Combine Canary Islands: Multi-Island Hiking Trips for Canadian Travellers

For Canadian travellers, a flight to the Canary Islands is not a short hop — it’s a real commitment, usually nine to eleven hours with a connection through Madrid, Lisbon, or Amsterdam. That’s exactly why so many Canadian hikers ask the same question once they start planning: if I’m flying this far, why stop at just one island?

To combine Canary Islands in a single self-guided hiking trip is one of the most popular ways NATOUR’s Canadian guests structure their visit. Instead of choosing between the volcanic drama of La Palma and the laurel forests of Tenerife, you get both — with the ferry or flight connection between islands organized for you, no extra planning required on your end.

Why Combining Islands Makes Sense for a Long-Haul Trip

Each Canary Island has a genuinely different character.

That’s not marketing language — it’s geology.

When you combine Canary Islands in a single trip, you can experience:

• Active volcanic landscapes and the Ruta de los Volcanes.
• Ancient laurel forest declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Spain’s highest peak and a near-lunar volcanic plateau.
• Dramatic sea cliffs and untouched Atlantic coastline.
• Small whitewashed villages with centuries of Guanche and Spanish history.

For travellers coming from Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, or Calgary, this matters. A nine-hour flight justifies a longer, richer itinerary — and two islands in 8 days gives you a much fuller picture of the archipelago than a single-island week.

Tenerife and La Palma: volcanoes, forests, and Spain’s highest peak

This is the most requested combination among NATOUR’s international guests, and it’s easy to see why.

Tenerife delivers the volcanic plateau of Teide National Park — Spain’s highest mountain at 3,715 metres — alongside the laurel forests and deep ravines of the Anaga mountains.

La Palma, often called La Isla Bonita, complements it with the Caldera de Taburiente, one of the largest erosion craters in the world, and the black volcanic ridgelines of the Ruta de los Volcanes.

More information: Tenerife and La Palma: hiking trip across two islands.

Tenerife and El Hierro: contrast between the busiest and the quietest island

If solitude on the trail matters to you, this combination is worth considering.

El Hierro is the smallest and least-visited of the main Canary Islands, known for dramatic sea cliffs, pine forests, and a sustainable tourism model that has kept the island refreshingly undeveloped.

Paired with Tenerife’s Teide and Anaga landscapes, this trip covers both ends of the Canary Islands experience: iconic volcanic scenery and genuine off-the-beaten-path hiking.

More information: Tenerife and El Hierro: hiking trip across two islands.

Gran Canaria and La Palma: a miniature continent plus a volcanic island

Gran Canaria is often described as “a continent in miniature” — deep ravines, volcanic peaks, agricultural valleys, and rugged coastline packed into a compact island.

Combined with La Palma’s dramatic caldera and volcano route, this itinerary gives Canadian hikers an especially wide range of terrain and elevation in a single week.

More information: Gran Canaria and La Palma: hiking trip across two islands.

Self-Guided: Complete Freedom, Zero Logistics

Every combined-island trip with NATOUR follows the same self-guided model that Canadian hikers tend to appreciate most: independence on the trail, without having to coordinate international transport, accommodation, or island transfers yourself.

Every itinerary includes:

• Detailed maps and stage-by-stage route descriptions.
• Offline GPX files for GPS navigation.
• Inter-island ferry or flight connections, fully organized.
• Luggage transfer between accommodations.
• Carefully selected charming hotels on each island.

You choose your own pace each day. There’s no fixed group, no guide setting the schedule — just you, the trail, and a route that’s already been planned by people who know these islands well.

Best Time of Year for Canadian Travellers

The Canary Islands are walkable nearly year-round, which is part of the appeal for anyone escaping a Canadian winter.

While Ontario, Quebec, and the Prairies are under snow, the Canaries typically sit between 18–24°C — making November through April a particularly popular window for Canadian hikers looking for a genuine outdoor escape rather than a beach-only holiday.

Key Facts About Combining Canary Islands

• Destination: two Canary Islands per itinerary.
• Format: self-guided hiking, point to point.
• Popular combinations: Tenerife + La Palma, Tenerife + El Hierro, Gran Canaria + La Palma.
• Duration: typically 8 days, flexible on request.
• Included: accommodation, luggage transfer, GPS navigation, inter-island transfers.
• Best time to go: October to April, ideal for a Canadian winter escape.
• Ideal for: travellers making a long-haul trip who want more than one island’s worth of landscape.

Frequently Asked Questions About Combining Canary Islands

Is it worth combining two islands instead of visiting just one?

For most Canadian travellers, yes. Given the length of the flight from Canada, a two-island itinerary makes far better use of the trip and shows a much wider range of landscapes than a single island alone.

How do I get between the two islands?

NATOUR organizes the inter-island ferry or short domestic flight as part of the itinerary. You don’t need to book or coordinate this yourself.

Do I need a guide to combine islands this way?

No. The self-guided itineraries include detailed maps, offline GPX files, and route descriptions so you can hike independently and safely.

Which combination is best for a first visit to the Canary Islands?

Tenerife and La Palma is the most popular starting point, since it combines the archipelago’s most iconic landscapes: Teide National Park and the Caldera de Taburiente.

Can the itinerary be customized to a different combination of islands?

Yes. NATOUR can adapt the route to combine other islands or adjust the number of days based on your travel dates and preferences.

Two Islands, One Trip, Worth the Distance

Flying from Canada to the Canary Islands is a real journey — which is exactly why so many Canadian hikers choose to combine two islands rather than settle for one.

Between volcanic ridgelines, ancient forests, quiet coastlines, and Spain’s highest peak, a combined-island itinerary turns a long-haul flight into a genuinely complete Atlantic hiking experience — self-guided, fully organized, and paced entirely on your own terms.