There are so many good beaches on the Canary Islands that it’s really hard to choose one but here are a few suggestions.

1. Famara, Lanzerote

Famara is situated on the northwest coast of Lanzerote and is popular as it’s away from the resorts and has a backdrop of spectacular pinkish cliffs. It’s a well established tourist beach offering surfing, hang gliding, windsurfing and a number of bars and eateries in the village where you can get a really good lunch or evening meal for a very reasonable price.

2. El Bollullo, Tenerife

This beach is a great place to escape the tourist hordes! It has fine black sand and is perfect for relaxing, sunbathing, having a dip in the very clear water. There’s a couple of nearby beaches at Los Patos and El Pozo where you can stroll through the villages and eat seafood at the local bar.

3. Papagayo, Lanzerote

This is a first class beach with soft, white sand and with a backdrop of cliffs to shelter sunbathers from the wind. It’s said to be the most beautiful beach on Lanzerote and falls inside Los Ajaches nature reserve which is an area of volcanic hills on the Southern tip of the island. You can safely sunbathe, snorkel and swim. You will need to take a picnic unless you feel like walking to one of the other bays to eat. It is busy though as Playa Blanca is nearby!!

4. Meloneras, Gran Canaria

Located in a quiet residential area near a golf course this beach is great for swimming and sunbathing with soft, gold sand. It is relatively quiet but has a lovely promenade with good quality restaurants and decent shopping. Hotels line the promenade and offer facilities to passersby so you’re certain of a good lunch!

5. Anfi del Mar, Gran Canaria

This is a white sand beach located behind the Anfi Beach hotel complex. It is a good idea to wear flipflops as there are shells on the shore that can hurt your feet. You can rent jet skis, skates, and go for boat rides, from here.

6. Corralejo, Fuerteventura

Corralejo backs on to a nature reserve and is a really large beach backed by sand dunes that stretch about six miles down the coast line. In fact, you may feel like the only peson on the beach as it’s so vast!

It can be a windy beach so surfing and kite sailing are good sports but the dunes are great for sheltering in and getting a really good tan. There are bars in the more busy parts of the beach and Corralejo is home to great restaurants.