Gran Canaria - Things to do while on holiday

Why Gran Canaria?

We've been going to Gran Canaria almost every year since we met back in 2014, typically going some time between December and February when the winter is the darkest and weather the bleakest in Scotland while Gran Canaria is sunny and warm. Though sometimes we've found ourselves in Southeast Asia or Colombia instead, or one of the other Canary Islands like Lanzarote (including a daytrip to Fuerteventura) or Tenerife (including a daytrip to La Palma island). However, we keep finding outselves back in Gran Canaria as we think it's got the sort of vibe we like - lots of self-catering accommodation and no crazy parting. Just sun and chill, just what we need.

There are a few resort towns in Gran Canaria, with people going to Playa del Ingles, San Agustin, Maspalomas, Meloneras, Puerto Rico, Mogan, Agaete, as well as Agaete becoming increasingly popular. From access to variety of restaurants, pubs, beaches, proxmity to airport and public transport perspective, as well as weather, we find that Playa del Ingles has the most to offer, though we do tend to stay in Maspalomas which is right next to Playa del Ingles, simply because accommodation is substantially cheaper.

The Playa del Ingles area is interesting - there are endless restaurants there, many of which have been there for decades (and you can tell!). But the people who come to Gran Canaria have also been coming here for decades, many of whom stay for many weeks or even months every single year and frequent these restaurants. So even though the restaurants look really dated, you'll know that the food will be good and reasonably priced, because they have very loyal clientele that keeps them going. This is another thing we like about Maspalomas and Playa del Ingles in Gran Canaria - especially Joe. It's like this weird time capsule from the 1980s and 1990s that for the most part hasn't changed a bit!

There is a lot to like about the place!

This guide will go through the things that we've done and places we've been while we've been in Gran Canaria throughout the years and enjoy. It will also list some of the things we've not get got around doing but want to do in future. Below is a list of a few places that are / will be covered by this blog - but as we go to Gran Canaria quite often, I'll be updating it regularly with new recommendations.

• Sand dunes of Maspalomas

• The Yellow Submarine tour at Puerto de Mogan

• The town of Puerto the Mogan

• The town of Teror

• The town of Agaete

• The city of Las Palmas

• Roadtrip through the mountains

• Daytour to Tenerife

Sand dunes of Maspalomas

There are lots of beautiful, impressive places to visit in Gran Canaria, but the Maspalomas Dunes are definitely the poster child of Gran Canaria. They truly are impressive and they're a great fun to climb on, over and around. They are very picturesque as well, making them an Instagrammers dream, making you think of the sand dunes of the Sahara rather than an island in the Atlantic!

The Sand Dunes of Maspalomas are great fun and very scenic!

The sand dunes are completely free to visit and are open to the public. You can either access them by walking through the entrance of Hotel Riu Palace in Playa del Ingles where there's a direct pedestrian boulevard to the viewpoint to the dunes, or if you don't feel comfortable with that, there's also a public path along Costa Canaria street leading you to the same viewpoint. You can then access the dunes themselves. The location of the viewpoint is shown here.

Just one thing to note, in case this is not your thing or makes you uncomfortable, is that if you end up walking through the whole of the dunes and to the beach at the end, you will find yourself at a gay nude beach, which is a secluded section of beach between Meloneras and Playa del Ingles. You've been warned.

The Yellow Submarine of Puerto de Mogan

I had known about this submarine tour in Puerto de Mogan for a while, but I was sure it was going to be something really tacky (like many theme parks in Gran Canaria are like) so I wasn't really too enthusiastic about it. I was sure it was just going to be one of those glass bottom boats where you can see the ocean while staying dry.

Oh how I was wrong!!!

We actually found out that the submarine, which happens to be yellow, is actually a PROPER submarine and it feels very adventurous going in and feeling the submarine take the plunge into the depths of the ocean.

The yellow submarine we went on. It Doesn't look like much, but it is a proper submarine!

Not only was this very much a very real submarine, but there was way more marine life than I would have ever anticipated in a tour like this. It was truly magical and I would recommend it to anybody (aside from maybe people who suffer from severe claustrophobia).

We went there in November 2022 when there were still sporadic Covid restrictions.

People suffering severe claustrophobia might struggle a bit with the access point to the submarine.

Below is a short video clip from the tour we took in the submarine in Puerto de Mogan:

Note: The tours DO sell out, so be sure to book your place ahead of time. You can book the Yellow Submarine tour here on Viator for £34 GBP per person.

How to get to Puerto de Mogan?

How you get to the starting point of the tour, which is by the harbour in Puerto Mogan, depends on where you are staying. The Global bus company services the town from Puerto Rico, Patalavaca, Arguineguin, Mogan, Las Palmas, Meloneras, Playa del Ingles and more. Allegedly it should stop in Maspalomas too, however, our experience taking the bus from there was that it did not stop but rather drove right past us. What we needed to do was to take a local bus to Meloneras and then take a bus from there onwards to Puerto de Mogan. The alternative would have been to walk up to Playa del Ingles and get the bus from there, which would have been preferable but we didn't know that all the buses would just be completely rammed full coming from Playa del Ingles and driving past Maspalomas, where we were staying.

In any case, I'd suggest looking up your route on Google Maps on your smartphone, which will tell you which bus you have to take and when. All I'd say is, make sure you don't take the last possible bus you'd be able to take without missing your tour - allow yourself some time. If not for making sure you don't miss your tour, then for the fact that Puerto de Mogan is actually a LOVELY, beautiful town well worth exploring!

Puerto de Mogan

This little seaside village in the south of Gran Canaria is a gem of a village and I wholeheartedly recommend that you visit if you are in Gran Canaria! It is everything that Playa del Ingles and Maspalomas aren't. Beautiful, well maintained buildings that are very colourful, abundance of beautifully decorated houses, alleys, streets and walkways with colourful flowers and there are lots of restaurants dotted around town that are worth sitting down for a meal at.

Puerto de Mogan in the south of the island is very scenic and charming

Aside from being a very scenic town, there's also:

• A fun Friday market in town (don't try to come on a car as you won't get parked on market days),

• The famous yellow submarine tour at the harbour.

• There's also a nice beach of you feel like going for a swim and super scenic views.

• Boat tours with snorkelling opportunities and

• Dolphin watching tours.

In summary, definitely take a day out of your holiday to go and see Puerto de Mogan, it's totally worth it! You can get there by a Global bus from most of the resort towns in the south and east of the island, as well as Las Palmas.

The beach at Puerto de Mogan in Gran Canaria

The village of Teror

In the north of the island, in the mountains not far from Las Palmas is the very picturesque little village of Teror. You'd second guess, based on the name, whether it would make a nice place to visit... Who wants terror in their life? However, the village couldn't be further away from provoking terror. Its old buildings are beautifully maintained, with lovely plazas and relaxed atmosphere. One thing we regretted was that we didn't have much time to spend there, as we found ourselves in Teror by complete chance as we travelled through the mountainous interior of Gran Canaria, only to stumble upon this beautiful little village.

The beautiful village of TEror in Gran Canaria

The one thing that is quite terrifying about going to Teror is however the way to get there. It's not so bad if you're coming from Las Palmas, but if you're taking the mountain route from the south to the north, the winding narrow roads can sometimes be pretty scary.

Once in Teror, it can be challenging to get parked, as spaces are limited but as long as you're not driving here during the Sunday fleamarket (9am to 3pm Sundays), it is possible to get parked. Alternatively, you could look into coming here with a tour instead, for example a combined tour of the San Mateo and Teror markets half day tour for £28 (Sundays only), or a tour of Gran Canaria's highlights for £39, which includes a visit to Teror but also the villages of Arucas, Tejeda and the mountainous interor.

The village of Agaete

The village of Agaete is located on the northwestern coast of the island, practically as far as you can go from Playa del Ingles in the south. The village itself isn't overly scenic, but head slightly inland towards the coffee and wine plantations and the place is absolutely stunning! We went to a farm (or "finca") called Bodega Los Berrazales, which had loads of fruit-bearing trees, beautiful gardens, really charming buildings and such peaceful surroundings. We did wine tasting there with some snacks on the side and absolutely loved it.

We drove to Agaete, which meant I didn't get to drink wine during the wine tasting but driving gave us a lot of flexibility. However, if you would rather have a visit organised for you, there's a very popular tour that takes you to a banana museum, a local rum distillery in Arucas, as well as to the same coffee and wine plantation farm we went to in Agaete which includes wine tasting too (see here).

Bodega Los Berrazales near Agaete in Gran Canaria

Daytour to Tenerife

Another reason why you might find yourself in Agaete is the fact that the Fred Olsen ferry departs from here to Santa Cruz de Tenerife, if you've got some island hopping on your mind. The journey takes about 1hr 20 minutes, and while prices may vary, the one-way pedestrian-only price is around €12.39 EUR. There are many departures every day, so if you were there early enough in the morning, you could very well make it a daytour to Tenerife from here.