Putting the Canary Islands on the Map

I remember ten years ago when we came to the Canary Islands looking for a place to live.   Wow - all that exploring and seven islands to do it in.  It wasn't long before we bought a map. 
Luckily, we came across a map with all the Canary Islands on it and it was certainly enough to get us by in the short term.  However, I have to confess that a smaller scale map of Gran Canaria or Tenerife might have been useful at times especially as I am all for saving petrol, time and in-car harmony!  
Once we arrived in La Palma, we quickly decided that we were not going to rely on road signs or our Canary Islands map to guide us round and we bought our first map of La Palma.  

Now the funny thing about La Palma is that there really is only one main road which runs round the island.  From that you might think you can easily manage without a road map.  Well, in one way you can … because at least you are hardly likely to end up on the wrong island without noticing it!  However, whilst it seems to simplify things with relatively few roads on the island, this does mean that it is important to be on the right road.  Coming from the UK, we are so used to one road literally leading to another that we tend to keep on driving until we find a turning.  Here, you might have to drive a long way before that becomes the case, or if you do find a side road, there is a good chance that after a couple of kilometers of tortuous driving, you’ll end up in a banana plantation or pine forest when actually you were heading for the beach.

The map that we chose soon became my trusty companion in that the main roads stood out really clearly from the side roads, donkey paths, walking paths and mountain bike paths.  This, as I’m sure you’ll agree, is rather important in the popularity stakes when navigating! 

In time though, we came to realize that whilst this was an excellent road map of La Palma, it wasn’t particularly good as a walking map so we invested in a second map.  And then, when we became more avid walkers, it was time to buy yet another map of La Palma but an even smaller scale map particularly suitable for walkers. That really did show the walking routes in great detail and provided us with even greater enthusiasm.

So if you are coming on holiday to La Palma and you’ve already got your flights booked and accommodation sorted out then maybe it’s time to think about getting a map in advance especially as there are not so many places on that island that sell them.  Don't forget that La Palma is not a tourist hot spot!
If you are holidaying on any of the other Canary Islands then it still might be a good idea to buy a map on line whether that is a map of Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote or Fuerteventura.  For a map of La Gomera and map of El Hierro, you will find that either they have their own map of they will be on a map with either Tenerife or La Palma.  There is certainly a choice of maps and scales, especially if you are buying your map on-line.
Once you have your map, your holiday homework can really begin.  Enjoy!

Taking Off

Here's some good news that you might be able to take advantage of - another airline with flights from the UK to Madrid and Madrid to Santa Cruz de La Palma (flight code SPC).   There are also flights from Barcelona to La Palma and Bilbao to La Palma - it's great to know that there are more flights from mainland Spain to our little Isla Bonita!
The company is called Orbest Airlines and although it offers flights from just one UK airport at the moment, Edinburgh, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it really takes off, so to speak.

If you haven't heard of Orbest, maybe you have heard of one of its parent companies - Orizonia and before that, Iberworld airlines.  Apparently, without most of us realising it, they have been pretty busy flying thousands of passengers in and out of around twenty airports in Spain alone.
The Orbest fleet consists of  9 aircraft: 3 Airbus A-330-300, able to hold 388 passengers, and 6 Airbus 320, capable of carrying 180 passengers.   If you are searching for flights to La Palma or the other Canary Islands, their website is in Spanish and English.
At the moment, they are only projecting flights as far forward as September and because the Edinburgh to Madrid flight is on a Monday and the Madrid to La Palma flight is on a Friday, you'll need to do a bit of mix and matching with other airlines. The flights from Barcelona to La Palma are on a Saturday and the flights from Bilbao to La Palma are on a Tuesday.
I hope you manage to find a flight to suit you and don't forget the airport code to La Palma is SPC!