Photo: Kye Boughton via Google
The smart route
- The routeFly into Tenerife for the variety, take a short flight to Fuerteventura for the big sands, then the quick ferry to Lanzarote and fly home from there.
- Where to splurgeThe inter island flight to save a day, and a boat trip to the wild beaches of Papagayo on Lanzarote.
- Where to saveHire a car on each island, use the cheap Corralejo to Playa Blanca ferry, and lean on the free public beaches.
Published 8 April 2026. Last reviewed 28 April 2026
The Canary Islands are close enough together to make island hopping genuinely easy, and varied enough that three of them in a week feels like three different holidays. This route strings together Tenerife, the biggest and most varied island with its two distinct coasts, Fuerteventura, the home of the archipelago's finest sand and its wind sports, and Lanzarote, the design led island of volcanoes and calm turquoise coves. The thread that ties them is short hops, a quick inter island flight and a fast ferry, rather than the long crossings that would eat your week.
The plan that works is an open jaw, flying into Tenerife and out of Lanzarote so you never double back, with one Binter or CanaryFly flight of around forty minutes to reach Fuerteventura and the easy Corralejo to Playa Blanca ferry, twenty five to thirty five minutes and carrying cars, to finish on Lanzarote. Hire a car on each island, because the best beaches are spread out, and keep the moving days light. The reward is the full range of Canary beaches, from golden city sand to wild black volcanic strands and the calmest coves in the islands, all under the same reliable year round sun. Here is the week.
The route, day by day
| Days | Island | Why you are there |
|---|---|---|
| Days 1 to 3 | Tenerife | Calm golden Las Teresitas, the wind beaches at El Medano and wild black sand at Benijo. |
| Day 4 | Fly to Fuerteventura | A short inter island hop to the island of the biggest sands. |
| Days 4 to 5 | Fuerteventura | The Corralejo dunes, El Cotillo lagoons and the long Sotavento strands. |
| Days 6 to 7 | Lanzarote | The ferry to Playa Blanca, the Papagayo coves and the volcanoes before flying home. |
Flight and ferry times and prices are typical guides and should be confirmed when you book. Conditions are typical and never guaranteed.
Days 1 to 3, Tenerife
Start on the biggest island, which is really two beach islands in one. The sheltered south around Costa Adeje and Los Cristianos is the easy, sunny, resort backed coast, while Las Teresitas near the capital is the calm golden bay for a gentle swim. Read the wind for a day at La Tejita and El Medano, the windsurf heart of the island, and make the drive north to the raw black sand drama of Benijo under the Anaga hills. See the best beaches in Tenerife for the full ranking.
Day 4, fly to Fuerteventura
Take a morning Binter or CanaryFly flight to Fuerteventura, around forty minutes, drop a hire car at the airport and head north. Doing this leg by air rather than sea saves the better part of a day and lands you on the island with the best beaches in the Canaries with the afternoon still free. Confirm the flight time ahead, as inter island schedules shift with the season.
Days 4 to 5, Fuerteventura
This is the sand. The Corralejo dune fields in the north are the showpiece, a vast pale desert running down to turquoise water, while the lagoons and surf of El Cotillo sit just along the coast and the endless Sotavento strands in the south draw the windsurfers and kitesurfers. A hire car is essential here, and two days lets you taste both ends of the island before the ferry.
Days 6 to 7, Lanzarote
Cross from Corralejo to Playa Blanca on the fast ferry, twenty five to thirty five minutes with your car aboard, and finish on Lanzarote. The sheltered south hides the Papagayo coves, a run of calm golden bays that are the island's swimming jewels, while the wild sweep of Famara and the volcanoes of Timanfaya fill any non beach hours. Fly home from Lanzarote, and you finish on the calmest coves of the week with no backtracking.
What it costs, and where to save
The transfers are the variable to manage. The inter island flight to Fuerteventura costs more than a ferry but saves most of a day, which is worth it on a one week trip, while the Corralejo to Playa Blanca ferry is cheap, frequent and quick, so that leg is an easy save. Hiring a fresh car on each island as you arrive is more flexible and usually cheaper than trying to take one across on every crossing.
Where to spend. Put money into the moving days that buy you time, and into one boat trip to the harder to reach beaches at Papagayo on Lanzarote. Beyond that the Canaries reward early starts more than big budgets, since the headline beaches are free and the best of them are quietest before midday. The islands stay warm all year, so travel outside the school holidays and the same week costs noticeably less.
Plan your day on the sand
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Plan it properly
Can you visit several Canary Islands in one week?
Yes, three is comfortable if you keep the hops short. This route does Tenerife, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, using a quick inter island flight and a short ferry rather than long crossings. Two islands is more relaxed still, but a week is enough for a taste of three if you base yourself well and do not try to see everything on each.
How do you travel between the Canary Islands?
By short flights and ferries. Binter and CanaryFly run quick inter island flights of around forty minutes, while Fred Olsen and Naviera Armas run car ferries between neighbouring islands. The easiest sea hop on this route is Corralejo on Fuerteventura to Playa Blanca on Lanzarote, about twenty five to thirty five minutes and carrying cars. Confirm schedules directly as they change by season.
Which Canary Island has the best beaches?
Fuerteventura has the biggest and best sand overall, with the Corralejo dunes and the long Sotavento strands. Lanzarote counters with the calm turquoise coves of Papagayo, and Tenerife mixes calm golden bays like Las Teresitas with wild black sand at Benijo and windsurf beaches at El Medano. Each has a different signature, which is the appeal of island hopping.
Do you need a car on the Canary Islands?
Yes, on each island. The best beaches are spread out and some, like Cofete on Fuerteventura or Benijo on Tenerife, need a real drive, so a hire car on each island is the practical choice. Picking up and dropping off a car on each island as you hop is straightforward, and roads across the Canaries are good and quiet.
When is the best time to visit the Canary Islands?
Any time, which is the islands' great draw, as they stay warm and dry all year and are a reliable winter sun escape. Spring and autumn give the most comfortable balance of warmth and lighter crowds, while summer is hottest and windiest, good for the wind sports on Fuerteventura. Conditions are typical and never guaranteed.
Is one week enough or should you pick fewer islands?
If you prefer a slower pace, two islands over a week beats three, since you lose part of each transfer day to travel. Tenerife with one of the eastern islands, or the easy Fuerteventura and Lanzarote pairing linked by the short ferry, both make relaxed weeks. Three works if you are happy to move, which is exactly what this route is built for.