Gran Canaria Holidays

The Centre of Gran Canaria

The centre of the island has an alpine climate and stunning peaks of up to 6400 feet with fabulous picnic and viewing points and from where Mount Teide in Tenerife is often visible on a clear day. Scattered around the mountains are small villages where local crafts are sold on street market stalls and restaurants offering all sorts of mouthwatering delights made from fish caught in the lakes and fruit and vegetables grown locally.

Las Palmas - The Capital City

Las Palmas, the capital of Gran Canaria, is at the most northern point of the island. It's a busy cosmopolitan port, the seventh largest city in Spain, and the governing capital for Fuerteventura and Lanzarote. Las Palmas has several shopping areas such as Triana for boutiques and smaller shops, and Avenida Mesa y Lopez where you can lose yourself within some of the island's and the UK's leading department stores. There are numerous street cafes where you can relax with a drink and sample a varied selection of tapas dishes. For the sun worshippers there are four main beach areas, the largest being Las Canteras with its long sweeping promenade.

The North & North West Coast

The north and north western coast is very green with a series of mountainous cliffs breaking up only for small villages such as Arucas, well known for its honey rum factory, which is well worth a visit. On a more "sober" note, the neighbouring village of Firgas provides Gran Canaria and the other Canary Islands with their bottled water supplies. A little further along the coastline is the historic town of Galdar with its pre-historic painted caves, open for viewing to the public. In the far north west is the port of Agaete, famous for its fish restaurants and harbour from where you can catch the fast ferry over to Tenerife - only 50 minutes and you are there.

The South East Coast

The south east coast of Gran Canaria is the beach tourist resort area. Playa del Ingles, the second largest resort in Spain, (Benidorm being the first), is spread out on even ground and incorporates the areas of Maspalomas, Meloneras, and San Agustin. There are many large hotels and apartment blocks in this area as Gran Canaria alone accounts for over 30 percent of the total of the tourism figures for the Canary Islands.

Super sandy beaches run along this part of the coast, the most well known being the dunes at Maspalomas which stretch for 6 km into the distance. Take a strenuous walk over the dunes or better still, take a donkey ride so the hard work is done for you! Further down the coast is Puerto Rico, a bustling resort with two harbours, two beaches, and built on two hills with a total of 732 steps from top to bottom.

With several other smaller resorts dotted along the way we arrive at the last beach resort of Playa/Puerto Mogan. Known as little Venice with its white-washed houses and canals, it has a stunning sandy beach, a great selection of bars and restaurants and holds an extremely well attended village market every Friday. The old town of Pueblo Mogan is 8 km away sheltered in the mountains.

Gran Canaria Holidays

Below are some of the UK's main tour operators who offer holidays to Gran Canaria.