Guide to Canary Islands is an English-language web magazine with about 1,800 articles on the archipelago, and this page gives our view of it. It is a direct competitor: it also writes about excursions and, like us, earns money from GetYourGuide. That is why we have tried hard to be fair: there are things it does very well and others worth knowing before you trust a price or a date. The website is guidetocanaryislands.com.
Who is behind it
It is signed by Anna, who presents herself as "the voice" of the site and has visited the Canary Islands every year since she first set foot on Tenerife in 2011. Her partner handles the technical side. The idea, they say, came about on a holiday in Fuerteventura, and they describe themselves as a digital travel magazine focused on the islands.
What you won't find is a legal notice: no company name, no tax number, no postal address, no phone number. Contact is through a form and a Facebook page.
How it is organised
The structure cuts across topics and islands. The top menu leads to the seven islands, where to stay (seven guides), the weather (six islands, not El Hierro), events (seven), things to do and the best excursions (these last two only for the four big islands).
By island, Tenerife is well ahead (355 web addresses containing its name), followed by Fuerteventura (249), Gran Canaria (184) and Lanzarote (178). La Palma has 77, La Gomera 31 and El Hierro 10.
The home page is a news feed (drownings, wildfires, heat warnings) followed by destination guides.
What it does well
It writes from experience: its own photos, repeat visits and practical first-person details, such as how much a sunbed costs on Mogán beach. It is very thorough on the resorts of the four big islands.
Its month-by-month weather pages for Tenerife are good: a table with nine weather stations in the north and south (highs, lows, rainfall and hours of sunshine), the sea temperature, what to pack and FAQs. That beats the usual island-wide average.
It also publishes local news in English several times a week, says on each excursion who sells it ("Provided by: GetYourGuide" or "Civitatis") and links its affiliate disclosure in the footer. The design is simple, with a table of contents on every article.
How it makes money
- GetYourGuide: excursion blocks inside articles and links that redirect to the platform with its partner code.
- Civitatis: the same system. On its Lanzarote excursions page, 17 of the 19 products come from GetYourGuide and 2 from Civitatis.
- Booking.com and Airbnb: affiliate links in the accommodation guides.
- Advertising: Google ads inside articles (six ad slots in the Puerto de Mogán one), sponsored articles and reviews, and a pop-up asking permission to send notifications.
It is a legitimate and common model; it is worth knowing when you read its "best excursions" lists.
Where it falls short
English only. There is no Spanish version.
Dates and prices that age. Some articles carry a year that has already passed in the title, such as the guide to things to do in Puerto de Mogán, published years ago with the title never updated. Some hotel guides announce the current season but carry an old publication date and no update date. In the excursion lists, Rancho Texas appears "from €30" when the adult ticket costs €45 (€30 is the child or senior price), and the ferry to La Graciosa "from €26", when today it starts at €29.
Mistakes on key pages. The article on the weather in Tenerife in December says "in October" twice and converts 22.7 °C to 80.2 °F (it is 72.9 °F) and 16.5 °C to 68 °F (it is 61.7 °F).
Little on the small islands. El Hierro has no weather, things-to-do or excursions entry in the menu, and the excursion lists only cover four islands. Those lists, moreover, are links with the platform's own description, with no operator name, departure quay or cancellation terms.
Transparency. The affiliate disclosure sits on a separate page, not next to the links, and the privacy policy has not been updated since 2018, even though the site runs ads and affiliate cookies.
Score
- First-hand experience
- 4/5Repeat visits, photos and first-hand detail.
- Depth on the big islands
- 4/5Resorts, beaches and weather by station on Tenerife.
- Up-to-date prices and dates
- 2/5Titles with past years and old prices.
- Small islands
- 2/5El Hierro and La Gomera have very few articles.
- Transparency
- 2/5No legal notice; affiliate disclosure on a separate page.
- Use to Spanish-language readers
- 1/5English only.
The good
- Written from experience, with its own photos.
- Very thorough on Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura.
- Weather tables by station for Tenerife.
- Local news in English.
The not so good
- English only, no Spanish version.
- Out-of-date prices and years in several articles.
- No identifiable company or address.
- Lots of advertising inside articles.
Who it is useful for, and how to use it well
If you read English and are heading to a resort on one of the big islands, its area and "things to do" guides will save you time, and its news keeps you up to date with what is happening on the islands. Use it with one rule: check any price on the official website before paying, because some are lower than what is charged today.
For La Gomera, El Hierro or La Palma, or for choosing between islands, it is less help. Here we compare the islands topic by topic: which island to choose, where to see whales and dolphins, how to get between the islands and the weather month by month. For official information with no middlemen, see Hello Canary Islands.
Alternatives for booking
To book, including in Spanish, compare GetYourGuide, which pays us a commission, and Civitatis, which pays us nothing and has activities on all seven islands. We review them by the same standards in operators and platforms.
Is Guide to Canary Islands reliable?
It is reliable as a first-hand account and for the big islands, but some prices and years are out of date. Check any price on the official website before booking.
Is Guide to Canary Islands available in Spanish?
No. The whole website is in English only.
How does Guide to Canary Islands make money?
Through affiliate links to GetYourGuide, Civitatis, Booking.com and Airbnb, Google ads and sponsored content.
