Hiking
La Palma is a magnificent island for walking. Whether you are a nature lover or on a guided hiking tour, a Nordic Walking fan, an experienced mountaineer, or an enthusiastic canyon adventurer, La Palma has tracks for every level of condition and skill. With the beauty of the island’s unique landscapes, each tour on La Palma is sure to be a memorable experience, for example in the National Park Caldera de Taburiente or in the pristine nature of the rainforest and cloud forests of Los Tilos, a UNESCO biosphere reserve in the north of the island.
Beaches
Yes, there are also beaches on La Palma – maybe not so numerous and extensive as on the neighbouring islands, but you can always find a free place to stretch out on our beautiful beaches with their dark, soft lava sand. The water quality is everywhere first-class. Some of our beaches have been certified by the EU with the blue flag for sustainable tourism.
Mountain biking
La Palma has well-built roads that offer wonderful bike rides through the island. Mountain bikers will enjoy the open countryside with its mountain routes and volcanic ash tracks, smaller side roads, and lonely forest paths, as well as old roads (caminos reales) and some donkey paths including some spectacular rocky trails with advanced technical difficulties. There are a number of tour providers with many years of experience in guiding small groups through this Mecca for mountain bikers, ensuring that you have fun biking and experience nature in good company. The routes do not start at sea level, but from higher places, which may be reached with the Bike-Shuttle.
Diving
Diving in the clear subtropical waters of La Palma means exploring some of the best diving spots on the Canary Islands. Diving has become an important part of the outdoor and leisure activities offered in La Palma. Due to the volcanic origin of the island, the underwater landscapes features unique caverns, cliffs, stone arches and bizarre lava formations. The visibility underwater ranges up to 50 m. These conditions are perfect for admiring the local underwater fauna such as colourful fish shoals, moray eels and stingrays. Each year, La Palma hosts an international competition in underwater photography and film. Water temperatures of min. 18 degrees Celsius in winter and min. 23 degrees Celsius in summer guarantee diving fun all year long.
Trips
La Palma has a lot to offer! The whole island abounds in cultural and natural sites worth visiting. Besides the museums and the observatory, on your holiday on La Palma you should make a point of seeing some of the island’s characteristic treasures. Although La Palma is relatively small and could be driven around in a single day, we recommend that you plan a few shorter day-excursions to the following places. You will need to rent a car to get there.For example the Plaza La Glorieta in Las Manchas, an extremely beautiful small public square decorated with lavish mosaic works that represent the flora and fauna of La Palma. Luis Morera, one of La Palma's most famous artists and a friend of Cesar Manrique, invested many years and much love for detail in creating this little gem.
Or a trip to the most important pilgrimage sites on the island, the Church of “Nuestra Señora de Las Nieves”. The church houses the image of the Our Lady of the Snows, the patron saint of La Palma. Every five years, the decorated image of the Virgin is brought to the capital city in a solemn procession. After a week of festivities, processions, concerts, plays, music and dancing in accordance with historic traditions, the terracotta statue is brought back to her sanctuary.
Culture
Santa Cruz is one of the most unspoiled and beautiful cities in the Canary Islands. It is well worth taking your time to do a tour of the city! Besides that, there are archaeological sites of the original inhabitants of the island, the Benahoaritas, there are the salines in Fuencaliente, the Wine Museum in Las Manchas, the Banana Museum in Tazacorte, and the Silk Museum in El Paso – to name just a few of the places where you can discover La Palmas unique culture and heritage. If you are interested in live events, the theatre “Circo de Marte” and various seasonal festivities around the island are well worth a visit.Shopping
No trip to La Palma is complete without a souvenir to remember your experience. In the cities and towns on the island, there are many shops offering typical products, but you could also visit one of the many artisan workshops producing local pottery, wickerwork, silk fabrics, cigars, wine, and liqueur. Browsing through one of the colourful markets that are usually held on the weekend in many towns around the island is also a memorable experience.