Canaries: fly south for winter

While the language is Spanish and the money European, the climate of the Canary Islands is decidedly African, thanks to the archipelago’s position in the Atlantic, some 100km west of the Moroccan coast. Being so remote from the mainland, the Canaries enjoy exceptionally clean water and air, far from sources of pollution and constantly cleansed by the prevailing Atlantic trade winds.

Tenerife is the largest of the Canaries, with two distinct microclimates to the north and south, separated by Mount Teide, the 12,000ft volcano that created the island and which dominates its landscape. The north coast enjoys a warm and humid climate, thanks to the prevailing winds from the Atlantic. The resorts that line the northern shore are less visited than their southern cousins, retaining both a more naturally Spanish feel and distinctive black sand created by the dark volcanic rock.

Puerto de la Cruz is perhaps the busiest of the northern resorts, in the lush Orotava Valley. The old town retains its colonial Spanish charm, with balcony-lined cobbled streets and plazas offering plenty of shops and restaurants to occupy the balmy nights and sun-drenched ashen beaches to laze away the days.

The southern coast, sheltered from the wind, is hotter than the north, with a distinctly African feel to the sunshine. More popular with visitors, its resorts are larger, more developed and greater in number – many of them boasting beaches of specially imported Saharan sand to create picture-perfect arcs of blonde to contrast the deep Atlantic blue.

Playa de las Americas is purpose built as a resort popular with young nightlife fans, drawn from across the world to its combination of extensive nightclubs to dance into the small hours and scorching beaches to sleep off the excesses of the night before.

Los Cristianos has something for everyone, a wide range of accommodation, good shopping, water parks for the kids to splash about in and, of course, the impressive scenery and specially imported sand.

Close rival to Tenerife is Gran Canaria, the second most populated island in the chain. The island is round, approximately 50km across, with each point of the compass presenting a different character. As with Tenerife, the mountainous interior creates a north-south divide; the exposed north cooler and wetter, the south sheltered, hot and dry. There’s also a contrast from east to west – the eastern shore is flatter, with more beaches, while dramatic rocky outcrops dominate to the west.

Most of the tourist resorts are found to the south, taking advantage of that warm dry climate. The Playa del Ingles (literally ‘The Beach of the English’) is as popular with visitors from the UK as the name would suggest. A busy resort town offering a wide choice of restaurants, bars and nightspots; by day there’s plenty of opportunities for shopping, soaking up the powerful rays on the miles of sandy beach front, or strolling and people watching on the palm-shaded promenade.

In contrast, the nearby former fishing village of San Agustin offers a slower pace of holiday. Popular for fishing and water sports, a stay in this resort is close enough to Playa del Ingles to sample the bustle and nightlife if you want it, but far enough away to escape if quiet relaxation is the order of the day.

Visiting Lanzarote is like visiting a different planet, with its weirdly wonderful volcanic landscape, best seen in the magnificent Timanfaya National Park with its centrepiece Montaña del Fuego (or 'Fire Mountain') that still hisses steam, heated by powerful deep underground. The park covers around a quarter of the island’s surface, the result of an 18th century eruption that destroyed much of best farmland and several unfortunate villages.

In common with its island siblings, Lanzarote has plenty of well-developed resorts catering for all tastes. With its sandy beaches, secluded coves and quiet nightlife, Costa Teguise is ideal for a relaxed break and popular with golfers, thanks to the nearby course. Puerto del Carmen is a larger, livelier resort town popular with young adults, drawn to its jumping nightlife and long sandy beach, rounded out by the charming old town district for a bit of authentic Canarian culture.

Least developed and with the longest coastline of all the Canaries, Fuerteventura is a beach lover’s paradise. The island’s name means ‘strong wind’, a feature which draws sailboarders to the beaches that line its north coast, while the sheltered southern resorts are a more relaxed environment. The island is more laid back than its neighbours, making it increasingly popular with family visitors keen to enjoy the simple pleasures of bright sun and clean beaches.

Corralejo is the liveliest resort that the island has to offer, flanked by clear waters, desert dunes and broad yellow beaches that seem to go on forever. There are plenty of shops for those taking the self-catering option, while after dark there are enough bars and restaurants to suit all preferences – and even a couple of nightclubs.