Why we love Gran Canaria?
We have been visiting this tiny wonderful nook of the world for many years, and recently we’ve been spending every possible moment there.
Why do we love it here? The weather’s nice almost all year round, streets are full of kind and warm-hearted people and moderate prices, for long breathtaking beaches. For the cuisine, for the views, for the atmosphere, for the warm ocean … oh, we could go on like this forever!
Localization
The apartment is located in the very center of tourist attractions, only 250 m from the sea, beach and shopping promenade.
In the neighborhood there are dozens of restaurants and bars– and on the ground floor of the building in which the apartment is located – a grocery store – a mini market.
The entrance to the apartment is under a slight hill, which is not very common in the mountainous landscape of Gran Canaria.
There is relatively cheap taxi stop right nearby, that is affordable way to move around Gran Canaria. Courses within Maspalomas cost no more than 5-6 euros, Getting to Faro de Maspalomas (the other end of the beach stretching for about 6 km) won’t cost more than 10 euros. By bus, this route can be done for 1.5 euros.
The building is only 700 m from the well known Yumbo Center – a place full of bars, restaurants, shops and many attractions, as well as 900 m from the CITA Center.
There is a second entrance to the building, from the C. Marruecos Street, which allows easy access to another „neighbourhood” full of bars, restaurants and attractions located near the Kasbah Commercial Center.
For lovers of the two wheels, it may also be meaningful, that opposite building of the apartment there is a professional bicycle rental, offering not only bicycles for amateurs, but also professional top-shelf machines.
In our opinion, it is difficult to find a better location than this one.
Ps. We recommend reading further, where we will tell you why it is worth coming to the Maspalomas region, Gran Canaria has many different microclimatic zones (it is even called a „micro-continent”) and sometimes in a location located 15 or even 5 km away, the weather can be drastically different (e.g. strong, continuous wind) – go to the section: Where is worth staying? Why is it so important?
Apartment
The offered apartment is located on the 6th floor.
The apartment is prepared to accommodate 4 people – it has one bedroom and a sofa bed. Around 45 m2 of space is available for use. The building is equipped with elevators.
The apartment has a living room with a kitchenette, a spacious bathroom with a shower and bedrooms. In the living room there is a fold-out, comfortable sofa, which, when unfolded, gives a functional bed even for 2 adults. This is a type of sofa designed for regular sleeping, when choosing furniture, we focused primarily on the comfort of our visitors.
The living room is also equipped with a table, smart TV with the option of logging in to your favorite platforms, as well as a dresser. The space between the living room and the kitchen is separated by an island where you can sit and comfortably eat breakfast. The kitchen is equipped with a sink, a full set of cutlery, plates, glasses, pots, etc., a wireless kettle, a microwave oven, induction cooker, a large fridge with a freezer compartment, a coffee machine for capsules, a toaster.
The bathroom is equipped with a shower, sink, bidet, toilet and washing machine.
The bedroom is equipped with two single, comfortable beds with high mattresses of appropriate hardness, a bedside table, a large sliding wardrobe, which is a niche in the wall.
It’s possible to combine beds that are 90 cm wide each – thus creating a real „King Size Bed” with a width of 180 cm.
The apartment also includes a spacious balcony with a table, four comfortable chairs, a sun umbrella, and a (foldable) clothes dryer.
Additional equipment: iron, hair dryer, beach umbrellas, beach chair.
It’s possible to rent a travel cot for a child.
Internet: the apartment is equipped with a fiber optic connection with a capacity of 500 Mb, and a WiFi network;
The apartment doesn’t have a direct view of the sea – the balcony is located on the side of the spacious swimming pool.It has its advantages – if the wind blows, it’s still calm and quiet on the terrace. The intense sunlight appears on the terrace around 4 pm (depending on the season), which also significantly increases the comfort of using the terrace on a warm day, and in the evening gives an incredibly pleasant feeling of low sun, setting sun.
The terrace is pleasing and comfortable. We tried the terraces „with a view” many times ourselves, where the sun operated from 10 am so intensely, that it was impossible to use it until the evening.
The community has a large swimming pool with free sun loungers and a small paddling pool for children.
Price list
Apartment rental prices in winter are often higher than in spring and summer. This is because winter is the peak tourist season in Gran Canaria.
Apartment rental, including all equipment, towels and fresh bedding, starts from EUR 50-60 per day.
The price does not include a one-time cleaning fee of EUR 40.
Discounts are available for rentals over 14 nights.
The day normally starts at 4 p.m. and ends at 11 a.m.
If you need, ask about changing your arrival/departure times, it is usually possible.
Key collection is normally possible between 4 and 8 p.m. It is also possible to collect the keys outside these hours – the agent’s arrival between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. costs only EUR 12.
It is possible to collect the keys from the code box located at the entrance to the building (free of charge).
To make a reservation, you can find us on popular portals (booking, Airbnb) or make a direct reservation here .
Weather
One of the greatest advantages of Gran Canaria is the weather. Almost guaranteed.
In winter, temperatures usually range from 22-25 degrees Celcius during the day, which allows you to wear shorts all day long, and in the evenings it drops to 17-21 degrees C. Although there are winters when you don’t have to wear long pants even once in the evening for an entire month, it’s worth taking at least one pair with you.
In spring, summer and autumn, daytime temperatures usually oscillate between 28-32 degrees Celsius, which, combined with the island air, is really pleasant.
In Masplomas, it rains on average about 7 times a year.
Why is it worth coming to Gran Canaria?
Everyone has something they love about the Canary Islands.
I haven’t met anyone yet, who doesn’t want to come back here.
Gran Canaria is not only the beach and the sea. There are also mountains, wonderful scenic paths. It’s a whole lot of water sports, fishing, bikes ….
Gran Canaria is also a great place for golf lovers! There is one golf course in Maspalomas itself, and several within a dozen or so kilometers.
In Gran Canaria, you can easily carry out activities such as:
- surfing / windsurfing / kitesurfing – several schools are available;
- skydiving;
- all kinds of water sports, scooters, yachts, catamarans, trips on larger ships as well as independent charters of any size of boats, motorboats, scooters …hiking – on the dunes, on the beach, along the promenade along the sea, in the mountains, or in historic cities;
- bicycles: all kinds, from cycling / trekking, through road cycling, off-road, etc.,
- motor sports: from renting a scooter / motorbike, through quad trips, off-road jeeps, buggies, go-carts;
- amusement parks – in our opinion, the most interesting ones (when coming with children) include: a water park, a natural park with a dolphinarium and a wild bird show;
- sightseeing flights by plane;
- various restaurants, bars, clubs, discos;
- fishing from boats, including the so-called „big game”, fishing for carp and freshwater fish in lakes;
The island offers a wide range of organized tourist trips, lasting from a few to several hours.
Gran Canaria is also full of beautiful, historic towns worth visiting.
Directly on the beach borders the national park – Dunas de Maspalomas – over 400 hectares of wonderful dunes, several dozen meters high.
https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunas_de_Maspalomas
Where is worth staying? Why is it so important?
When choosing a place to stay – especially in autumn, winter and early spring, we strongly recommend choosing the Maspalomas region, which – in fact, the center – is Playa Del Ingles, or further south-west towards Puerto de Mogan, Puero Rico.
In our opinion, in the summer, the temperature in Puerto de Mogan and Puero Rico is another 2-3 degrees higher, which in the summer can be uncomfortable. Although it seems that it is only 2-3 sides, but the difference on a hot sunny day between 29 and 32 can be significantly felt, and even more so between 32 and 35 degrees C.
As we mentioned earlier, even a small change of location can drastically change the perceived weather.
For example, Pozo Izquierdo, which is only 13 km away from Maspalomas, is a mecca for surfers, because regardless of the season or time of day – there is always a strong wind blowing there.
The airport is approximately 25 km from Playa Del Ingles – halfway to the capital – Las Palmas. It happened to us more than once, after picking up friends at the airport, to hear „where is the weather”, on the way by car we were even caught by some fleeting rain, but they changed their mind quickly, after reaching the place, and forgot about the rain until the very departure.
We’ve also experienced several times leaving Maspalomas (where the weather was beautiful) to Las Palmas (about 40 minutes’ drive), where we encountered clouds or drizzle and the temperature was 5 degrees Celsius lower. 5 degrees C may not seem like much, but the difference between 23 degrees C and the sun and 18 degrees C and clouds is huge.
Prices in Gran Canaria
Generally, prices in Gran Canaria are the same or lower than around the rest of the Europe.
Of course, products such as wine will be even 2-3 times cheaper than in the stores that we have in Eastern Europe.
For a dinner in a restaurant we pay from 10-20 euros per person. You can try the popular Menu Del Dia (menu of the day), which for 2-3 dishes ranges from 8-14 euros … but you can also eat a steak for 25 euros.
A good, large pizza in our favorite pizzeria costs about 10-11 euros.
Large beer – in a bar / restaurant – from 2-3 euros;
A glass of wine in the restaurant (a large glass) approx. 3 euro;
A bottle of wine in a restaurant – from 12 euros, and for 16-20 you can buy really good wine;
Prices in stores:
A bottle of mineral water 1.5L – about 0.5 euro;
Large baguette – about 1 euro;
Butter – about 2.5 euros;
Meat for dinner – about 8-10-15 euros depending on the type;
Fresh fish – 5-10-15 euros per kilo (depending on the species)
Whiskey, vodka – from 10 EUR, e.g. Jack Daniel 1L – 26 EUR.
Gran Canaria has a 7% I.G.I.C tax, which is the equivalent of VAT tax, so many products can be bought cheaper than in continental Europe.
What's the easiest way to get to Gran Canaria? Where are we looking for tickets?
Of course, the most convenient way to get there is by plane, although you can also arrive by ferry from the south of Spain.
Direct flights are also offered by some travel agencies.
It is also worth considering a flight from Berlin – BER airport is located about 30 minutes from the center of Berlin.
There is a huge car park at the airport, and the cost of parking for a week can often be reduced to 50-60 euros, depending on the season. It is worth booking a ticket online – the price is then much cheaper than entering without a reservation.
It is worth considering – especially when traveling with hand luggage only – to search for connecting flights – via other European capitals. Many cities have flight connections with London, Frankfurt or Dublin, for example, that it is possible to make a flight with very little waiting at the airport. We’ve been using it a lot in recent months. Even if the ticket is slightly more expensive, the costs of travel to the airport, parking, accommodation, dinner, etc. go away.
For us, when searching for indirect flights https://www.skyscanner.com/ works the best- just enter the selected place of departure and destination airport (LPA). It is worth paying attention to whether the proposed flight does not require changing the airport – because, for example, in London, the crossing between airports can take up to 2.5 hours + time for security control, waiting for a bus / train, etc.
In order to catch the best deals, we always look for a one-way connection from nearby cities and a few dates that suit us, and then a return connection. It often happens that a well-established connection is available, e.g. 1-2 times a week in one direction and 1-2 times a week in the other direction, but it is often not the same day (because we do not have – as in the case of direct connections – when the same plane arrives and returns to the same place). It also often happens that the return is carried out via another city/airport.
If you have a flexible holiday schedule, it is often worth looking for tickets for „in a month” or „in 2 months” or „in 2 weeks” – then you can find relatively good deals.
Unfortunately, last year the prices of air tickets became much more expensive and it seems that (at least this year) it will be very difficult to get a round-trip ticket for around EUR 100 (and there were such cases last year).
How do I get from/to the airport?
Cheapest – by bus.
They take an average of 15-20 minutes, directly outside the departure terminal. Route – depending on the line, it takes 20-30 minutes, and the stop is 400 m from the entrance to the building – the route to the stop is flat, you can easily cover it in five minutes. The GOOGLE MAPS application works great here, which, after selecting the public transport option, will show you which bus is best to take, where to get off, etc.
The bus takes only a few minutes longer than a taxi. Cost: EUR 3.5 per person, the price also includes a fee for luggage, which you must put in the side hatch for the duration of the journey.
It is also convenient – by taxi, although much more expensive, especially if you are traveling with two people. Cost – about 45-50 EUR. If you order a taxi in advance – the price will be about 10 EUR lower.
You can also rent a car – of the many brands available, we personally prefer the local brand CICAR – https://www.cicar.com/EN/ – we’ve used it many times, the basic advantages include: each rental is fully insured (the offered price includes all fees), they don’t mess around with selling additional services, they don’t intimidate that if you won’t buy, you’ll have to pay EUR 2,000 for downtime even if the car has a small scratch, they don’t cause any issues when handing over cars, often no one even looks at it, they don’t mess with fuel (you just return as much as you had in the tank). They allow short rental – e.g. for 1-2 days, the car can be easily returned in Playa Del Ingles. The cost of renting – depending on the season – is best checked on the website. Important – the southern airport of LPA, where most planes from Europe fly – on their website it is marked as Gran Canaria International.
At the airport – on the arrivals floor, in the car rental area, there’s a SPAR store with reasonable prices, where you can buy something to eat and drink.