Mountain Island or Lava Island
Tenerife's landscapes change fast. In a single morning you can drive from black sand beaches through pine forests to a volcanic plateau above the clouds. The Teide cable car climbs to around 11,700 feet with views across the Canary Islands. The sky over the mountain is among the clearest in the world, which is why major observatories sit there. The north is cloudier and greener, with laurel forests and historic houses.
Lanzarote is consistent and surreal. Timanfaya National Park's Montañas del Fuego are a sea of cones and lava rivers, where staff pour water into the ground to show the heat below. At Jameos del Agua, a collapsed lava tube holds a saltwater lagoon, a white pool and an auditorium. The Mirador del Río café is built into a cliff above the strait facing La Graciosa. The whole island is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve with no billboards on its roads.
Tenerife is about scale and variety. Lanzarote is about one striking idea carried across a whole island.
Resorts and Places to Stay
Tenerife has the bigger luxury scene. Most honeymooners choose the sunny southwest coast. Costa Adeje is the upscale end of the south, with smart hotels, restaurants and calm beaches, including a resort designed like a Canarian village and several large properties with kid-free areas, spa programs and sunset views across the channel to La Gomera. Farther up the coast at Guía de Isora, clifftop resorts have beaches below and several restaurants. For contrast, rural hotels in the La Orotava valley or near Garachico offer quiet gardens in historic houses.
Lanzarote's hotels are spread across Playa Blanca, the calmest town, busy Puerto del Carmen and quieter Costa Teguise. Secrets Lanzarote Resort & Spa, on the lava shore at the small marina of Puerto Calero, is a kid-free all-inclusive resort for guests 18 and over, with 335 rooms and swim-up options, from roughly $420 a night. Inland villages such as Uga, Yaiza and Haría have rural hotels and villas with pools and lava gardens. Good resort and boutique rooms run roughly $200 to $500 a night, as an approximate guide.
Days Out Together
On Tenerife, take the Teide cable car early, before the tour buses, or linger at a roadside viewpoint near sunset as the volcano casts its shadow across the clouds. Book a guided stargazing evening in the national park. Join a small, responsible whale watching trip from Los Cristianos or Puerto Colón to see pilot whales and bottlenose dolphins. Hike the Masca gorge, a steep descent through basalt walls to the sea, finishing with a boat to Los Gigantes. Take the 50-minute ferry to La Gomera for its misty laurel forests.
On Lanzarote, book a timed slot for the Ruta de los Volcanes coach tour through Timanfaya. Visit Jameos del Agua, then coffee at the Mirador del Río. Tour the Fundación César Manrique, the artist's home built into five lava bubbles. Swim at the Papagayo coves, reached by a dirt road. Take the ferry from Órzola to La Graciosa, where there are no paved roads and beaches are nearly empty. Watch sunset over the green lagoon at El Golfo.
Tenerife has more adventure. Lanzarote has more art.
Beaches and the Sea
Neither island is a classic white-sand destination, but both have good swimming. Lanzarote has the edge for beach days. The Papagayo coves near Playa Blanca have golden sand and calm water. La Graciosa's empty beaches are a short ferry away. The north coast at Famara is wild surf country with strong currents, so obey the flags.
Tenerife's best beaches are along the southwest around Costa Adeje, many of them calm and resort-fronted, with black sand elsewhere on the island. Clifftop resorts often have their own beach below.
The Atlantic is cooler than the Mediterranean in both places, roughly the mid-60s Fahrenheit in late winter and the low to mid-70s in late summer and early fall. It is very swimmable on a sunny afternoon, but for winter stays a heated pool makes a real difference. Pack a hat and strong, reef-safe sunscreen. The UV is intense this far south, even on days that feel mild. Lanzarote's trade winds can make beaches gusty, so bring a windbreaker.
Food and Wine
The two islands share Canarian staples: papas arrugadas, small potatoes boiled in salty water until their skins wrinkle, with red and green mojo sauces; grilled fish such as cherne and vieja; local goat cheese, sometimes smoked or rubbed with paprika; and gofio, a toasted grain flour. Bienmesabe, a sweet almond dessert, is a good finish.
Wine is where they diverge. Lanzarote's La Geria valley is one of Europe's most unusual vineyards, with vines in hollows dug into black ash, each protected by a curved stone wall. Bodegas there pour dry and sweet malvasía and reds from listán negro. Most have tasting rooms open to walk-in visitors. Fishing villages like El Golfo, Arrieta and La Santa serve grilled fish by the sea.
Tenerife's volcanic soils produce wines from Listán Negro and Malvasía too, with tastings in the north offering views of Teide. Look for guachinches, informal family wine houses that open seasonally with homemade wine and stews. The resort coast has several fine dining restaurants for a special night.
Getting There, Getting Around and Altitude
Neither has US nonstops. Connect through Madrid, about two and a half to three hours by air, or another European hub. Tenerife South (TFS) is about 20 minutes from Costa Adeje. César Manrique-Lanzarote Airport (ACE) is 15 to 40 minutes from most resorts. The Canaries run one hour behind mainland Spain, matching London time, which eases jet lag a little on the way home.
Rent a car on either island. Tenerife's roads to Teide and the north are winding but well signed. Plan the mountain drive for early morning or late afternoon. The Masca gorge must be booked online, with shared transport from Santiago del Teide. Lanzarote is about 37 miles long with good roads. Book Timanfaya and Cueva de los Verdes tickets online in advance and the Manrique centers before they close in the late afternoon.
Teide needs care. Its upper cable car station sits at about 11,700 feet. Move slowly and bring warm layers. The operator advises against the ride for pregnant travelers and anyone with heart or breathing problems.
Timing and Combining Them
Both islands work year-round, which is their great selling point. October through May brings sunny days in the low to mid-70s, ideal for a winter honeymoon when the Mediterranean islands have shut. This is also high season for Europeans, so book Christmas, New Year and February early. Summer is warmer, often in the 80s on Tenerife and the mid-80s on Lanzarote, with stronger trade winds on Lanzarote and busier resorts during European school holidays. September and October bring the warmest sea. Teide can be cold and even snowy in winter. Its cable car sometimes closes in high wind.
Inter-island flights between Tenerife and Lanzarote are short, so a two-island honeymoon is easy. Start with four or five nights on Tenerife for Teide, whales and a resort, then fly to Lanzarote for three or four nights of lava landscapes, wine and beaches. Ending on the smaller, quieter island suits the end of a trip.
With one week only, choose Tenerife for variety or Lanzarote for calm and strangeness.
