If you are planning your holidays to La Gomera the following information may help by giving you an overview on the island, and help you in your selection from our range of hotels, apartments and villas in La Gomera.
You will be astonished at what the island of La Gomera has to offer! You will find valley floors laden with produce, grassy saucer-shaped basins, elegant palm groves and pockets of pines … a peaceful island; ideal for unwinding and just a stone’s throw from neighbouring Tenerife providing a stunning contrast to Tenerife’s commercialism and barren landscape.
On a fine day, La Gomera’s scenery is glorious and many go to La Gomera for a day trip whilst others hire a car and explore on their own the dizzying hairpin bends and the intensely buckled terrain and dramatic ravines. The best section, the Parque Nacional de Garajonay, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is a lure for keen walkers. This dense 4000 hectare rain forest is the largest and most complete example of laurasilva left in the world. The distinct microclimate on La Gomera [which almost permanently covers this central high plateau in mist] also provides the necessary humidity allowing this unique ecosystem to thrive.
The best way to enjoy your holidays to La Gomera is to stay awhile and explore it at your leisure [even from the roads], but preferably by doing some walking in a pair of sturdy boots. Valle Gran Rey [Valley of the Great King] is one of the most popular walking bases with bananas, papaya and citrus fruits growing in profusion here.
Measuring just 25km at its widest point, La Gomera has remained unspoilt despite the introduction of the high-speed ferry, the opening of a small airport for inter-island flights and the construction of better roads. Read more …
Other Canary Islands
Discover TENERIFE
Tenerife is not only the largest of the Canary Islands, it also offers more sights, attractions, towns and cities to explore, and more contrasts than any of the other islands. Where else can you visit a banana plantation and then drive up a mountain tipped with snow?
Discover LANZAROTE
Lanzarote is a dry and fairly flat island whose bizarre landscape has been shaped by volcanic activity. However, there are regions of green hills and sandy beaches giving Lanzarote is reputation as an island of visual impact.
Discover FUERTEVENTURA
Second largest of the Canary Islands, Fuerteventura is arid and desert-like, although is perhaps most famous for its beaches with over 50km of stunning white and golden sand making this island and ideal choice for the beach lover.
Discover GRAN CANARIA
Most people go on a holiday to Gran Canaria for its abundant sunshine and golden beaches and head for the resorts of Playa del Ingles, Maspalomas and Puerto Rico. As for nightlife, there’s a huge choice and clubs, pubs, cabarets and casinos to satisfy everyone.
Discover LA PALMA
Not to be confused with Las Palmas [the capital of Gran Canaria], La Palma is one of the three smaller Canary Islands and is also known as La Isla Bonita [the pretty island], and La Isla Verde [the green island]. Beautiful it certainly is!
Discover EL HIERRO
Due to the absence of sandy beaches, the island of El Hierro has escaped the holiday tourist invasion experienced by other islands. Superb pine forests, sheer mountains walls and fantastic outlook points are just part of its appeal.
Discover LA GRACIOSA
La Graciosa is one of the Canary Island’s best kept secrets, with its stunning beaches of soft, pale sand and crystal clear waters with barely a soul to be seen anywhere. La Graciosa is recommended for the ultimate stress-busting break – even for a day’s excursion.
LA GOMERA – MAP
ENQUIRY FORM
Getting to La Gomera
La Gomera is the most accessible and visited of the smaller western islands, only 45 minutes by fast ferry from Los Cristianos in Tenerife, or by internal flight from Tenerife and Gran Canaria.
Serving Airports:
Tenerife Sur Reina Sofia [TFS]
Flight time from the UK: approximately 4 hours
La Gomera Airport [QGZ]
Internal flight from Tenerife or Gran Canaria
Beaches in La Gomera
La Gomera is not known for its beaches but for its dramatic mountain scenery. People go on holiday to La Gomera not in search of sun, sea and sand but to relax in peaceful surroundings. However, if it is beaches you are looking for, Valle Gran Rey boasts the best pair of black sand beaches but with a good scattering of pebbly stretches. A similar mix, shorter but wider, exists at San Sebastian and is sheltered by being within the large enclosed harbour. Playa de Santiago’s beaches vary from smooth rounded boulders – too heavy to lift –to finer grey pebbles and shingle near the fishing port.
Eating Out in La Gomera
Each resort and village has a handful of small restaurants offering simple local fare that is filling rather than fancy as befits a tiny rural island. Local specialities include watercress soup served in a wooden bowl, several goats cheeses and a piquant spread made from these with added spices, butter and oil called almagrote eaten on bread or potatoes. Local fish and a honey extracted from the palm trees also feature on most typical menus. Some resorts have a pizzeria and the capital, San Sebastian, has a couple of more sophisticated restaurants.
La Gomera’s perfect climate and steep mountainous terrain makes it ideally suited for the production of wine. Vines cling to the terraces, each protected by tiny dry-stone walls and most are still tilled and tended by hand. The chief areas of production are the slopes around Agulo, the Valle Gran Rey and Vallehermoso. The end product is good but not vintage quality. The best names to look out for on your La Gomera holidays are Listan Blanco, Marmajuelo and Forastera Gomera. The white wines of Vallehermoso are honey-coloured and strong.
La Gomera Shopping
Limited to strictly functional local shops and a few minimarkets to serve the basic needs of the indigenous population of farmers and fishermen. Only the hotel at Playa de Santiago has anything approaching a boutique. Husbands of shopaholic ladies on holidays in La Gomera can leave their credit cards at home and breathe a huge sigh of relief here.
Disclaimer
By its very nature much of the information in our travel guides is subject to change at short notice and travellers are urged to verify information on which they are relying with the relevant authorities. Corona Holidays [UK] Limited cannot accept any responsibility for any loss or inconvenience to any person as a result of information contained above.