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Gran Canaria sits off the African coast and boasts the world’s best climate. It is the round one in the middle of the group.

Introduction

Gran Canaria is a complete holiday destination thanks to its beautiful golden sand beaches, pristine mountains and forests and bustling capital city. Known mostly for the chain of tourist resorts dotted along its sand-fringed south coast, Gran Canaria has a huge variety of activities and attractions on offer.Active tourism such as mountain biking and hiking is taking off and rural hotels up in the mountains provide an alternative to the established resorts.

This article is meant as a guide to the island and is linked to lots of more in depth articles about individual resorts and activities. Feel free to drop me an email if you have any questions about the island.

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Bougainvillea growing in Gran Canaria’s tourist resorts.
Source: Alex Bramwell
Going Local in Gran Canaria. How to turn a holiday destination into a home.
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Lonely Planet Canary Islands (Regional Travel Guide)
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Puerto Rico Video

The Resorts

There are a number of resorts on Gran Canaria, all located behind on of the beaches in the south of the island.

Playa del Ingles is the largest and busiest resort. It shares Maspalomas beach and sand dunes with the next door resort of the same name. Playa del Ingles is a party resort with lots of all night shopping centres full of bars and clubs. It is popular with the gay crowd (especially the Yumbo Centre) but also with families. Large areas of the resort are quiet with bungalows set in tropical gardens. It pays to check the location of your accommodation in Playa del Ingles to make sure you are as close/far away from the shopping centres as you want to be.

Maspalomas is next door to Playa but is much quieter and popular with an older crowd more interested in sunbathing and relaxation than all night partying. Maspaolomas dunes and beach are popular with nudists but the beach is large enough to accommodate all sorts. The newest and most upmarket hotels on the island are based on the seafront in Maspalomas resort.

San Agustin resort is quieter than the larger ones and has a pretty beach. It is the south’s little secret and many of its bungalows are taken up by long term residents rather than tourists.

Puerto Rico is another party resort with a buzzing shopping centre and a gigantic walk through McDonald’s. It attracts a British crowd and lots of Scandinavians in the winter. Puerto Rico beach isn’t all that great but nearby Amadores is fantastic with white sand and turquoise water.

Mogan is probably the islands most attractive resort. At is heart is the harbour with pretty whitewashed houses and bougainvillea arches. It is the place to go for seafood and has a small but pleasant beach.

Other, smaller resorts on the island include Tauro, Taurito and Arguiniguin.

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Maspalomas beach at the Playa del Ingles end.
Source: Alex Bramwell
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Maspalomas Dunes.
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Amadores Beach.
Source: Alex Bramwell

Playa Del Ingles Video

The Beaches

There are dozen’s of beaches on Gran Canaria, ranging from the Maspalomas dunes to tiny and often empty stretches of sand such as Guayedra in the north.many of Gran Canaria’s beaches are suitable for nudists, especially the smaller ones. Montana de Arena, Gui Gui, Guayedra and Maspalomas are the most popular nudist beaches.

The capital city Las Palmas boasts one of the world’s great city beaches in Las Canteras; miles of sheltered golden sand right in the heart of one of Spain’s largest cities.The north end is sheltered behind a natural rock reef and is calm and great for swimming and snorkeling while the south end is more for surfers.

Maspalomas beach is Gran Canaria’s biggest beach and includes a lagoon full of birds and Europe’s only Saharan sand dunes. It can be reached from Maspalomas and Playa del Ingles and continues all the way to San Agustin.

Gui Gui beach on the rugged west coast has attained almost mythical status thanks to its remote setting and clear waters. Getting to Gui Gui used to involve an arduous hike down steep cliff paths but can now be reached by water taxi or yacht cruise from the resorts.

Puerto Rico has its own half moon beach within its marinas but Amadores beach around the corner is much prettier. The timeshare resort of Anfi Del Mar has a great Caribbean style, white sand beach and Taurito bay and Mogan also have decent stretches of sand.

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The Mountains of Gran Canaria.
Source: Alex Bramwell
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Cloud Rock
Source: Alex Bramwell
Going Local in Gran Canaria. How to turn a holiday destination into a home.
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Things To Do

Gran Canaria is the island where you can do almost anything you want (except alpine skiing). It is becoming world famous as a scuba diving destination and hosts world championship events for windsurfers and surfers. Even extreme runners gather every year to run up one side of the island to the 6000 foot peak and then back down the other side.If that sounds like too much work then you can participate in the annual Las Palmas marathon or half marathon.

Most visitors to the island are more interested in taking it easy than breaking personal bests. All of the island’s beaches are free to use and most hotels and apartment complexes have swimming pools. The resorts are full or mini golf courses and there are several full sized golf courses on the island. Mogan has a fantastic submarine that takes people out to see the fish and Playa del Ingles beach has all sorts of water sports on offer right from the seashore. Palmitos park is a world class zoo specializing in birds but also has a dolphinarium and orangutans.

Renting a car on Gran Canaria gives you the freedon to explore the island’s mountains and forests at leisure. Towns like Galdar and the capital Las Palmas can be visited by bus. Walking has become very popular and the island’s old royal paths have been renovated and marked to international standards. For a short walk, head up to La Goleta and take the footpath up through the pine forest to Roque Nuble or Cloud Rock.

Don’t worry about missing the football or rugby when on Gran Canaria; most bars shop all the top premiership games and international rugby games.

Gran Canaria is a very safe island but is is always best to be aware of the few things that could go wrong.

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Vegueta streets and Cathedral
Source: Alex Bramwell
Going Local in Gran Canaria. How to turn a holiday destination into a home.
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Canary Islands Travel Guide: Holiday Guide To Tenerife, Gran Canaria & Lanzarote
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Las Palmas

Las Palmas is the capital city of Gran Canaria and one of Spain’s largest cities. It is a bustling sort of place with a large port and a gorgeous beach.The city is in the running to be Europe’s Capital of Culture in 2016.

Vegueta is Las Palmas’ historical old town. Built just after the Spanish conquistadores took the island from the original Guanche inhabitants in the 15th and 16th Centuries, it is a compact and well preserved window into the past. Check out the Museo Canario for prehistoric mummies and the Casa de Colon for a glimpse of how Christopher Columbus lived as he planned his voyages to America. The Vegueta cathedral, dedicated to Santa Ana, is worth visiting (either go up onto the roof for the views or through the silver museum to see it domed interior). If you go inside, don’t leave without finding the mummified Bishop!

The shopping in Las Palmas is among the best and cheapest in Europe with most large clothing chains present either in Las Arenas or El Muelle malls or on Mesa Y Lopez or Triana shopping streets. Perfume is a good buy as sales tax on the island is very low and electronics and cameras are cheap if you know where to go (try Duke’s on Ripoche for camera equipment).

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Carnival In Las Palmas.
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Local romeria fun.
Source: Alex Bramwell
Going Local in Gran Canaria. How to turn a holiday destination into a home.
Amazon Price: $15.58
List Price: $19.00
Canary Islands Travel Guide: Holiday Guide To Tenerife, Gran Canaria & Lanzarote
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List Price: $9.95

Events

Gran Canaria is a pretty laid back place and the locals a very friendly bunch; there is always some sort of fiesta or street party going on and visitors are always welcome.

Las Palmas hosts its world famous carnival party in February and March with parades, all night street parties and drag shows. The weekends are liveliest but action is centered around Santa Catalina park and there is always something to see. Other towns on the island have their own carnival parties in the first few months of the year.

In November, Las Palmas hosts the annual Womad festival with music from around the world. Also in November, the ARC yacht race departs from Las Palmas harbour on its way to St Lucia. The whole city turns out along the seafront to watch hundreds of yachts put up their sails.

Romerias are Gran Canaria’s version of a Spanish fiesta. Most are based on a local saint’s day but are more about fun than religion. Each town has its own traditions: The remote town of La Aldea de San Nicolas has an annual party where everybody gathers to catch fish from a lagoon while in Agaete everybody heads down to the sea with branches and beats the water to encourage rain. San Juan in Las Palmas has a bubble festival and most seaside villages take the Virgin Mary from the church and give her an annual boat trip accompanied by fireworks.

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Canarians love their seafood, especially squid and octopus.

Food

Canarian food is quite unique and based around rich stews and soups. The most famous dish is Papas Arrugadas or wrinkly potatoes; small new potatoes boiled in sea water and served with a spicy sauce. A complete guide to Canarian food can be found here.

Seafood is popular, especially squid and octopus, and most bars and restaurants will do a great plate of fried squid rings or whitebait.

Tropical fruit is always available on the island and the bananas are particularly good. Pineapples, mangoes, papayas and guavas are common and can be found in markets and shops.

Canarians love their coffee and deserts.

Getting To Your Resort

The Gran Canaria airport is well connected to the resorts by motorway. Package tourists will be taken to their accommodation  by their tour operator but independent travelers have a choice of local buses or taxis. A taxi ride for the airport to the resorts of Maspalomas and Playa del Ingles runs to about 30 euros. People staying in Puerto Rico or Mogan can expect to pay at least 40 euros.

There are blue Global buses running from the airport to Maspalomas seven days a week with linking buses to the other resorts. Buses run to Las Palmas 24 hours a day. A bus from the airport to Maspalomas is about 5 euros per person. The bus stop is just outside the arrivals loungue.

An alternative is to rent a car and drive to your resort. Local operator Cicar is cheaper than the big multinational brands.

Gran Canaria Video

Gran Canaria Links

Sunshine Guide to Gran Canaria
A great blog all about Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria Info Guide
Gran Canaria search engine, tourist guide, weather, photos, cheap accommodation, maps, hotels, bars & discos, restaurants, rent-a-cars, gay info, property. Entry page to Playa del Ingls, Puerto Rico, Maspalomas and much more!
The ultimate hiking guide for planning your walking holiday in Gran Canaria, the Canary Island in Ca
Walking and hiking on Gran Canaria with an English guide.
Gran Canaria Guru
Everything you need to know about living and working in Gran Canaria. Jobs, events, paperwork, forums, classified ads …
Official Tourism Website
The Gran Canaria Official Tourism Website
BinterCanarias: Vuelos entre islas Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, La Palma, El Hi
Inter Island Airline with links to mainland Spain and Morocco.
Gran Canaria – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wikipedia page on Gran Canaria
ULPGC – Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Website For Gran Canaria’s University