For cruise travelers, the Canary Islands are most typically experienced as stopovers on a transatlantic sailing between Europe and North America. And yet, the seven islands that make up the Canaries, an autonomous (self-governing) community of Spain, merit a more immersive trip of their own, says Chris Prelog, Windstar’s president, who, while growing up in Austria, spent winters vacationing on the islands.
“There’s a reason they call these islands Europe’s Hawaii,” he told me recently when asked to share his passion for the Canaries. “From black-sand beaches to cities with Spanish and Portuguese influences, it always felt to me like it was everything you could want in a vacation destination.”
Particularly if you make island-hopping easy.
The archipelago consists of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, its capital, and Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, La Gomera and Ferro. Ironically, the islands are actually closer to the west coast of Africa than to Spain; Fuerteventura is just under 70 miles from Morocco’s Cape Juby.
Each one is distinctively different. Tenerife is lush with rainforests while parts of Lanzarote, with its dune fields and black sand beaches, feel like you’ve landed on the moon. La Gomera has a rugged mountain landscape. Santa Cruz de la Palma has a lively and colorful Caribbean vibe along with mountainous volcanoes and, like Lanzarote, thriving vineyards.
Here’s a fun fact: the Canary Islands are home to seven UNESCO Biosphere Reserve sites, so chosen for the purpose of conservation, research, education, and development of cultural and biodiversity in environmentally unique locations.
How to island-hop in the Canaries
The hot ticket right now is the 10-night Canary Island Idyll in autumn 2025/winter 2026 onboard Wind Star, the company’s 148-passenger sailing ship. The choice of Wind Star for this route was no accident, Prelog tells us. “Prevailing winds in the Canaries make a voyage onboard a sailing yacht an extraordinary experience.”
Based from Tenerife, Wind Star calls at islands such as La Palma (Santa Cruz), Las Palmas (Grand Canary Island), La Gomera (San Sebastian) and Lanzarote, along with Madeira (Funchal), which belongs to Portugal.
Getting to (and from) the homeport of Tenerife is easier than anticipated
The Canary Island Idyll itinerary home ports in Tenerife. Following a tip from Chris, I discovered the easiest flights from North America are on United Airlines, which now offers nonstop flights in both directions on select days between Newark (EWR) and Tenerife (TFS). If the nonstop schedule doesn’t work for you, there are daily one-stop flights from most major North American airports on American, Lufthansa, Swiss, and British Airways. There’s even an option to fly Icelandair with a Reykjavik stopover before ending in Tenerife.
What to do and see in the Canary Islands
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Santa Cruz de Tenerifed:
Tenerife is the largest, most populous and best-known of the Canary Islands, famous for its beaches, nightlife and the highest peak in Spain, Mount Tiede. Santa Cruz (meaning holy cross in Spanish) serves as the capital of the island and co-capital of the Canary Island archipelago. With a population of over 200,000, it is a bustling city, with an old town area that features colonial Spanish architecture, shops and eateries.
Best-known sights:
Whale and dolphin watching are popular shore excursions in Santa Cruz, but scenic drives rank highest for land-based exploration. Mount Teide dominates the skyline from almost anywhere on the island, and a visit to the Teide National Park gets you even closer to the volcano’s summit and its massive lava fields. There’s a cable car in the park to get an even better view.
