 prices; the Canaries charge IGIC (7%) instead of mainland VAT, and transport is the per-person share of a rental car. Inter-island flights and ferries are extra.
Before you go
Common questions
Which Canary Island is best for a first visit?
Tenerife has the widest range: Teide, forests, old towns and beaches, with good flights. Lanzarote is smaller and more unusual, with volcanic landscapes and Manrique's architecture. Gran Canaria has the dunes of Maspalomas and a mountainous centre. For a first trip of a week, Tenerife plus one other island works best.
Do I need a permit to climb Mount Teide?
Only for the last stretch to the summit crater, the Telesforo Bravo trail, from the top cable-car station. The permit is free but limited; book it on the official national parks reservation site weeks ahead. Staying at the Altavista refuge lets you reach the summit before 9:00 without the permit.
Are the Canary Islands warm in winter?
Yes, by European standards. Coastal highs of 20-23°C are normal from December to February, and the south of Tenerife and Gran Canaria are the sunniest. The sea is about 19-20°C, cool but swimmable. Mountain areas such as Teide are cold, sometimes below zero.
Can I travel between the islands by ferry?
Yes. Fred. Olsen and Naviera Armas link most islands: Tenerife to La Gomera in 50 minutes, Lanzarote to Fuerteventura in 30 minutes, Tenerife to Gran Canaria in about 80 minutes. For Tenerife to Lanzarote, a Binter flight is much faster than the long ferry.
How this guide was made
Compiled by TonyPlan from official tourism, transport and attraction sources and on-the-ground travel knowledge. Prices are approximate for 2026 and change with season; anything we could not confirm is marked as approximate.