If you have been considering a sailing holiday to the Canaries, aboard a luxury yacht charter then weighing up the best time to sail is a great place to start. With its consistently high year-round temperatures and limited rainfall, June, July and August offer an average of 9 – 10 hours of sunshine a day.
Warm weather island hopping on a chartered yacht
Between them, the seven islands of the Canaries provide a surplus of destinations, each bringing their own traditional nautical culture, climate and appeal to the sailing experience, making the Canaries a popular choice for seafaring visitors.
Best time to sail to Lanzarote
Boasting some of the finest beaches in the archipelago, Lanzarote is a popular choice for visiting mariners with its many marinas and excellent anchoring. Its two mountain ranges disrupt the flow of north easterlies, meaning that most of the rain falls before it reaches the west and southern regions of the island, making these areas arid and less windy. Lanzarote’s proximity to the Sahara and Morocco makes it the hottest of all the Canaries, and an ideal year-round sailing destination.
Best time to sail to Tenerife
Tenerife enjoys relatively consistent weather and predictable temperatures thanks to the northeasterly winds that hit its shores from the Atlantic.
Dormant volcano Mount Teide divides the island into two distinctive halves, the north subject to a slightly wetter, cooler climate than the south due to the cloud cover. With more tourists seeking sunshine, the south coast is typically busier and also less windy.
Best time to sail to La Gomera, El Hierro and La Palma
The most Western of the Canary Islands, La Gomera, El Hierro and La Palma are typically lush and a contrast to the drier landscape found on Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. You can sail all year round in this region.
Best time to sail to Fuerteventura
The island of Fuerteventura’s northern coast is sheltered by the weather in Lanzarote, fewer than 10 miles to the north. While the northern coasts of the Canary Islands are generally where the rain falls, much of Fuerteventura is used up by Lanzarote. What there is of it falls mostly in the months of December and January.
Best time to sail to Gran Canaria
Despite being in the Atlantic, the island of Gran Canaria sees minimal annual rainfall. Summer sees the ‘calima’ drive up temperatures as it travels over the Sahara. Cooled by a pretty constant, refreshing breeze, it makes for a pleasant summer sailing destination with its warm winds.
Best time to sail to La Graciosa
A short sail across the water from Lanzarote, La Graciosa is a UNESCO marine reserve. With only 700 inhabitants, here you can arrive at beautiful secluded beaches with little influx of visitors.
Best time to sail to La Gomera
Steeped in history, La Gomera is typically quiet and green. Columbus set sail from the island back in 1942 on his way to discover the New World. Known as the ‘most Canarian’ of the islands, it offers a warm and friendly welcome and is teaming with wildlife.
Which of the Canaries is your favourite?
Why limit yourself to one, when you can get a taste for them all when you book a sailing holiday in the Canary Islands. All seven Canary Islands are within an easy distance of each one another, so you can experience many of them all within a single sailing holiday.
