Gran Canaria travel guide

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, almost every other road sign point here, is the capital, and by far the island's largest urban area.

Vegueta (old town)

A small mainly pedestrian district with cobbled street. Next to the sea front, level, or gently slopping.

• La Casa de Colón - Small museum in a 15th C Governor's house in the old-town about Christopher Columbus stay in Gran Canaria on the way to discovering the Americas
  • casacolon.com
  • 4 ‎€ / 2 € reduced / children free
  • 10.00 to 18.00 (15.00 Sun)
• Cathedral de Santa Ana - Cathedral set on a square in the old town. Catholic mass is free on Sunday morning.
  • wikipedia
  • Mon-Sat 3 ‎€, includes small museum. Tower with an old town view : 1.5 ‎€ for the lift / free to walk
• Plaza de Santa Ana - free - pretty town square
• Museo Canario - Small museum about the Guanches, the stone-age pre-Spanish inhabitants of the islands who were overwhelmed by the Spanish conquest
  • elmuseocanario.com
  • 10.00 to 20.00 (Sat, Sun : 14.00)
  • 4 € / 2.4 € reduced / children free

Getting There

• Parking is a real drag. There are parking garages, around 1 euro an hour.
• There are 2 bus stations, the main one (Guaguas) is just north of the old town. All long distance buses stop here. A few routes start further north at the Santa Catalina bus station.

Getting Around

• City Sightseeing Hop-on Hop-off bus - expensive at 18 euros

The North and North East

• Jadin de Botanico Viera y Clavijio - Free. Large botanic garden set on the side of, and at the bottom of, a steep sided valley (i.e. the lower part is flat, the other is on the side of a steep hill with lots of steps - all is shaded however). Entrances at the top and bottom. Top entrance on GC 110 has a car park and gourmet restaurant outside but overlooking the gardens. Lower entrance on GC 310 has parking and cheaper cafes (outside the gardens). Emphasis on scientific rather than picturesque. Its a pretty location, but not so many flowering plants. Maybe I've been spoilt by too many botanical gardens, but the roadsides and walk in the mountains areas had prettier views and beautiful wildflowers
• Caldera de Bandama - Free. Volcanic crater,
  • There is a pleasent and fairly easy walk around the rim (no shade) - its in all the walking guides but you don't really need one. From the T junction by the bus stop and cafe, walk uphill along the road towards the mirador. After 100m or so, turn right off on to a signposted path, and follow it around the rim
  • There is also a steep down and up hike down into the caldrea. Follow the path past the cafe.
  • The hill (with a road up it) has a Mirador and cafe with a stunning view over Las palmas.
• Teror - historic town centre
  • Basilica de Nuestra Senora del - church with small museum

The East Coast

• Santa Brigida
• Vega de San Mateo - possible place to stay - nearest proper town to the mountains, and not to far from the motorway
• Telde - second city
• Aguimes - small historic centre
• Barranco de Guayadeque - a steep sided and pretty canyon with Guauche (pre Spanish) and Spanish era cave homes - small museum at the start - you can drive 4km to end where there are several restaurants inside caves - popular at the weekends - steep walks from the end

The South Coast

Bahia Feliz

Large 'beach club' style hotels and a small commercial centre (supermarket, UK priced restaurants)

San Augustin

You can walk along the prom to Playa Del Ingles

Playa del Ingles / Maspolomas

Playa del Ingles is a resort town with sandy beach on one side of a peninsular. On the other is Maspolomas with 'beach club' hotels. Much nicer than you'd expect from its reputation. A mix of hotels, small low rise apartment blocks and some commercial centres full of bars and restaurants. Not full of English drunks like Magaluf, but not particularly Spanish either. On the coast between the two resorts is a sand dunes national park fringed with beach bars. There are large, official, and very popular gay and naturist areas.

Officially advertised as a Gay Friendly resort with gay commercial centre, hostels, naturist beach, and (unofficially) sand dunes.

The West Coast

The west coast is very undeveloped, just a few towns, the motorway hasn't reach here yet, so the following, from south to north is a slow windy drive along the GC-200 orbital road. Allow 2 hours. To get back you can use the motorway which will be much quicker and easier

1. The orbital motorway ends at Puerto Mogan in the south. The GC-200 road heads inland to Morgan (nice cafes, farmers co-operatives selling local produce).
2. The inland drive from Mogan on to Aldea (de San Nicholas) on the west coast is along is windy, slow (about 60 mins), through very picturesque mountains. There are a couple of nice road cafes along the way. A kiosk by some multi-coloured rocks, and a restaurant a little further on. Two side roads lead down to the coast
   • A slow windy side road GC-205 leads down to Tasarte (small village with bar) and onwards down through a canyon to the coast (Playa de Tasarte, about 25 mins from the main road), and OK pebble beach, and a beach cafe / fish restaurant
   • The next slow windy side road is GC-204, which leads down to to Tasartico (small village). From here is a long walk down to the naturist beach (and a 1,000m / 3,000ft back uphill again afterwards!)
3. Aldea (de San Nicholas) is the largest town on the west coast, a little off the main road. Not touristy, quiet, small square, old town.
4. Its beach, La Playa (de la Aldea) is a small harbour by the sea with some nice cafes. A nice place to stop. Easy parking. You can walk north over the headland to the next bay
5. The next section of GC-200 coast road from Aldea north to El Risco is permanently closed due to cliff falls. A new section of the orbital motorway replaces it which has cut travel times dramatically.
6. After El Risco, the original GC-200 resumes, a dramatic coastal drive (yet more switchbacks) all the way to Agaete in the north (about 30 mins).
   • At Guayedra there's a turn-off (or you can park on the main road) along a single lane track to a parking area closer to the coast, from where you can walk down to Playa del Guayedra. If you're fit, you can walk here from Agaete
   • Finally, you get to Agaete (in the north coast section), and the orbital motorway

The North West Coast

Arucas - pretty historic centre Moya - possibe place to stay Galadar - pretty square , church and archaeological museum Agaete / Puerto de las Nieves

La Cumbre - The Mountains in the Centre

Allow 30 - 60 min drive from the coast to the centre

The Mountains in the Centre - Middle

Cruz de Tejda Tejda

The Mountains in the Centre - South

San Bartholome de Tirajana -

Shopping Centres and Hypermarkets

• Southeast : Centro Commercial Atlantico - 10am - 10pm - Motorway Junction 28 km (Just south of the airport) - large Carrefour hypermarket
• Northwest : Lidl and Hyperdyno supermarket - near the end of the motorway South :

  Beach Guide

It is really important to make sure you have the most up to date edition - check if you're buying a second hand book.