Of all the Canary Islands, people usually tend to make a comparison between Tenerife and Gran Canaria and sometimes between Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. But every island has its own charm and unique characteristics, which makes it special and different from the rest in the archipelago.
Tenerife is the most visited Canary Island out of the entire archipelago, but all the other islands are growing ever more popular each year. Gran Canaria is not far behind Tenerife in terms of tourist numbers, being the second most visited island in the archipelago.
The weather in Tenerife and Gran Canaria is pretty much similar, although Tenerife has the massive Mount Teide right in the middle, which causes a lot of cloudiness, especially in the north of the island. Because of where the Canary Islands are located, they enjoy good weather all year round, with mild temperatures even in the winter.
The south of Gran Canaria is usually recommended by many people as being sunnier than the south of Tenerife, especially the area of Puerto Mogan. It's true that in the north of Tenerife, it tends to rain more often than in the South. Also, the North of both islands is more prone to bad weather during the winter months, so we would recommend staying in the South if coming to either Gran Canaria or Tenerife between January and March.
Both islands have a diverse landscape, with great beaches and also mountainous regions, so there's something for every taste. Here it all comes to personal preference, as Tenerife has the famous Mount Teide, Gran Canaria has the Maspalomas dunes, both unique and amazing in every way.
Best things to do in Gran Canaria
Tenerife vs Gran Canaria - which offers better things to do?
In terms of landscapes and views our preference leans towards Tenerife, due to how spectacular Mt Teide is, the incredible views with the sea of clouds and also we love all the hiking trails inside Anaga Rural Park.
On the other side, in terms of lovely urban settings where you can stroll and enjoy the vibe, we prefer Gran Canaria, with its charming small towns and villages like Arucas, Teror, Firgas, Tejeda, Artenara and let's not forget the vibrant capital - Las Palmas de Gran Canaria - our absolute favourite place in all the Canary Islands. If, hypothetically, we had to choose only one place in the Canary Islands to be the only one we visit from now on, that place would be Las Palmas - no doubts about it.
In terms of beaches, we tend to prefer Gran Canaria over Tenerife.
In Tenerife, our favourite beaches are Playa Las Vistas (no. 1 for swimming), Playa de las Teresitas (depending on the season) and Playa Los Cristianos.
Although windier, the coast around El Medano has some lovely beaches and landscapes that deserve to be discovered - Playa La Tejita is one of the beaches with wild and rough beauty, as well as beautiful views of Montaja Roja.
In Gran Canaria, you have Playa del Ingles, the beautiful Maspalomas beach, as well as Playa de Puerto Rico, Playa Amadores and Playa de Mogan. In the capital, you have Las Canteras Beach, which is often listed as one of the best city beaches in Spain.
So in terms of beaches, we prefer Gran Canaria versus Tenerife.
If you want to come to the Canaries for the first time and you're trying to decide between Tenerife or Gran Canaria, we advise you to read well about them and think of what sort of things you want to do during your holiday and then decide which is the best Canary Island for you.
Well, this topic falls under the personal preferences category.
The main tourist areas both in Gran Canaria and in Tenerife are located in the south of the islands and when it comes to resorts we prefer Tenerife because most of the resorts are connected through an oceanfront promenade, so you can walk all the way from Los Cristianos to Playa Las Americas, Costa Adeje and up to La Caleta.
We also simply love the north of Tenerife, from small little towns to beautiful landscapes and the wild beaches in Anaga.
But this doesn't mean that Gran Canaria falls behind. As we already mentioned, the small towns of Gran Canaria are lovely to discover and walk around and let's not forget Las Palmas, the place where we keep returning whenever we are in Gran Canaria.
So for us, Tenerife wins in terms of resorts and Gran Canaria wins in terms of the best city in the Canary Islands and best rural areas to explore.
All the Canary Islands are beautiful in their own way and we would advise giving them all a try, especially if you're the type who wants to try new things and explore, as they are very different.
In terms of nightlife, Tenerife has Veronica's strip (which doesn't have the best reputation unfortunately), so we feel like Gran Canaria is better for people who enjoy partying and the area of Playa del Ingles is ideal for that. We're not such big fans of nightclubs and loud music, so this area is not for us, just like Las Americas isn't for us either, so when staying in the south of Tenerife we usually prefer Los Cristianos.
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is the largest city in the Canaries and it can be your destination for a city break if you only have a few days on the island. We really love the bars and the food scene in Las Palmas, so for those looking for a more urban experience in the Canary Islands, we recommend spending a few days in Las Palmas.
Our answer to this question would be... Why not Tenerife AND Gran Canaria?
We think that these 2 islands have many similarities and both of them need to be discovered without being rushed. Depending on how much time you have you could split your holiday in two: fly to Tenerife, stay there for half the holiday, then take the ferry to Gran Canaria, stay there for a bit and fly home from here.
Or plan 2 separate holidays, this way you have something to look forward to.