Tenerife, verdict by verdict

Tenerife is the biggest and most varied of the Canary Islands: Spain's highest peak rising out of a lunar national park, ancient laurel forest in the Anaga mountains, natural lava pools on the north coast, and the dense resort strip around Costa Adeje and Playa de las Americas in the south. The island effectively runs two climates, the sunny dry south where the resorts sit and the greener, cooler north around Puerto de la Cruz.

The real caveats: the south is unapologetic mass tourism, which is fine only if that is the holiday you want; Teide's summit needs a free permit booked weeks ahead or a paid alternative; and the island is big enough that the wrong base costs an hour each way on mountain roads, which a weekend cannot absorb. The two-airport split matters too, since Tenerife South serves the resorts while Tenerife North serves Santa Cruz and La Laguna, and travelers chasing nightlife-forward island glamour will find Mykonos or Ibiza fit better.

Where Tenerife wins is range per day: a volcano above the clouds at breakfast, a lava-pool swim at lunch and whales off Los Gigantes before dinner. Five to eight days covers Teide, the north's La Laguna and Anaga, a beach or water-park day and a whale trip, and a rental car is close to essential beyond the resort strip. It is a year-round island with December to March as peak winter-sun season and the warmest reliable weather in Europe; base in the south for guaranteed sun and the big family attractions, or in the north for food, greenery and a more local rhythm.