Let me tell you about the best beaches in the Canary Islands. There will be a map, descriptions, and highlights. The Canaries aren’t your typical beach resort; they’re volcanic islands in the open ocean, which means black beaches, lots of pebbles, lava pools, strong waves, and not everywhere is suitable for comfortable sunbathing and swimming.

Beaches in the Canary Islands: General Information

Here’s what you need to know about the beaches of the Canary Islands before your vacation. Here are the main points in brief:

  • The Canaries aren’t about long endless beaches. There are only a few of those, and not on every island.
  • All beaches in the Canary Islands are public and free. You might pay only for renting sun loungers, where available.
  • Beaches on the islands are divided into equipped and wild ones. Wild beaches can be dangerous for swimming due to strong waves, sharp rocks, sea urchins, and most importantly, there can be rip currents that can easily sweep people into the ocean. Public beaches at resorts are equipped with breakwaters, protected from waves and currents, and have lifeguards, among other amenities.
  • The water in the Atlantic Ocean around the Canaries is brisk all year round. If you’re into warm seas, this might not be your ideal spot.
beaches in the Canary
Here’s an example of one of the many wild beaches on any island. You park your car above, descend to such a beach, and it’s just you and the ocean. In such places, it’s better not to swim or venture far from the shore.
  • There are a lot of tourists on the Canary Islands. With 2 million residents, there are over 14 million tourists annually. And most of them relax on Tenerife and Gran Canaria. Be prepared for crowded beaches all year round. If you want relatively uncrowded beaches, choose the islands of Fuerteventura, La Palma, La Gomera.
  • On the islands of Gran Canaria, Tenerife, La Palma, there are natural lava pools, which have been adapted by humans. Today, they are unusual relaxation areas where you can sunbathe and swim with a view of the Atlantic. You’ll find more about them in the article on water parks and lava pools in the Canaries, where you’ll also find their coordinates. And then there will be only beaches.
best beach canaries
These lava pools are a great alternative to beaches. There are actually a lot of them; the key is knowing where to find them.

Nudist Beaches in the Canaries:

People often ask about this, so I’ll briefly explain. Typically, people sunbathe naked on wild and unpopular beaches. Topless sunbathing is common for women on any beach, and it’s not considered inappropriate on the Canaries. You can confidently remove the top part of your swimsuit and relax in the center of any beach; nobody will say anything or give you strange looks. But there are some crowded beaches where there are many nudists, men included, for example, the beaches of Maspalomas.

Best Beaches Map in the Canaries

The map below marks the best beaches on each island of the archipelago. There will be links, photos, and descriptions of these beaches in the resort reviews of each island.

Top 10 Beaches in the Canary Islands

This ranking is, of course, subjective. I compiled it, including my favorite beaches on each island. So you can see that there are great options on other islands too. Tenerife is beautiful, no doubt, but in the archipelago of seven islands, there are those that are cooler than Tenerife, and fewer tourists go there, but most people don’t even know that beyond Tenerife, there’s great relaxation.

best canary beach
The best beaches of the Canary Islands on La Gomera are located in the town of Valle Gran Rey. In the photo, two beaches are 200m apart.
  • Playa de Santa Cruz de La Palma (28.68441, -17.76276) is the main urban beach in the capital of La Palma island in Santa Cruz. It’s enormous, wide (over 200m), long (over 1.5km), black volcanic beach with playgrounds and all the infrastructure. This is definitely one of the best public beaches not only in La Palma but in all of the Canaries.
black sand beaches in canaries
I really love this beach, especially in winter. I took the photo in mid-February; there are more people here in summer. In La Palma, this is probably the best beach.
  • Playa Nogales (28.75911, -17.73928) is the only wild beach in this ranking. I deliberately added it to show the complete opposite of equipped beaches. There are many more such wild beaches on each island than equipped ones. You should come here for walks, admire the ocean, and meditate; you don’t particularly swim at such beaches.
canarian beaches photo
An example of an absolutely wild but incredibly beautiful beach. Playa Nogales: in the photo, the top view of the beach from the observation deck. And in the lower photo, we walked along a picturesque footpath and descended to the beach itself.
  • Playa de Las Vistas (28.05121, -16.72358) in Los Cristianos and Las Americas resorts in Tenerife. These are the two coolest beach resorts in Tenerife, with one large shared promenade and about five large sandy beaches. Any beach in these resorts is just excellent.
    • All other beaches are great too, within a radius of 2km. Choose any; all beaches are within walking distance along the beautiful promenade along the ocean.
where better beach in canary islands
Los Cristianos and Las Americas are the two main resorts in Tenerife and the best beaches in the Canary Islands. In the photo above are two beaches in the center of the resorts. I took these photos at the end of January; notice how many vacationers there are.
  • Teresitas (28.50971, -16.18474) is the best beach near the capital of Tenerife, Santa Cruz. It’s sandy, long. It has two cool features: it’s completely sheltered from the wind by mountains, and there is an artificial breakwater along the entire beach, so there are never waves and currents here. An ideal place for a family vacation.
teresitas beach tenerife
Teresitas – the best beach near the capital of Tenerife in the north of the island. Notice the artificial reef in the photo along the entire beach; thanks to it, there are no waves here.
  • Playa de Las Canteras (28.14285, -15.43371) is my personal number 1 of all beaches in the Canaries. Las Canteras Beach is the main urban beach of the capital of Gran Canaria – Las Palmas. Over 3 km long, open ocean, waves, surfing, there are areas protected from waves for children. And along the entire length of the beach, there is a chic urban pedestrian promenade. Las Canteras Beach is included in the world ranking of the best urban beaches in the world.
    • Interesting fact: in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, there are no beaches; all beaches are outside the city. And in the capital of Gran Canaria, Las Palmas, there is an excellent beach right in the center.
best beach in gran canaria
This is all the way to the horizon, Las Canteras Beach, an endless promenade and hundreds of restaurants.
  • Playa de Amadores (27.79007, -15.72393) – one of the most beautiful beaches in Gran Canaria, located in a closed artificial bay in the south of the island. Protected by rocks from the wind. There is a beach season here all year round. The downside: it’s quite crowded even in January-February. The beach is perfect for a family vacation; it’s located in a resort area surrounded by dozens of hotels.
nudist beaches tenerife
Playa de Amadores – many hotels with very cool views of the ocean, azure water, a promenade, and crowds of tourists all year round :). This is a 100% resort location for beach relaxation.
  • Playa del Matorral (28.04461, -14.33518), also known as Morro Jable Beach, is a more than 5 km long sandy beach in the best beach resort of Fuerteventura – Morro Jable. There is all the infrastructure, a promenade, views, a working lighthouse; you can walk along the beach for hours. And there are 50 times fewer tourists here than in Tenerife and Gran Canaria.
best beach fuerteventura
Morro Jable Beach – in the photo is its very beginning, and it goes far for another 5-7 kilometers.
  • Playa Blanca (28.92013, -13.66177) is a fantastic beach in the main resort of Lanzarote – Puerto del Carmen. It’s a resort town with all the tourist infrastructure. This sandy beach with an excellent entry into the water is located on the eastern side of the island and is protected from the cold winds of the Atlantic. The resort is large; within a few kilometers, there are three more excellent beaches. You can walk between them.
    • The main thing is not to confuse it, as there is another town in Lanzarote called Playa Blanca (in the south of the island), and there is also a beach called Playa Blanca.
best wild beach canaries
Playa Blanca – the main resort and beach in Lanzarote. The beach smoothly and imperceptibly transitions into Playa Grande.
  • Playa del Reducto (28.95764, -13.5605 ), also known as Playa de Arrecife, is the main urban beach in the center of Arrecife, the capital of Lanzarote. The beach is small and cannot be compared to the beaches in the capitals of Gran Canaria or La Palma. But it’s an excellent beach with yellow sand, with all the necessary infrastructure in the city itself, not in a resort village.
best beach in lanzarote
Playa de Arrecife – an excellent beach. During low tide, swimming can be challenging, but the beach itself is great.

You will find information about each island and resort in this guide; check the articles in the header menu.

In conclusion, despite the fact that the beaches in the Canary Islands are not the region’s main pride, everyone will find their perfect beach here. They are present on all the Canary Islands, with many black volcanic beaches, and countless wild ones that require a hike through the mountains. I hope this ranking has helped you get an idea of what beaches await you in the Canary Islands.


Useful links to help you plan your dream trip to Canary Islands:

  • Car Rental: LocalRent or DiscoverCars – the most popular car rental platforms.
  • Accommodation:
    • Trip.com – the largest accommodation booking platform.
    • or TripAdvisor – to compare prices among other platforms and choose the best one.
  • Budget-friendly vacation packages to Spain and Canary Islands: CheapOair.
  • Tours and activities: GetYourGuide or Viator – hundreds of offers, whales and dolphins, entrance tickets with discounts.
  • eSIM and internet: Airalo.
  • Flights: WayAway compares prices among dozens of companies.
  • Travel Insurance: EKTA.