Article about the best and most popular Canary Islands tours and excursions. Learn the ins and outs, specifics, prices, where to find guides, about Tenerife tours and more, like spotting whales and dolphins. There will be tips and hacks that might not be obvious at first glance but will help you save money. The topic is for those planning a vacation here, not difficult but important.

Canary Islands Tours: General Points

The choice of various tours in the Canary Islands, especially in Tenerife or Gran Canaria, is huge. There are hundreds of excursions for every tourist. Here are some general points to know about all excursions in the Canaries:

  • All tours are divided into group and private ones. Group tours are when you travel on a tour bus along a predetermined route, visiting sights. There are typically 50 people on the bus, and deviations from the program are not allowed. Private tours involve 2-3 people with a guide, often in his car, visiting attractions of interest to you. The route in private tours can be changed almost on the go.
  • Group Tours are much cheaper, but more on prices below.
best canary islands tours
The business of group bus tours is well developed in the Canaries, especially in Tenerife and Gran Canaria. Dozens of companies, hundreds of excursions and routes, and entire parking lots of such tour buses.
  • The main languages ​​in which all excursions are conducted are Spanish, English, and German.

Important:

The Canary Islands are visited by over 14 million tourists a year with a population of only 2 million people. During the high season, prices in the tourism sector rise and quality decreases, and this also happens in the sphere of excursions. There are many tourists everywhere, guides try to earn as much money as possible, at the expense of quality. Keep this in mind and always book everything in advance; on-site, you will only buy a bus tours, and it will be expensive. Private guides with cool and interesting tours are booked weeks in advance.

You’ll learn about other pros and cons of vacationing in the Canary Islands from the link.

Where to Book Tours in the Canaries

Below are links to two main tour booking services in the Canary Islands. Most tours and excursions are in Tenerife, which is not surprising, as it is the most popular island among tourists:

  • GetYourGuide – the main website with tickets, excursions, boat trips, and so on in the Canary Islands. There is no greater choice of excursions anywhere else. 99% of excursions are in Spanish and English.
tenerife tours
The most popular tours in the Canaries are boat trips. Usually, they are conducted on open-deck boats, but more on that below.
  • Viator – more than 1400 tours in the Canaries.

The most popular tours in Tenerife and Gran Canaria

The choice is huge, but I will highlight the most popular excursions that are available on each island, and the most interesting ones.

  • Since the Canaries are islands in the ocean, there are all sorts of water activities here. Boat trips, sunset cruises, dolphin and whale watching. Both dolphins and whales inhabit these waters, but there’s a catch. More on this in the article: all about the ocean in the Canaries (spoiler: seeing dolphins is real, the chances of encountering whales are much lower).
    • The cost of a group boat tours, like in the photo above, starts from 20 euros per person
    • Below is a list of boat tours in Tenerife:
tours in canaries
It’s really possible to spot dolphins, like in the photo, which was taken near the Los Gigantes cliffs in Tenerife.
  • Very popular are sightseeing tours, both private guided or group tours. In one full day, you can visit 3-5 cool locations that you wouldn’t be able to see in a day using public transport. There’s an article about each island in this guidebook with an overview of all the cool attractions; for example, the TOP 15 attractions in Tenerife. Read, make a list of what you want to visit, and then look for a guided tour.
  • The islands have many mountains and a huge number of hiking trails for outdoor enthusiasts. You can hike these routes on your own or as part of a group with a guide. There’s plenty to choose from, and such tours are very popular. Guides know the most beautiful routes, make it easier, take you to the starting point, and bring you back to the hotel, making it convenient. Here’s an example of one of the most beautiful tours.
guided tours tenerife
Scenic viewpoint on the island of La Gomera.
  • Moreover, on each island, there is a whole list of hard-to-reach attractions where regular buses do not go at all. The roads there are difficult, usually narrow serpentine roads that novice drivers don’t particularly like to drive on. To visit such places, tourists often book excursions. For example, the Masca village in Tenerife, the Caldera de Taburiente National Park in La Palma, Villa Winter in Fuerteventura, and there are many more examples.

Travel Tips

Below are a few tips briefly summarized to help you save money, time, and organize your leisure without a hitch.

  • Most popular attractions have queues at the ticket office. There are even places where 90% of tickets are sold online only, for example, for the cable car to the top of Teide. On-site, either there won’t be any tickets or there will be a 2-hour queue. Always check the possibility of buying tickets online. There’s a comprehensive review of Teide National Park and how to buy tickets.
  • Sometimes you can expect a discount of around 10% when buying tickets online.
tenerife guide
And don’t forget, there’s a separate category of tours in the Canaries, which you’ll find links to on the platforms mentioned earlier. I’m talking about food and wine tours. These are really cool tours to places with traditional cuisine, private wineries with wine tasting. I highly recommend them on any island.

Interesting to know (real savings example):

One of the most popular full-day tours is from Tenerife to La Gomera. Ferries go there daily according to a schedule, round-trip tickets cost around 80 euros per person. Renting a car costs 40 euros, and gasoline adds another 15 euros. If there are two of you, then your budget for such an independent trip for 1 day will be from 220 euros and above. But you can buy a tour; you’ll be taken to La Gomera by boat or ferry, put on a bus, and spend the whole day visiting the island’s best locations, then return in the evening. And such tour turns out to be cheaper than independent travel. This is just one example for you to understand the logic. If you want to visit neighboring islands, check the prices for excursions; you can save money.
  • If you’re an active tourist and want to see the whole island or several, then without a car, there’s nothing to do here. Only by car will you see all the beauty. For most locations, you don’t need a guide and can visit them independently. But if for some reason you can’t rent a car, then tours in the Canaries with transfers are your only option to see the islands.
  • And most importantly: entrance to attractions is sometimes free, and sometimes it costs 40-50 euros. When booking a tour, whether online or on-site, it doesn’t matter, always check if admission tickets are included in the price. Sometimes you find a tour 15 euros cheaper than others, for example, but then pay 30 euros for admission tickets, while others included them. This is not the guide’s deception; it’s your carelessness.

Therefore: the price, of course, matters, but check what is included in the price. Some include snacks and drinks, while others only offer water.

In conclusion: tours in the Canaries cater to every budget and taste. Through the links in this article, you’ll find tours both in English and other languages. Remember, there are many tourists on the islands year-round, try not to postpone your tours program until the last moment, book in advance, especially if you’re flying during the high season.

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.