The Canary Islands are Spain's tropical paradise. The island of Tenerife is the largest of the Canary archipelago (2,053 square km). Visitors to these islands enjoy excellent weather year round, plus a huge variety of scenery and terrain. On the island of Tenerife you will find extremely varied plant life, large wooded mountains, and extensive areas where banana, tomato, potato and other agricultural products are grown. The beaches themselves are spectacular! The sand is soft and clean, with some beaches made up of black sand, while others have gold colored sand.
The capital of the island is Santa Cruz de Tenerife, which has 220,000 inhabitants. It is a cheerful, pulsating, modern city full of restaurants, bars, cafe, shopping, churches, plus much more. The city is warm and cheerful, guaranteed to make anyone feel right at home! Tenerife is a shopping paradise due to the fact that there are no customs imposed on goods purchased. Not even the tax-free shops at airports can compete with prices in the Canaries, making it the perfect place to buy expensive, one-off items or gifts such as diamond engagement rings, diamond wedding rings and diamond earrings. Besides being able to purchase your "standard" items, the islands offer visitors the chance to purchase exotic items such as Nigerian crocodile skin, beautiful pieces of carved ivory made on the banks of the Ganges (India), and exquisite Chinese silk. This is the place to go to find the most curious and rare objects.
You can also find all the major high street brands on tenerife, such as Mango, Zara, Adolfo Dominguez and Cortefiel.
The Canary Islands, and in particular Tenerife, are an ideal setting for a multitude of sports. Enjoy excellent deep sea fishing, diving, or just swimming and relaxing on the long stretches of beaches. Other sports available to anyone include tennis, trap-shooting, horseback riding, and golf. Due to the tropical climate, extensive outdoor activities, and bustling cities, we are confident that you will find the Canary Islands an ideal place to learn Spanish.
Like many of their mainland cousins, Canarios kick back and celebrate at plenty of fiestas and ferias throughout the year. Carnaval in February/March is the wildest time, and brings several weeks of parades, fancy dress and general good times across the islands. In Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the party rivals the Rio Carnaval. From 21 to 30 June, the Bajada de Nuestra Señora de las Nieves is the premier religious festival on Isla de la Palma, but is held only every five years. The most important religious celebration held on Gran Canaria is the Fiesta de la Virgen del Pino, and festivities last for two weeks, culminating on 6 to 8 September. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria hosts several important arts festivals, including the Festival Internacional de Música (January); the Festival de Opera (February-March); the Festival de Ballet y Danza (May); and the Muestra Internacional de Cine, an international film festival held every two years in October and November. If that's not enough, the Encuentro Teatral Tres Continentes draws theatre companies from Europe, Latin America and Africa to Agüimes (Gran Canaria) in September.
 |
 |
