To think the canary isles are tacky?

We visited because friends from Tenerife moved back home, I wouldn't have chosen it but it wasn't what I expected at all.
North Tenerife was a revelation for me. It's properly pretty, amazing scenery, beautiful villages. Lots of hiking, walking and chilling - La Oratava, Masca, Garachico... I would highly recommend.
We stayed in La Oratava, hired a car, spoke Spanish all week, didn't see any other Brits, didn't see any British food. We did see some German walkers. We ate traditional food and saw a three kings parade complete with camels.
I think what you get depends where you go in the island.

Love Lanzarote for all the same reasons, and Feutuventura, not so much culture but loved the beaches for photography etc

Well if they are tacky it's precisely because of tourists who go there with colonial and ignorant attittudes about the indigenous culture.

I liked Playa Blanca in Lanzarote and Benidorm, so much with the latter that we are going again next year, yes there is the tacky side if you want it but the old town and Poniente beach are lovely and the food was fabulous, plus there is a tram that goes from Alicante ( also lovely) all the way up the coast to lots of little gems. Benidorm is hugely popular with Spaniards nowadays.

Just keep away from the main tourist areas. I know Tenerife and Lanzarote. Tenerife South is similar to Benidorm but the island overall is beautiful and the people and food are lovely. Same with Lanzarote really although I would say the touristy areas are nicer.

Loved Tenerife and La Palma (island not capital city of Gran Canaria) and kicked ourselves for not having gone previously - gorgeous scenery, mountain drives, villages clinging to hillside, beautiful walks & hikes, visit to world class observatory, consistently great food at a good price (with a bit of help from TripAdvisor and Google Translate to avoid the tourist traps). La Palma was stunning but also interesting as one of the volcanoes had erupted a couple of years previously. Maybe a still smoking volcano is not on everyone's holiday wishlist 😅 but we found it fascinating. It's quieter than Tenerife though, so it depends whether you are outdoorsy or looking for entertainment and a beach resort. If you want peace, quiet, sun and few other Brits then there are plenty of lovely airbnbs on both islands, local restaurants and countryside. If you want a nice resort, good beach and still to have no other Brits you'll find it harder.

Haha this with knobs on

If you want family friendly winter sun in Lanzarote without all the English bars, tacky tat shops and 1001 brits then I'd recommend Flamingo beach. You can still walk to Playa Blanca (tourist hell IMO) but it's much prettier and more chilled. It's literally all hotels so hardly local culture but it's perfect for little ones I think. Definitely avoid the hell hole that is Playa Del Carmen but there is lots to see on the islands, Timanfaya, the cactus gardens, caves and our fave - Museo Lagomar - it's like a bloody Bond lair! Amazing.

Tbh, in a way Tenerife has the added bonus of being tacky as well as cultured so you can play it straight down the middle if you wish.

There's nothing stopping you doing fry ups and Siam Park one day followed by a rowdy night out and then doing full on culture the next if you really want. I think there's more families like this now, than wanting either one extreme or the other.

I think this often makes for a better experience all around as everyone does something they love but also has something to contrast it with too.

YABU. I've had some of my best holidays in Lanzarote.

Been to Gran Canaria twice. Didn't stay anywhere remotely tacky. There are different resorts in holiday locations for different tastes. You could say the same about places in Corfu, for example, where the north of the island attracts many well to do Brits who definitely aren't doing shots in the bars in Kavos of a night time, eating a full English every day and looking for a Sunday roast. And there's nothing wrong with any of those things. If that's what people want to do on their holidays and that makes the local businesses money then that's fine.

I think the ' escape to Tenerife for Christmas' thing has grown legs..apparently it was very crowded last year, like peak summer season .

We have considered there in the past as it's one of the only places still warm and ' open' in October half term, but they are having issues with tourist numbers and the local government are at odds with the hospitality industry, as far as I can make out.

I specifically said MY kids like pools with slides….. and that maybe your kids will be different.

My point is exactly that, people and yes kids are different with different interests and that yes it’s a bit judgmental to say a whole region is tacky because it doesn’t carter to your interests. Nobody is forcing you to go to these “tacky” places, there’s plenty of other places to visit.

Yes you might see some obnoxious brits being loud and drunk but you will also see lots of lovely families just having a nice time enjoying the sun shine who have saved hard and stretched their budget to give their kids a nice holiday. I don’t understand why you would judge that.

Not RTFT but they are excellent for outdoors, activity holidays. Diving is excellent as are the cycling and hiking routes. The smaller islands especially are lovely - La Palma is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been, certainly have Sri Lanka a run for its money.

Las Palmas in Gran Canaria is a great city.

Canaries in winter reminded me of Eastbourne (lots of retired English folks), however it is great for cheapish winter sun with little ones.

It totally depends on your kids though too!

Saying all kids would like a holiday with 'pools with slides, making sand castles all you can eat chips and nuggets and ice cream, kids discos and entertainment' is just as daft as saying that Tenerife is tacky!

All kids are different. Some kids love doing all the culture stuff, whilst others don't. I mean there's a whole industry of history for the internal British market - and kids genuinely enjoy activities put on for them. Its not just for the parents to shove onto the kids. These places have to attract enough local and international tourism to be viable afterall. If they were full of kids all being dragged around, they'd be miserable places with no repeat visits! And plenty of kids love to do outdoorsy stuff rather than sitting home doing craft stuff.

There's something out there for everyone. This is fine. Don't assume there aren't kids who don't love musuems and history cos there are. I've got a full on nerd. He can spend hours upon hours in the Natural History Musuem (Way past me getting bored).

It's quite hard to find an affordable destination that is also a reasonable flight time and is warm in february. That's why canary islands are popular. And because they're popular, there are a lot of tourist crap. I'd love to go somewhere unique, exotic, local, full of culture. But I can't afford it money or timewise. So teneriffe it is.

Over the years Tenerife is definitely getting more Benidorm vibes. We went to Costa Adeje last month and noticed it had definitely changed, more crime for a start, pickpockets everywhere, the looky looky men offering coke every night and everyone had genuine fake handbags and sunglasses. It's still a beautiful country though with lovely weather and people but that doesn't mean it hasn't changed. Las Americas is now a favourite with the younger generation and has more of a club vibe, reminds me of Ayia Napa back in my day, but that's a good thing for local businesses because it's bringing people in and after a dire few years thanks to covid they could probably do with it. Gran Canaria I find to be better, I love Maspalomas and Puerto Rico areas, I tend to avoid Playa del Ingles because it's a bit wild for me with all the pride/mardi gras going on, if I was younger it would be where I wanted to stay but I opt for a chilled out holiday now I'm older 😂 there's good and bad in every country, you just have to work out what's what.

Yeah sorry I think you’re being a big judgy. Come back to us when your kid is 3/4 and you want a holiday that will keep them entertained without bankrupting yourself. Maybe your kids will be more cultured than mine but unfortunately my low brow children just aren’t Interested in museums (unless they have trains), mountains, and history as much as I try. What they are interested in is pools with slides, making sand castles all you can eat chips and nuggets and ice cream, kids discos and entertainment etc. Am I looking forward to going to more “cultured” places? Yes absolutely but for 10 years or so out of what I hope to be a very long life I can deal with “tacky” holidays.

ps yes to we do expose them to culture and history but I wouldn’t inflict it upon them for a full week or two.

brits abroad vibes. You hear this a lot:

“I voted for Brexit yeah. Didn’t think it would affect my business over here yeah. Can use the health service yeah”

south generic accent

I'd already been thinking I'd like to do some landscape and wildlife exploring in Tenerife, but this prompted me to look up the Cathedral in case I needed some indoor stuff, and wow - it has a museum of Icons as well as all its own fantastic art. I definitely want to go to Tenerife, even if that makes me tacky.

I’m just waiting for social services to get me as I’ve left my kids home alone

spoiler-they’re all in their 20s

If you're going to judge somewhere, at least make sure you've got the name right.

Grand Canaria 🤣🤣🤣