Playa de Santiago Holidays

Playa de Santiago is a quiet fishing village on La Gomera, the greenest of all the Canary Islands. It’s a perfect base to explore the evergreen laurel forests and mountain ranges that the island is famous for – but it’s got its own thing going on with restaurants along the water and a couple of café-bars, too. The vibe here is laidback with a quiet strip of pebbly beach on the doorstep. Plus the island’s capital San Sebastian is just up the road.

The beach here is protected by a long jetty so there are calm waters for swimming. The pebbly shore warms up nicely so it makes for a lovely place to stretch out on and sunbathe. Speedy catamarans leave the jetty and two major beaches are within 15 minutes – Valle Gran Rey is a huge swathe of black sand lapped by azure waters, while San Sebastian’s main beach Playa de la Cueva is another sandy stretch right next to the capital’s harbour.

San Sebastian is 30-minutes’ drive away. On the main square is the quaint La Asuncion church where Christopher Columbus attended Mass before setting off for the New World. The house where he stayed is nearby too, now a museum dedicated to the explorer. Boats leave San Sebastian’s harbour to Los Organos – a dramatic rock formation on the island’s north coast. It’s the Canary Island’s answer to the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland.