Sand in the south, pine and basalt up top. The ocean on every side.
Which dolphin boat out of Puerto Rico to board, what a camel across the Maspalomas dunes costs, and whether Roque Nublo is worth a whole day. Reviews of every tour you can book on Gran Canaria.
Camels, a yellow submarine, dolphins and a volcano at sunset.
The four days most visitors to Gran Canaria build a week around, with what each costs and what the people who went thought.
01The dunesMaspalomas: Guided Camel Ride in the Maspalomas Sand DunesA camel string across the Maspalomas sand, the lighthouse and the lagoon behind you. Go early, before the sand heats up.
02The harbourPuerto de Mogán: Submarine TourDown under the water of Puerto de Mogán in a bright yellow submarine. Children love it and most adults quietly do too.
03The open seaFrom Puerto Rico de Gran Canaria: Dolphin Watching CruiseOut of Puerto Rico harbour looking for spotted and bottlenose dolphins. Morning sailings usually meet the calmer water.
04The volcanic middleThe Volcano Heart Tour: Hiking, Tasting and Sunset ExperienceA small-group walk through the volcanic middle of the island, local tastings on the way and the sun going down at the end.
Six corners of Gran Canaria, from the dune field to the capital.
The resort strip around Maspalomas, the canal harbour at Mogán, the boat marina at Puerto Rico, old Vegueta in Las Palmas and the pine country around Roque Nublo. What a good day out costs in each.
Gran Canaria by boat: dolphins, reef snorkels, a first dive or a kayak into the Mogán caves.
The south coast is sheltered and the water stays warm enough to swim all year. Four ways onto it, what each costs to board, and the boat most people pick first.
Best of
★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 · 855 reviews · from $69Puerto de Mogan: Boat and Snorkeling Trip
Dolphin watchingTwo to three hours out of Puerto Rico or Mogán.
Boat and snorkelAnchored off a cove with masks handed round.
Your first diveShore try-dives with an instructor, no certificate.
Kayak to the cavesPaddling west of Puerto de Mogán, snorkel stop included.
All 43 boat days on the south coast →
Up into the barrancos: buggies, waterfalls and the long trails of the Gran Canaria interior.
Twenty minutes from the beach the island turns to ravines, pine and old lava. Drive it in a buggy, abseil down it with a canyoning guide, or walk it slowly to a viewpoint above the cloud.
- 1Gran Canaria Guided Buggy Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 · 1,743 reviews · from $85
- 2Full Day Rainforest Tour with Tasting and Swimming Time ツ★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 607 reviews · from $117
- 3Canyoning Trip★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 527 reviews · from $77
The Gran Canaria tours most people end up booking.
Every Gran Canaria tour →Aquarium tickets, camel strings, dolphin boats and buggies: the days more visitors take than anything else on the island.
1
Poema del Mar Skip-the-Line Ticket
Explore Poema del Mar in the Canary Islands with a skip-the-ticket-line entry ticket. Follow 35 freshwater and marine ecosystems, from a recreated Panama Canal jungle to a 400,000-liter reef cylinder and the shadowy Deep Sea exhibit. Allow about one to two and a half hours, depending on your pace and stops.
From · $32
Read our review →
2
Guided tour of the Banana World
from $18
3
Dolphin and Whale Watching Cruise
from $40
4
Gran Canaria Guided Buggy Tour
from $85
5
El Salobre: Horse Riding Adventure with Transfer Options
from $75
6
Maspalomas: Palmitos Park Ticket with Dolphin and Bird Shows
from $44
7
Maspalomas: Aqualand Maspalomas Water Park Entry Ticket
from $46
8
Off-Road Valleys & Villages Jeep Tour
from $74
What a Gran Canaria day out costs, from park tickets to private boats.
Three price bands and the most popular tours in each. Plenty of the island’s best mornings cost less than a sunbed and a lunch in Playa del Inglés.
Park tickets, old-town walks, a camel across the dunes and the rum and banana tours in the north.
The bulk of the boat days: dolphin cruises, snorkel trips, the submarine and the coach tours round the island.
Small-group interior days with tastings, try-dives, buggies and the sailing trips with lunch on board.
When cloud sits over Las Palmas, the sun is usually out in Maspalomas.
Locals call it the donkey’s belly: the low grey lid the trade winds pin against the north of the island, most stubbornly in early summer. It rarely reaches the south. If the capital wakes up grey, drive forty minutes down the motorway to the dunes, the parks and the boats.
Three places on Gran Canaria you will not find on any other island.
Resorts and beach bars are everywhere in the Canaries. A Saharan dune field on a resort coast, a basalt finger above the cloud and a fishing port laced with canals are not.
Maspalomas, the dune field
A protected field of dunes runs from Playa del Inglés down to the Maspalomas lighthouse, with a brackish lagoon and a palm grove at its western edge. The wind shifts the ridges a little every year. Stay on the marked paths; the camel strings and the guided walks keep to them, and the sand is hot enough by noon to send you back to the promenade.
- 1Maspalomas: Guided Camel Ride in the Maspalomas Sand Dunes★★★★★★★★★★ 4.4 · 3,690 reviews
- 2Maspalomas: Palmitos Park Ticket with Dolphin and Bird Shows★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 1,507 reviews
- 3Maspalomas: Aqualand Maspalomas Water Park Entry Ticket★★★★★★★★★★ 4.2 · 1,311 reviews
Roque Nublo
A basalt monolith stands on the summit plateau near Tejeda, high enough that the cloud often lies below it. The trail from the La Goleta car park is short and well worn, and the views run across to Teide on Tenerife on a clear day. Sunset walks and stargazing trips go up when the day-trippers have gone home.
- 1Arucas, Teror, Viewpoint Roque Nublo – Highlights Gran Canaria★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 170 reviews
- 2Roque Nublo: hiking on volcanoes with Sky Rebels★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 100 reviews
- 3Sunset Hike and Stargazing Experience in Roque Nublo Mountains★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 38 reviews
Puerto de Mogán
The fishing harbour at the southwest corner was rebuilt as a low white town threaded with little canals and bridges, flowers spilling over every wall. The submarine, the kayak trips to the sea caves and several of the best snorkel boats leave from its quay, and the Friday market fills the streets by mid-morning.
- 1Puerto de Mogán: Submarine Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.4 · 3,792 reviews
- 2Puerto de Mogan: Boat and Snorkeling Trip★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 · 855 reviews
- 3Mogán: Guided Kayak to Caves and Snorkeling Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.6 · 329 reviews
Four Gran Canaria bookings that are better made before you land.
Most of the island can be arranged the evening before from a hotel lobby. These four run on fixed sailings, dated tickets and small groups, and the good slots go first in the school holidays.
- 01Puerto de Mogán: Submarine TourDives leave the Mogán quay to a timetable and the cabin holds a fixed number of seats. Holiday-week departures fill days ahead.
- 02From Puerto Rico de Gran Canaria: Dolphin Watching CruiseSailings go at set times on boats that are not large. Book a morning one: the sea tends to be calmer before the afternoon wind.
- 03Poema del Mar Skip-the-Line TicketA dated entry on the harbour in Las Palmas. On a grey morning half the island has the same idea, so skip the ticket queue.
- 04Canyoning with Waterfalls in the Rainforest – Small Groups ツSmall groups with a guide, so each date only has a handful of places, and the wettest routes run when the ravines hold water.
By place: coast, capital and summit
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