Guide to Spanish Islands

Introduction

Spain is an incredibly diverse country – the mainland has a wide variety of landscapes, peoples, climates and even languages. The Spanish Islands go even further to underline this diversity with wild landscapes, their own customs and identities, and even individual and at times, impenetrable dialects.

The Spanish Islands can offer a completely different experience to any of the other regions, and it is often the case that visitors fall for one of the islands and keep going back time after time.

The regions

There are two groupings of islands belonging to Spain – the Balearics in the Mediterranean, and the Canaries in the Atlantic Ocean. While there are similarities within these groups, it is essential that the traveler and the overseas property buyer are aware of the individual characters of the islands, and do not try to refer to them all as one and the same thing.

The Canary Islands
The Canaries are an archipelago of seven islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of Africa. The islands are all of volcanic origin and as the grayish rock permeates the colour of the sand on the beaches, can seem somewhat barren to visitors. The islands are an autonomous community of the Kingdom of Spain.

The islands are a popular tourist destination with due to the favourable climate and large expanses of beach, and islands such as Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote are still welcoming large numbers of package holidaymakers at a time when independent travel is dominating tourist markets.

The Balearics
The three principal islands that make up the Balearics, Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza, are the focal points of the tourist and property markets, along with the much smaller Formentera.

The Balearics are characterized by large, bustling island capitals and principal cities coupled with stretches of undisturbed tranquility along the coast or inland. Spectacular cliffs rise from the Mediterranean, while much of the interior of the islands is covered with lush greenery, culminating in snow-capped peaks.

Each island has its own specific atmosphere – Ibiza is a mix between beautiful scenery and frantic nightlife, Mallorca has a reputation of attracting the rich and famous to reside there, such as Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones, Michael Schumacher and Peter Stringfellow. Menorca is more of a quiet, family-oriented island.

Climate

This is where there is a real difference between the island groups. The Canaries are further south, making them a favourite out-of-season destination for winter sun. The summer temperatures are tempered somewhat by the Atlantic breeze blowing across the islands.

The Balearics are a little more sheltered in the Mediterranean, and maintain similar temperatures to the Spanish mainland, making them hot in the summer months, and still warm enough in the winter to enjoy reasonable weather. They are, however, somewhat more rainy in winter than mainland Spain.

Getting there

Frequent flights from chartered, scheduled and low cost airlines go to all of the major tourist centres from right across the UK. This means that prices are among the most competitive, and the fact that these routes are perhaps the best-served in Europe means that there is a huge degree of flexibility.

Property

The Canary Islands
The property market in the Canaries roughly follows the patterns of the package holiday industry that spawned the move to more permanent residences for UK buyers. For those buyers looking for occasional holiday homes there are a host of developments offering beachfront apartment opportunities with pool and sports facilities on-site, for as little as £100,000 for a two-bedroom property. Away from the resorts, and possibly more suited to longer-term occupation, there are individual villas that can be found for under £150,000 with three bedrooms and in close proximity to a village centre.

The Balearics
In contrast, property on the Balearic Islands tends to be somewhat more exclusive, and you are less likely to find large developments of apartments as small collections of villas with private pools, or low-density apartment complexes based around a communal pool. A small two-bedroom golf apartment on the resale market should cost from £140,000, whereas a family villa with a private pool can start from around £300,000. The properties are generally more likely to have a reasonable plot of land, and should blend in with the local architecture.

Local life

On Menorca, lingering influence from the British occupation is seen in the locals’ taste for gin, which they mix with bitter lemon during the Fiestas to make ‘Pomada’, as well as in the borrowing of some English words in the local dialect.

The island of Tenerife is home to the volcano Teide, the highest peak on any Atlantic island. Though currently considered dormant, experts predict that an eruption could take place in the future after recent activity at the summit.

Conclusion

The Spanish Islands offer overseas property buyers a slightly different cultural experience from mainland Spain, with superb connections to the UK’s regional airports and a diversity of property to suit every budget and taste. Combined with the winter sunshine of the Canaries, there are true opportunities to escape to the sun all year round.