South Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura have similar January daytime averages in AEMET’s records. The differences in rainfall, sunshine and altitude are more useful when choosing where to stay.
The table below uses AEMET’s 1981–2010 records, with the stations and heights named. An airport reading is a starting point, rather than a forecast for your hotel.
Start with south Tenerife if warmth is your main priority. Lanzarote and Fuerteventura are worth comparing for their dry January records and beach holidays, though wind can affect comfort. La Palma and northern Tenerife suit a different sort of trip, with greener scenery and more rain. Choose the resort as carefully as the island.
How warm are the islands?
Take the four airports most British flights land at. Their January mean daily maximums are 21.7 °C at Tenerife Sur, 20.8 °C at Gran Canaria, 20.7 °C at Lanzarote and 20.6 °C at Fuerteventura. The mean daily minimums run 15.2, 15.0, 14.0 and 14.7 °C. Whatever else is true about a January week on these islands, it will not be decided by which of those four numbers you booked.
The small temperature differences make flight times, accommodation and the kind of holiday you want important parts of the choice.
What AEMET publishes
Below are January normals for eight AEMET stations, with altitude given because it changes the answer more than longitude does. All use the 1981–2010 reference period, so they are internally comparable, which is rarer than it sounds when comparing across countries.
| Station (altitude) | Mean daily max | Mean daily min | Rainfall | Sunshine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tenerife Sur airport (64 m) | 21.7 °C | 15.2 °C | 17 mm, 1.8 days | 193 hours |
| Santa Cruz de Tenerife (36 m) | 21.0 °C | 15.4 °C | 32 mm, 4.2 days | 178 hours |
| Gran Canaria airport (24 m) | 20.8 °C | 15.0 °C | 25 mm, 3.1 days | 184 hours |
| Lanzarote airport (14 m) | 20.7 °C | 14.0 °C | 16 mm, 3.2 days | 203 hours |
| Fuerteventura airport (25 m) | 20.6 °C | 14.7 °C | 14 mm, 2.5 days | 190 hours |
| La Palma airport (33 m) | 20.6 °C | 15.5 °C | 49 mm, 5.3 days | 141 hours |
| Tenerife Norte airport (632 m) | 16.0 °C | 10.2 °C | 80 mm, 7.7 days | 150 hours |
| Izaña observatory (2,369 m) | 7.5 °C | 1.1 °C | 47 mm, 4.5 days | 226 hours |
Sunshine totals vary more than the daytime temperatures in this comparison. Remember that the northern Tenerife airport is at 632m: it is not a coastal-resort measurement.
Which coast should you choose?
Tenerife South airport records 17mm of January rain, compared with 80mm at the higher northern airport and 32mm at coastal Santa Cruz. Location and altitude both contribute to that difference; it should not be read as a simple measurement of all north-coast hotels.
The mechanism is not complicated. The prevailing north-easterly flow arrives moist, meets high ground on the northern flanks and leaves its water there. Everything downwind sits in the rain shadow. That is why the resorts grew where they did, and it is why La Palma, which is steep, high and green, posts the lowest sunshine figure in the table while sharing a mean maximum with Fuerteventura. La Palma is not a worse island. It is a wetter one, which is exactly why it looks the way it does.
Lanzarote and Fuerteventura are lower than Tenerife and La Palma, though neither is flat. Compare a sheltered hotel location if you intend to spend much of the week outside.
What to expect on high ground
Izaña’s January averages are much colder than the coast: a daytime high of 7.5°C and overnight low of 1.1°C. The station is at 2,369m, which explains why beach clothing is not enough for a mountain outing.
Take warm clothing if you plan to visit Teide, and check road access and conditions before setting off. Higher ground can be clear above coastal cloud, but it can also be cold, windy or closed. It is not a guaranteed alternative on a bad-weather day.
Visiting Teide
If the mountain is part of the plan, the last 200 metres of it are a separate reservation, and the rules changed recently enough that plenty of published advice is now wrong. Access to the summit of Teide runs along the Telesforo Bravo trail, path 10 in the national park’s numbering: 0.69 km long, from 3,555 m at the top cable-car station to 3,715 m, about 45 minutes, graded high difficulty with gradients reaching 60 per cent. The park states that using it obliges you to hold a prior reservation, that the reservation is subject to public fees, and that the authorisation is valid only for the day and time slot printed on it. Permitted hours of 09:00 to 17:00 coincide with cable-car operation, and the park separately sets equipment requirements when there is ice and snow on the ground, which in January is a live possibility rather than a formality.
Bookings for that trail now run through the Tenerife ON platform rather than the national parks reservation site older guides still link to. Check the current fee and the winter equipment rules there on the day you book, not on the day you fly.
The other piece of paperwork is the border. The FCDO requires a passport issued less than 10 years before arrival and valid for at least three months after you leave the Schengen area, with visa-free visits capped at 90 days in any 180-day period. The EU Entry/Exit System is now operating, so a first entry may involve registering fingerprints and a photograph at a dedicated booth before the immigration desk. There is no fee and the digital record lasts three years, but the FCDO warns that it takes each passenger extra time and that checks may also happen before boarding on departure.
What to settle before paying
- Decide whether you are buying sun or scenery. Think about how much time you want on the beach and how much you want to spend exploring.
- Book a coast, not an island. On Tenerife the difference between the north and the south of one island is larger than the difference between any two islands in the table.
- Pack for 1.1 °C as well as 21.7 °C if the plan includes the high ground. Conditions on high ground can be much colder than at your hotel.
- Reserve the summit trail separately through Tenerife ON, for a named day and slot, and read the ice and snow equipment requirement before assuming a January ascent is on.
- Check the passport against its issue date, not just its expiry. The 10-year rule catches passports that are otherwise perfectly valid.
- Add border time to the first arrival. Entry/Exit registration is a new step and the FCDO says to expect it to take longer.
After choosing an island, compare the actual resort and hotel. Check pool heating, walking distances and transport for the outings you want. A well-placed hotel can make more difference than a degree in an airport’s long-term average.
Sources
- AEMET standard climate values for the four main airport stations, 1981–2010 reference period: Tenerife Sur (64 m; 21.7 °C, 15.2 °C, 17 mm across 1.8 days, 193 hours), Gran Canaria (24 m; 20.8 °C, 15.0 °C, 25 mm across 3.1 days, 184 hours), Lanzarote (14 m; 20.7 °C, 14.0 °C, 16 mm across 3.2 days, 203 hours) and Fuerteventura (25 m; 20.6 °C, 14.7 °C, 14 mm across 2.5 days, 190 hours).
- AEMET, La Palma airport (33 m): the January mean maximum of 20.6 °C, mean minimum of 15.5 °C, 49 mm of rainfall across 5.3 days and 141 sunshine hours, the lowest sunshine figure in this comparison.
- The within-island contrast on Tenerife: AEMET, Tenerife Norte airport (632 m; 16.0 °C, 10.2 °C, 80 mm across 7.7 days, 150 hours) and AEMET, Santa Cruz de Tenerife (36 m; 21.0 °C, 15.4 °C, 32 mm across 4.2 days, 178 hours).
- AEMET, Izaña observatory (2,369 m): the January mean maximum of 7.5 °C, mean minimum of 1.1 °C, 47 mm of precipitation across 4.5 days and 226 sunshine hours, the highest in the table.
- Teide National Park, trail 10 Telesforo Bravo: the 0.69 km length, the 3,555–3,715 m altitude range, the 45-minute walking time, the high difficulty rating and 60 per cent gradients, the obligation to hold a prior reservation subject to public fees, the 09:00–17:00 permitted hours matching cable-car operation, the validity of the authorisation only for the stated day and slot, the requirements triggered by ice and snow, and the transfer of bookings to the Tenerife ON platform.
- FCDO Spain entry requirements: the passport issued less than 10 years before arrival and valid at least 3 months after departure from the Schengen area, the 90 days in any 180-day period allowance, and the operating Entry/Exit System with biometric registration at a dedicated booth, no fee, a record valid for 3 years, and the warning to expect longer waits on entry and before boarding on departure.
- 14 October 2026
- Copy edited. Clarified the limits of airport weather comparisons and removed the suggestion that heading uphill is a dependable bad-weather plan. Historical climate figures and access details retain their previous check dates.
- 19 August 2026
- January normals pulled station by station from AEMET, with altitude and the 1981–2010 reference period recorded for each. Teide summit trail rules and the move to the Tenerife ON booking platform taken from the national park’s own trail page. FCDO Spain entry requirements checked, including the operating Entry/Exit System. Wind figures are not quoted: AEMET’s published normals for these stations carry no comparable wind column, and estimating one would be guesswork. Flight and package prices are not quoted either, because they move daily by airport and operator.