jonathan
100+ Posts
Why La Palma? And where is it, anyway?
It’s one of the Canary Islands: Spanish territories, but about 800 miles south-west of the Spanish coast. The Canaries are a popular winter sun destination for northern Europeans (especially Brits and Germans): the easternmost islands in the group, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, are only about 60 miles west of the Moroccan coast, and are popular beach destinations. La Palma, though, is on the western side of the archipelago: go due west from La Palma, and you won’t strike land until you get to the Florida coast, just level with Orlando.
This situation makes it closest to the effects of the ocean and the Gulf Stream: it’s the greenest of the islands, with fertile, volcanic soil and some pretty dramatic contrasts in altitude. No real beach resorts, but lots of good walking trails, mostly pretty well signposted.
Inntravel
Inntravel are a small travel company based in North Yorkshire: we’ve used them before, several times, for cross-country skiing holidays in Austria, Italy and Finland. But their real area of specialism is walking holidays – both groups, and self-guided ones. This time, we booked one of their ‘Casas Canarias on La Isla Bonita’ holidays: 7 nights in a little cottage, car hire, and an excellent folder of self-guided walks, plus lots of background info on the island, its history, flora & fauna, food and customs. A Freytag & Berndt 1:30,000 walking map is also part of the pack.
Inntravel also book flights if you want them to: I had a useful phone chat with them, and went for the (twice-weekly) direct flight with easyJet, Gatwick – La Palma (around 4 hours flight time).
It’s one of the Canary Islands: Spanish territories, but about 800 miles south-west of the Spanish coast. The Canaries are a popular winter sun destination for northern Europeans (especially Brits and Germans): the easternmost islands in the group, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, are only about 60 miles west of the Moroccan coast, and are popular beach destinations. La Palma, though, is on the western side of the archipelago: go due west from La Palma, and you won’t strike land until you get to the Florida coast, just level with Orlando.
This situation makes it closest to the effects of the ocean and the Gulf Stream: it’s the greenest of the islands, with fertile, volcanic soil and some pretty dramatic contrasts in altitude. No real beach resorts, but lots of good walking trails, mostly pretty well signposted.
Inntravel
Inntravel are a small travel company based in North Yorkshire: we’ve used them before, several times, for cross-country skiing holidays in Austria, Italy and Finland. But their real area of specialism is walking holidays – both groups, and self-guided ones. This time, we booked one of their ‘Casas Canarias on La Isla Bonita’ holidays: 7 nights in a little cottage, car hire, and an excellent folder of self-guided walks, plus lots of background info on the island, its history, flora & fauna, food and customs. A Freytag & Berndt 1:30,000 walking map is also part of the pack.
Inntravel also book flights if you want them to: I had a useful phone chat with them, and went for the (twice-weekly) direct flight with easyJet, Gatwick – La Palma (around 4 hours flight time).
Last edited: