Southern Gran Canaria

Southern part of Gran Canaria and is the tourist center of the island. Here there is a 12 km long sandy beach and the Maspalomas dunes. The central mountains protect the area against clouds and trade winds.

Get in

From Las Palmas, you can take either a 45-minute coach or 30-minute taxi drive to Playa del Inglés.

Get around

There are regular buses that stop in Playa del Inglés, and taxis to and from wherever you need or want to go.

Bus fares on the island are a real bargain (prices as of Dec 2017):

• Las Palmas-Faro de Maspalomas: €5.60
• Playa del Inglés-Puerto Mogán: €4.15
• San Fernando-Puerto Rico: €2.75
• All the areas surrounding the famous dunes: €1.40, which covers Faro in the west to San Agustín in the east

Towns

View of beach in Playa del Inglés

Maspalomas

1 Maspalomas is an ideal holiday destination for families, here there is a beautiful dune landscape and a 6 km long fine sandy beach. Maspalomas has a personality on its own, as it evolved into a fully equipped town - instead of a plain resort. It has a variety of infrastructure and public institutions rarely seen in other touristic areas, including private clinics and two hospitals, local and foreign schooling institutions , English-language cinema, golf courses, sports centers, thematic parks and a Summer University.

Lighthouse in Maspalomas

• 1 The dunes of Maspalomas. They are world famous and have been under conservation since 1987, since their area has been repeatedly reduced over the years. Part of the area is therefore fenced and has limited access - which is unfortunately not taken seriously by some tourists. 
• 2 La Charca. A brackish water lake between the dunes and the Faro (lighthouse) serves as a bird sanctuary. While it has a foul odor, that does not seem to bother the numerous water birds that breed here and the numerous birdwatchers who observe the breeding. (updated Mar 2018)
• 3 Parque Botánico (Avenida del Touroperador Neckermann 1). M-F 10:00-18:00. A botanical garden with over 500 plant species Free. 

The following two parks can be accessed from Maspalomas via line 70, or from San Agustín and Playa del Inglés using line 45:

• 1 Aqualand Maspalomas, Ctra. Palmitos Park, Km 3, 35100 Maspalomas, ☏ +34 928 14 05 25. daily, Sept - June 10:00-17:00, July, Aug 10:00-18:00. €25 (€18 youngsters). .
• 2 Palmitos Park, Barranco de Los Palmitos s/n. 35109 Maspalomas, ☏ +34 928 797 070. daily 10:00-18:00. €30, kids (4-12) €22. .
• 3 Holiday World Maspalomas, Avda. Touroperador Tui, 35100 Maspalomas, ☏ +34 928 73 04 98. A bowling-center with 16 tracks, amusement park, restaurants, pubs, discos - you can find everything here. .
• 4 Anfi del Mar beach. The beach is unique on Gran Canaria because of its white sand, which was imported from Caribbean. (updated Dec 2017)

Playa del Inglés

2 Playa del Inglés is a large tourist metropolis right next to Maspalomas, with beautiful dune beaches. There are hardly any sights except a church that holds services in three different languages. In the evening, the city changes its face. Where families were on the beach during the day or shopping, now is the youth on the move and visited the countless nightclubs, bars and restaurants in the city.

Playa del Inglés has been associated with gay travelers for over 25 years, but is now a clubbing town. Despite the fact that the Canaries are primarily Catholic, the locals have embraced gay tourism. Each year in the second week of May, one of the largest gay pride festivals in Europe is held in and around the Yumbo Centre.

The tourist offices scattered about Playa del Inglés and Maspalomas are rarely open unless it is Caravale (main festival in February, gay festival in May).

• 4 Ecumenical church, Templo Ecumenico El Salvador, Playa del Ingles, 35100 Maspalomas, ☏ +34 928 770 496, +34 928 760 603. The ecumenical church of the Kasbah shopping center is a modern building, worth seeing at best the colorful glazing. (updated Dec 2017)
• 5 Paseo Costa Canaria. A beach promenade. Beware of various street sellers and scammers. (updated Dec 2017)
• Swim in the piscina locale (local pool). Most restaurants near to the sea have free pools, for the same price of a large beer or soft drink or coffee. €2. (updated Dec 2017)

The Yumbo Centre entrance

• 1NOT EXISTING LISTING IMAGE Centro Commercial Yumbo. A shopping center packed with over 100 shops and restaurants. (updated Dec 2017)

Other towns

• 3 Bahía Feliz. 
• 4 San Agustín. With an impressive dark lava beach, spa services and a golf course.  
• 5 Arguineguín. 
• 6 Puerto Rico. A must for water sports! Here you can find all known water sports again.  
• 7 Puerto de Mogán. 

Sleep

There many quality hotels and Apartments in this Region of Gran canaria. . There are at least 20 highly-rated hotels and apartments in Playa del Inglés for tourists, such as the Jardin Del Sol, RIU Papayas, Gran Canaria Princess.Some of them are these

• Hotel Palmeramar, Calle Montaña Clara, 5, Mogan, 35130, ☏ +34 928560691. 
• Hotel Club Maspalomas Suites, Avda. Touroperador Ols Wings, 1 , Maspalomas , 35100, ☏ +34 928 141 678. 
• 1 Hostal Casa de Huéspedes San Fernando (south of the shopping circle and just north of San Fernando's main roundabout. #50 bus from LasPalmas stops here every 30 minutes). Free WiFi for rooms near reception desk. The only hostel is in San Fernando: ). €19 a night. (updated Dec 2017)

Other destinations

• There are some truly stunning vistas on the coastal road to Pourto Mogan (30 km west).