The Canary Islands have got a bad rep for being beach traps for the package holiday crowd. Sure, these islands are stuffed with peng beaches and blessed with year-round-sweet-weather, but don’t hold that against them.

Scratch away, and you’ll find 7 islands with their own personalities - a splatter of rugged-beachy-volcanoey beauties off the coast of Africa, with a culture and heritage all their own.

But how do you choose between them? Here’s LuckyTrip's guide to the Canary Islands...

1. Tenerife... For eternal spring

Tenerife has its very own micro-climate, which means it’s always spring time. There’s sunny beaches, snowy mountains, deserts and forests, all tied up with a bow.

Also good for: OAP holidays - stay away from Los Cristianos and Las Americas to avoid bumping into your nan.

2. Fuerteventura... For Moroccany vibes

Even the air smells spicy here... Just 100km from the coast of Africa, Fuerteventura is full of remote desert beaches and volcanoes that look like piles of spices.

Also good for: the best beaches in the Canaries. And that’s saying something.

3. Gran Canaria... For rainbow culture

Las Palmas, the capital of Gran Canaria, is cosmopolitan in a way the other Canary Islands just aren’t. Hit up the bars in La Vegueta (the UNESCO old quarter) and sip cortados in Pérez Galdós - without a package holidayer in sight.

Also good for: tumbling down the Maspalomas dunes (an LGBTQIA paradise).

4. Lanzarote... For alien landscapes

Banish all thoughts of ‘Lanza-grotty’, this Canary Island is like a Spielberg Martian fantasy land. With black sand beaches, luminous green lakes and red volcanic hills, it’s a million miles from the white sandy beaches of a TUI advert.

Also good for: local artist César Manrique who filled the island with artsy wonders.

5. La Palma... For getting away

La Palma has all the perks of the Canaries - year round sun, weird volcanic landscapes and fresh seafood. But where is everyone?

Away from the main town of Santa Cruz de la Palma, you’ll have the island to yourself. Strap up on your hiking boots and set off for the best views in the islands.

Also good for: stargazing and getting vertical.

6. La Gomera... For rugged wilderness

La Gomera is the Canary islands’ feral little sister.

Unspoilt to the point of wild, the second smallest Canary island is a real life Muppet Treasure Island.

Also for: the local whistling language. Yep.

7. El Hierro... who??

You won’t stumble into the Thomsons crowd here.

El Hierro is the littlest and least well known of the Canaries, and it’s doing its own thing. It’s a biomarine park with lush diving, a witchy enchanted forest and 100% renewable energy. Fair play El Hierro.

How do I get there?? Fly to Tenerife, then get a connecting flight or a 2hrs45 boat to El Hierro.