7 Canary Islands & so little time...
How'd we choose just 2 of them, for a total of 5 nights? By a process of elimination & knowing we'll go back to see the others someday soon. Here's how we came up with our 2 islands, for our first trip to the Canaries:  We wanted to find the real Canary Islands & islanders. So first we knocked-off the most touristed island, Gran Canaria. The destination of most package tours for fun & sun. Not that Gran Canaria didn't intrigue us, but it's also a very large island (a lot of driving) to discover with such limited time.

We were traveling in May, considered off-season. (Most people visit November to April.) Closures or at least limited hours at museums, shops & restaurants would be likely. Even some hotels are closed down then. Air & sea connections also presented us with travel problems between islands. That took away La Gomera & El Hierro. These 2 little islands of the archipelago aren't really bustling, even during high season. Off-season we felt we would miss out on too much. But they're on our list for the future.

We knew wanted to do Lanzarote because of its oddball nature (we love volcanic islands). But which island of the remaining 3 to choose? La Palma, Tenerife or Fuerteventura? La Palma is supposed to be the prettiest island. Fuerteventura has beautiful beaches.

But Tenerife has El Tiede, the highest mountain in Spain. And lush banana plantations in the North. There's interesting Canarian architecture & history. Cities, villages & remote areas. And finally, the clincher...We wanted to stay in a stylish hotel on Tenerife that's been getting a lot of press. So out went the other two. But sadly so. Until next time.

Voila...We had our two islands! Tenerife for 3 nights. Lanzarote for 2. Both islands we heartily recommend. Enough time to get a real taste of each. Enough time to know we want to go back.