This holiday island, which belongs to Spain, has a lot to offer for everyone: Beaches, mountains, all inclusive or individual tourism, sport activities, a big city with history, dunes and green areas. As tourism is the main sector of the island there is no much that you could miss. Warm temperatures will welcome you as you get ready to explore this island located in the Atlantic Ocean close to Africa.
Video of our trip
More about Gran Canaria
I've written four detailed articles from the trip, so have a look at them:
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Maspalomas & Playa del Ingles
Gran Canaria mountains & coast
Road trippin' in Gran Canaria
Conclusion
Gran Canaria offers nearly everything for every kind of traveler, you hardly can be disappointed. It's a safe and well prepared for very young to very old tourist. Most of the people working in the tourism environment are able to speak at least a bit of English, German, Dutch, Swedish and the menus are translated.
Travelling there in January or February is a good time to escape the winter as the temperature is moderate from 17°C up to 25°C, but still too cold to really swim. The flight from central Europe takes about five hours, so it's not worth to go there only for a weekend. Plan at least a week or two to stay. If you are planning to stay longer, try to find an apartment to rent, this will save you a lot of money. Finding flights ain't that difficult. Low-cost carriers offer cheap flights from all over Europe. Renting a car is worth the relatively low cost. A car a day is about 20 Euros (excluding gas).
Pros
- Friendly people
- Cheap rental cars
- Good bus connections
- Clean sea
- Lot of variety (Dunes, Mountains, Beach, City, Green Areas)
- Good infrastructure for cars (highways, streets, parking lots)
- Warm temperatures in January / February
Cons
- Almost no free wifi or at high costs
- Food (high prices, low quality)
- Most of the tourists are retirees
- Tourist towns that destroy the natural heritage
Galleries
Some more pictures taken by Viviana
Map of Gran Canaria
View larger map