I’ve been to Gran Canaria four times, for a total of over 7 weeks. Twice I’ve driven around the island on a short roadtrip, otherwise I’ve always lived in Las Palmas and made trips from there. Renting a car or motorbike here is definitely a good idea, it’s not expensive and the island is perfect for driving around, it has beautiful nature and beautiful views. The roads are often quite winding and sometimes you wonder how you’re supposed to fit two cars in, but like I said, I’ve driven it too so it’s fine. And there are plenty of rest stops along the way where you can pull over, get out of the car and look around. Otherwise, of course, there are buses running here.
What I like about Gran Canaria is that it has everything. The city, the history, the nature, the mountains, the beaches, the desert, the sun, the impenetrable fog, the rain, the wind, the good food. Just everything. And if you drive through Gran Canaria, every few kilometres it changes and surprises you with something new.
Tip: Hop on a comfortable catamaran and set sail for a dolphin and whale watching cruise off the coast of Puerto Rico de Gran Canaria.
Where to stay in Gran Canaria
There are flights to Las Palmas, but the airport is south of the city, so it’s not that much further to the south of the island, to Maspalomas. Depends on what you want. Las Palmas is a city with everything, it has a historic centre, lots of restaurants, cafes, bars and shops as well as a few coworking spaces. There’s also a long beach with a promenade. The south and southwest is more for beach type tourists, it’s a bit warmer than Las Palmas, there are hotel resorts and beaches. Typically you go to Mas Palomas, Puerto Rico or Puerto de Mogán.
Tipy na ubytování na Gran Canaria
- Hotel Santa Catalina, a Royal Hideaway Hotel – Nejhezčí adresa v Las Palmas, historický hotel s bazénem a spa, pár minut od pláže Las Canteras.
- Seaside Grand Hotel Residencia – A quiet boutique resort right by the Maspalomas dunes, with a palm garden and a pool, my number one in the south.
- Lopesan Costa Meloneras Resort & Spa – Big resort in Meloneras with sprawling pools and a spa, a short walk from the dunes and the promenade lined with restaurants.
Day trips and experiences in Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria has a lot going on beyond the beach, and plenty of it is hard to manage without an organised trip. Dunes, the interior, the sea. Booking ahead pays off mainly in season, when the popular trips fill up fast.
- Gran Canaria: full-day off-road trip with lunch – a full-day loop around the island including places you can’t reach without a 4×4. Capacity is limited and it fills up fast in high season.
- Maspalomas: camel ride in the dunes – a short but photogenic experience right in the Maspalomas dunes. Slots fill up fast, especially in the morning and at sunset.
- Catamaran cruise with dolphin watching – a cruise along the coast with a snorkelling stop. You’ll meet dolphins almost every time, though of course nobody can guarantee it.
- Mogán: kayak to the caves and snorkelling – a guided kayak trip along the cliffs. Small groups, tends to sell out fast.
- Jeep safari: valleys and villages of the south – an off-road trip inland away from the tourist trails. You’ll see a completely different Gran Canaria than from the coast.
What to see in Gran Canaria
Las Palmas
Las Palmas has two centres – the historic centre of Vegueta and the tourist centre around Las Canteras beach. They are about 4 kilometres apart, and you’ll probably want to stay by the beach.
Las Canteras is about 3 kilometres long with a promenade full of restaurants. At the northern end of the beach there is more lounging, at the southern end there is surfing (in wetsuits, the water is quite cold). Watch out for the red flag, it means big waves. Where the beach ends in the north is the northern tip of the island with the cliffs of La Isleta, definitely a nice place for a walk. Above El Confital beach is a hill with a cross and a nice view of the whole of Las Palmas.
A short walk from the beach is Santa Catalina Park, which is one of the main venues for the carnival in February/March and is also where bus 60 and 91 arrive from the airport. There are also two large markets in this area, Mercado del Puerto and Mercat Central, where you can get mainly fresh food, but there are also stalls selling pinxtos and drinks.
In the historic centre, there is the Mercado de Vegueta, the Santa Ana Cathedral, the Casa de Colón (Christopher Columbus Museum) and the Museo Canario (Canary Islands History Museum).
Importantly, Vegueta has a Tapas night every Thursday from 9pm – one street, for about 100 metres, all the restaurants have their doors wide open and only tapas (for a euro or two) everywhere. You shop right at the bar, sit outside or stand up. Lots of people, some live music or other art. If you hang around long enough (between about midnight and one), you’ll reach the end when a sprinkler truck pulls into the street and chases you out (as in, starts cleaning the street mercilessly).
Arucas
In Arucas you can visit the Iglesia de San Juan Bautista, the pretty gardens of the Jardines de la Marquesa and above the town (about 2km walk) is the Montaña de Arucas hill with a nice view.
But the main attraction here is the local Arehucas distillery, where Canarian rum is produced. What’s more, there are guided tours where you can see the distillery, bottling plant and giant barrels of rum. And at the end of the tour, there’s a tasting.
Of course, we tasted all the available samples. The better ones more than once just to be sure. Of course, it’s good to be a bit tactful and try the local gems right from the edge, just in case. This applies especially to the 18 and 12 year old rums, which would be a shame to drink after all the liqueurs. I also liked the ron miel, and the gin was surprisingly interesting. Of the liqueurs, I could still drink Toffee. We spent about 2 hours tasting, they didn’t start indicating our departure time until closing time. Tourists from other countries took it in stride, gave two or three samples and left.
Admission to this parade is 3,50 euros. There’s only one small catch, the tours are only on weekdays and it closes at 2pm, so you almost have to get used to it, and you can cut the rest of the day short.
Maspalomas dunes
In the south, in Maspalomas, the weather is usually sunnier and there are sand dunes, almost like a desert, but in a relatively small area. There is also the Faro Maspalomas lighthouse. Otherwise, just beaches and tourists.
Roque Nublo
A huge rock on a volcanic mountain. It’s so big that it can be seen from many distant places in Gran Canaria. From there you can see Pico del Teide on Tenerife in good weather. The shortest walk to the top is about half an hour from the road. A nice view of Roque Nublo is from Gran Canaria’s highest mountain , Pico de las Nieves (the road goes almost all the way up there too) or from the town of Tejeda.
Markets in Teror and San Mateo
There are markets on the weekend. In San Mateo they are on Saturdays and you can get mainly fresh food (fruits, vegetables, olives, cheese, pastries, spices). There is a nice church and a famous pastry shop Dulcería San Mateo, but nothing else.
Teror is a small town with a nice atmosphere and markets are held on Saturdays and Sundays. Unlike the ones in San Mateo, there are stalls selling souvenirs and stalls where you can eat. As a tourist attraction, it’s definitely more interesting than San Mateo, where it’s more just shopping for cooking. What I would highlight is the stand where they press sugar cane and sell it either as juice or juice with rum. We also got some “rolls” with chorizo paste from there (to spread on a baguette, delicious).
Beautiful Canarian villages
What I enjoyed the most was just passing through small and bigger villages with one small square as the center of all the local action. I liked Tejeda with its beautiful view of the mountains, where there is also a famous pastry shop (which, by the way, I only stumbled upon because there were so many people standing outside that I had to go see what it was all about.
By the way, pastry shops (in Spain in general) often work by coming in, tearing off a slip and waiting for your number to come up, like at the post office. So when you get to one, you better look around to see if you see your number lit up somewhere, so you don’t wait in a line that doesn’t exist, like I always do.
A few metres above the town of Artenara there is a beautiful viewpoint called Mirador de la Atalaya, and one (on the other side) a short distance from the square.
Nice is the port town of Puerto de las Nieves. Agaete has a nice view of the sunset.
What to taste in Gran Canaria
The food in Gran Canaria is great, there is a huge variety of fish and seafood, while in the interior there are more meat dishes, such as goat meat. You shouldn’t miss out on Spanish classics such as tapas, pintxos, Iberian ham (jamón ibérico), paella or gambas al ajillo. Drink Spanish wine or tinto de verano and for dessert, the local delicacy polvito uruguayo. Look for tuno (prickly pear, the fruit of the cactus) in the markets.
🥘 Spain is my most visited country and I’ve eaten a lot here. If you want to explore the local cuisine in more depth, get inspired by the Spanish cuisine article or the article dedicated to Canarian cuisine.
Where is Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria is the third largest island of the Canary Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean. It is a volcanic island with an almost perfectly round shape, with a mountainous interior in the centre and the highest peak Pico de las Nieves (1,956 m). The northern part of the island is greener and wetter, while the south is drier with the famous sandy beaches and dunes of Maspalomas.
The island lies about 210 km off the coast of Morocco and 150 km west of the African Sahara. Gran Canaria is only about 60 km west of neighbouring Tenerife and 100 km southwest of Fuerteventura. The capital Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is on the north-east coast and the tourist resort of Maspalomas is in the south of the island.
