Carmen
Travel editor at Reisedrop · 2026-09-01
In Switzerland in December, it’s dark by 4.45 pm. At 4.45 pm on Gran Canaria, you’ve still got two more hours of sunshine ahead of you. Four flight hours lie between those two sentences — and that’s exactly why the Canary Islands are Europe’s most reliable insurance policy against winter: 22 to 24 degrees, seven hours of sunshine a day, sea temperatures around 20 degrees. No jet lag, no long-haul prices, no weather lottery. Which really leaves just one question: which island suits you best?
Seven islands, honestly sorted
Gran Canaria is the all-rounder — the dunes of Maspalomas, lively promenades, hotels in every price bracket. Tenerife offers the biggest contrast you can experience in a single day: snow on Teide in the morning, swimming in Costa Adeje — the warmest corner of the archipelago — by afternoon. Fuerteventura belongs to beach people: the best sandy beaches for miles, though the wind blows harder too. Lanzarote is the island for aesthetes: black volcanic landscapes, César Manrique’s architecture, vines growing in ash craters. And La Palma and La Gomera? Best leave those to the hikers. Green, quiet, gloriously low-key.
The two faces of December
We’ll happily repeat ourselves here: that may just be the best sunshine-to-price ratio in Europe. Then the holidays arrive, and prices jump by 60 to 80 percent. So our recommendation is unromantic but effective: fly in the first half of December. And if it absolutely has to be over the holidays — book by the end of October.
Where it’s lovelier than the brochure
On Gran Canaria, the detour to the mountain village of Tejeda is worth it — from late December, the almond trees start to bloom there, and hardly anyone knows. On Tenerife, you’ll eat better and cheaper in the fishing village of El Médano than in any resort, with surfers as the backdrop. Lanzarote hides its prettiest swimming coves by the Papagayo beaches in the south. And if you drive to El Cotillo on Fuerteventura’s west coast, you’ll find lagoons that look as if someone accidentally left the South Seas there.
Short and practical
In winter, several airlines fly direct every day from Zurich, Basel and Geneva to the four main islands; flight time is a little over four hours. For the first half of December, booking four to six weeks ahead is more than enough. Fly three days earlier, stay one weekend longer — saving money really can be that simple.
Fancy exactly this? Zazou, our travel assistant, puts flights, hotels and a route together in seconds - and tells you honestly when it gets cheaper.
Plan this trip with Zazou