Anyone been to the Canaries in February?

[kkelly82]

Thinking of booking a week away over February half term with our two children (12 and 9) but I’m wondering whether it’ll be worth it. The weather at the moment looks pretty good (about 22 degrees) but I’m worried that the outdoor pools will be too cold and then there won’t be much to do.
If anyone has been on holiday to any of the islands at this time of year I’d be interested to know what it was like. Also if anyone has a good family hotel to recommend then that would be good to know too. TIA.

we've been a couple of times. Its normally warm during the day but colder at night. So fleece and jeans at night, shorts/tshirt during the day. one year we had a day of drizzle. you need a heated pool or it will be freezing. we always stay in a villa/apartment so cant help with the hotel recommendations.

We often winter holiday in the canaries, generally have a fab time and weather is good, not always hot hot and sometimes overcast but still warm.
We always make sure that 1: pools are all open.
2:that they have at least one that is heated in winter.

You definitely need to check if at least one of the pools is heated. The water is too cold otherwise. The weather is warm enough to sit out in the sun.
Princess yaiza in Lanzarote is great for kids (and adults).

I've been to Lanzarote a couple of times in February and the weather has been warm but not baking hot. Warm enough to sit on the beach certainly, great in a heated pool, fresh in an unheated one and cold in the sea. There is loads to do in Lanzarote away from the beach like volcano trips and the water park. I love getting off the plane into the heat after leaving the cold UK winter behind!

We go to the canaries most years in November or February.

We not only go to Tenerife as it's much warmer than Lanzarote and there's generally more to do. Northern Tenerife is much nicer and prettier than the south, but the south is warmer. You definitely want to book somewhere with a heated outdoor pool though.

Thanks everyone - really useful especially mentioning staying somewhere with a heated pool.
Is Tenerife known to be the warmest island?

if you google you will find stats on the weather in each island. Because they are tiny islands in the sea they can get quite windy. Most people have a strong preference for an island, but it depends what you like. tenerife was too high rise for us, but we have friends who always go there - i think they like the big hotels.

It's definitely always been warmer than Lanzarote every time we go. Lanzarote always seems insanely windy.

PP is right about high rises though, the south of Tenerife is a bit Benidorm-y with lots of high rise hotels and resorts. The north is much more Spanish and pretty, but it's a couple degrees cooler usually. We especially like Puerto de la Cruz in the north.

I wouldn't recommend the canaries in February, the weather is too unpredictable. You could have a day or lovely sunshine followed by two rainy, overcast days. If you do go, make sure the pool/s are heated, otherwise you won't be able to go into them, they are so cold.

We are currently in Egypt, and the weather has been beautiful every day. Not a cloud in the sky, mid-late 20's and the sea is like a warm bath!

@ideallyno We had considered Egypt as we knew the weather would be more reliable but it’s quite a bit more expensive, probably because warm sunny weather is more guaranteed.

The weather has been wonderful! We do the canaries too some years but always opt for summer time to guarantee the nice weather!
We found the opposite when booking here, via tui. We got 2 weeks all inclusive for £712 PP. canaries were over £1k! Definitely keep looking for the best deals xx

So strange, we have just booked to go to Tenerife and I have been searching past threads for ideas!
We are mostly going for the surf/kitesurfing/windsurfing, so will be taking wetsuits for the sea. We have checked that the big waterpark is open too. I think we are expecting it to be like a British summer day but with some Spanish bits. We are staying in the south but we are hiring a car to explore.
We always go for an apartment set up, so can’t really help with hotels I’m afraid.

Went to a hotel in February half term in Tenerife. We sat by the pool 10.00 - 4.00. Evenings weren’t warm enough to sit out without a cardigan. Friends went a week later and it was so cold the hotel had to give them blankets. They played bridge in the lounge wrapped in blankets and it rained every day.

We have been to Lanzarote with children in Feb half term.
Yes you probably need a heated pool.
If you are happy to hire a car there are enough sights to see that can keep you busy for a week. I wouldn't go in Feb if all you want to do is laze by a pool.
We stay self catering in Puerto del Carmen which is central for sight seeing.

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/travel/holiday-weather/europe/canary-islands according to the met office tenerife is actually slightly cooler than some of the other islands, but i'm guessing that may be influenced by the colder north. doesnt actually look much difference between them anyway.

@ideallyno Thats worth knowing - thanks. Perhaps I’ll take another look again and shop around to see if I can get a good deal 😊
After all the rain we’ve had in the UK I’m desperate for some sun!

@dreamingofsun That’s really helpful - thank you. Will take a look.

@Rocknrollstar Interesting to hear this. I guess it can be a bit changeable then. Might be a bit too early on in the year to guarantee the weather perhaps.

We have been loads of times at the beginning of March and once in January the weather has been ok. The main difference between Lanzarote and Tenerife is that Lanzarote has no high rise hotels blighting the view. Tenerife is like benedorm

Yes we went a few years ago to Lamzarote and it was the warmest February they'd had. We are just back from Tenerife and had a great time was 25 during the day but we needed a light jacket/hoody in the evenings. You should check out Cape Verde, in between the canaries and Africa so warmer but still only 5.5/6 hour flight.

The part of Tenerife where we stayed was a traditional Spanish town with no high rises in sight.
I think the south has high rises but that is only one part of the island (that we never actually saw.)

We went at this time of year for three kings and the weather was lovely apart from up by the volcano which was very cold.

I think the thing that would put me off Cape Verde if travelling with kids is that it's a developing country so healthcare/infrastructure isn't so good and there's a fair bit of inequality. The Canaries are Spanish and as well as the indigenous population people go to work there from Spain because they fancy living on an island for whatever reason (usually interesting once you get chatting) so everything works well and no one's getting exploited.

We just got back from Tenerife today. The weather was glorious. I hardly needed a cardigan, even in the evening.

We’ve been to Fuerteventura in Feb half term. We had one wet day and the rest of the week was around 22-24 & sunny. A couple of days were windy, but still nice and warm. The hotel had a small heated pool which was well-used and a beautiful, big, un-heated pool which hardly anyone used because it was too cold.

Yes, quite a few times. As others have said, if you want to be able to swim or let the kids have a splash in an outdoor pool, make sure it's heated. But DH and I have had lots of cycling trips to Tenerife and Gran Canaria in the British winter, and the climate has been lovely for walking and cycling and for sitting outside a café in the daytime. Shorts and short sleeves weather until the sun goes down.