GOLF ESCAPES

FOCUS ON
The Canaries
This collection of islands is blessed with year-round sun – so are open for play 365 days a year.
With an average winter
temperature of 18C and an
average summer temperature
of 23C, any of the Canaries’
seven islands are perfect destinations for
holidays 365 days a year. The good news
for golfers is that five of the seven islands
have high-quality courses on them.
The archipelago enjoys one of the most
privileged climates in the world with
winters that are gentle, with little rain and
summers that are stable without excessive
heat. The Canary Islands is actually the
part of Europe with most hours of daylight
– more than 3,000 hours of sunlight a year.
It is entirely possible to head to the islands
off the west coast of Africa in January –
when the weather is unremittingly bleak in
Britain – and not see a cloud all week.
The best thing about this highlydesirable
climate? It is actually not that far
away, or at least it feels like it isn’t – because
it has never been easier to get to the Canary
Islands. There are no long-haul flights to
reach the Canaries’ year-round sunshine –
little more than four hours takes you from
Britain to one of the seven islands, which all
have airports. Tenerife, Gran Canaria,
Lanzarote and Fuerteventura have the
biggest, with lots of direct international
flights. And travel between the Canary
Islands is quick and easy thanks to the
modern daily inter-island transport by sea
and air. Flights between islands take a
maximum of 45 minutes and ferry rides no
more than three hours. So, it’s easy to
experience two or three Canary Islands
during the same holiday and to make the
travel between them part of the adventure.
So you can plan a day trip to the island
next door, an especially attractive option for
those whose eye is taken by the golf courses
and attractions on offer in more than one
of the islands. With the variety of
landscapes on each island there is a whole
world to discover in the Canary Islands.
There are more than 20 courses in the
Canary Islands and every year they host
26 GOLF ESCAPES 2015