La Gomera or Tenerife? An honest comparison to help you choose – or combine the two

Choose Tenerife for variety, Mount Teide, plenty of beaches and direct flights; choose La Gomera for hiking, silence and a slower pace. If you have a week or more, combining the two is usually the best answer.

The difference in scale explains almost everything. Tenerife covers about 2,034 km² and has close to a million residents; La Gomera covers 371 km² and has around 22,500. At a glance:

• Highest point: Mount Teide, over 3,700 metres, versus Alto de Garajonay at 1,487 metres.
• UNESCO World Heritage: Teide National Park (since 2007) and Garajonay National Park (since 1986).
• Airports: Tenerife has two, North and South; La Gomera's only has flights to other Canary Islands.
• Getting there: Tenerife by direct flight; La Gomera by flight to Tenerife plus a ferry of about 50 minutes.

When you want a lot in a short time, or you are travelling as a group with different tastes. Tenerife can give you a day in the high mountains on Teide, another in the Anaga forest, another on the beach and another in town, with plenty of restaurants and nightlife if you want it.

It is also the easiest option for a short break: you land and are on the beach soon after. Stay in El Médano, for example, and Tenerife South airport is 10 to 15 minutes away by car.

Two things to bear in mind. To climb to the summit of Teide on the Telesforo Bravo trail you need a permit, which is best booked well in advance. And the big resort areas in the south can get very busy in high season, so choose your base carefully.

When the plan is to walk, switch off and fall asleep to the sound of the sea. The island has more than 600 km of trails, the Garajonay laurel forest and ravines of palm trees and terraces running down to the coast.

Is La Gomera touristy? Not like the south of Tenerife: the villages are small, life revolves around the square and the harbour, and traditions survive, such as Silbo Gomero, the whistled language UNESCO recognised as Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009, which is taught in the island's schools. From Valle Gran Rey there are also boat trips to see whales and dolphins and the Los Órganos cliffs.

What you need to accept: getting there takes longer, the roads are mountain roads and evenings are low-key. If you are after lively nightlife, this is not your island.

If hiking is the heart of your trip, La Gomera has the edge: more than 600 km of trails on a small island, routes linking villages so you can catch a bus back, and the GR 132 circling the coast. From Valle Gran Rey you can set off straight from your door.

Tenerife has spectacular hikes on Teide and in Anaga, but some, like the climb to the Teide summit, need a permit. You will find the trails from the valley, with difficulty levels and tips, in our guide to hiking in La Gomera.

Both work without a car, in different ways. Tenerife has an extensive bus network run by TITSA, linking the airports, towns and coastal areas; from El Médano, for instance, there are buses to Los Cristianos and to the airport, with a change in San Isidro.

La Gomera has eight GuaguaGomera bus routes with only a few departures a day, so choosing the right base is key. In Vueltas the beach, harbour, shops and boats to Los Órganos are all within walking distance, and bus route 1 takes you up to the ridge so you can walk back down. For Garajonay and the north, hiring a car for a day or two gives you a lot of freedom.

Yes, and it is easy: the ferry links Los Cristianos with San Sebastián de La Gomera in about 50 minutes, several times a day. The most comfortable plan is to spend your first or last nights near Tenerife South airport and the rest on La Gomera. For example:

• Arrival: fly into Tenerife South and spend two or three nights in the south of Tenerife; El Médano is 10 to 15 minutes from the airport.
• Crossing: bus or taxi to Los Cristianos (from El Médano, TITSA route 470) and the ferry to San Sebastián.
• La Gomera: four nights or more in Valle Gran Rey, arriving by car, by bus or on the Benchi Express catamaran to Vueltas.
• Return: ferry back to Los Cristianos with plenty of time before your flight, or a final night in Tenerife.

With a week, two or three nights in Tenerife and four or five on La Gomera. With ten days or more, split them evenly, or give La Gomera more time if you are coming to walk.

Is La Gomera worth visiting for a day? A day trip from Tenerife is possible but intense: you spend much of it on the ferry and on the road. Three days is a sensible minimum: one for Valle Gran Rey and the sea, one for Garajonay and the mountain villages, and one for the north or a boat trip. In Tenerife, two or three days covers Teide and one stretch of coast; add two more for the north and Anaga.

On La Gomera, in Valle Gran Rey. If you want to do everything on foot and arrive by boat, Mirador de Iguala and Retiro de Vueltas are in Vueltas, facing the beach and the harbour where the Benchi Express docks: they sleep 4, with two double bedrooms and an open-plan kitchen and living room. If you prefer peace and village life, Casa Mimo is in El Hornillo, in the ravine, reached by a footpath of about 200 metres; a car is useful there.

For your nights in Tenerife we also have the Mirador Montaña Roja penthouse in El Médano, in the pedestrian area, one minute from the beach and 10 to 15 minutes from Tenerife South airport. That way you can book both islands direct with us, with no platform fees.