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.

- 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.

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.
- Playa de Vueltas (28.08251, -17.33193) in the resort town of Valle Gran Rey on the island of La Gomera. In fact, in this town, there are three small infrastructure beaches with black volcanic sand. It’s a great location for beach relaxation.

- 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.

- 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.
- Review of resorts and beaches of La Palma, more information and about Nogales and other beaches of the island, as well as the coordinates of cool lava pools.

- 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.

- 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.

- 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.

- 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.

- 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.
- Review of vacation on the island of Fuerteventura: features of the island and the best resorts.

- 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.

- 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.
- The downside: during strong tides, a couple of times a month, the water recedes further than usual, making swimming difficult, and the bottom is not the best.
- Overview of all resorts on the island of Lanzarote.

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.