An Island Paradise (Gran Canaria)

Member Name: rosiesmum

Product:	Gran Canaria
Date:	10/04/01 (437 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: warm all year round

Disadvantages: cant afford to visit once a month

Gran Canaria is the third largest of the Canary Islands, after Tenerife and Fuertaventura.
It is a beautiful Island with a lot to offer the tourist.

Golden beaches that stretch for miles, beautiful landscapes, historic towns, the list goes on.

From the air the Island looks nearly round, 1532 square km of truly spectacular scenery, but it would take weeks to explore the entire Island.

There is a coastal road going right around the Island it is very twisty in places and 250 km long. This is a good adventure if you feel like hiring a car and setting off.

‘Las Palmas’ is the Islands capital in the northwest. There is a really large harbour here and an International Port on one side of the city and on the other side is a long beach called ‘Playa de Las Canteras.’
This is a lively city with plenty of Duty Free shops, sea front promenades, and exotic parks.
The old town district known as ‘Vegueta’ has been well looked after and you can see some lovely historic houses.
The island has over 700,000 inhabitants and this cosmopolitan city is home to over half of them.

Teror is a small town not far from Las Palmas. It is the religious centre of Gran Canaria and really deserves a visit.
The narrow cobbled streets and carved windowsills on the houses are quite breathtaking, and the town square has a really spine tickling feel about it, I will never forget that little town it was so peaceful.

Most visitors stay in the south about thirty minutes on the motorway from the airport and you then hit the holiday resorts.
Bahia Feliz, then San Augustin, Playa de Ingles, San Fernando, Campo International, Maspalomis and finally Pasito Blanco.
No one really knows how many hotels and apartments there are in these resorts it has grown so fast over the last ten years.

Going further round the coast you have Arguineguin, Puerto Rico and Puerto de Morgan.
There certain
ly is no shortage of resorts to choose from.

The weather on Gran Canaria is warm all year round, the south being the warmer.
It can get very hot during July and August over 40 degrees but from December to April the nights are very cool between 5 and 10 degrees.

Shopping here is a dream; there are loads of duty free shops, but always shop around before you buy especially electrical goods and cameras.
Shops open at 9.00am until 1pm, Siesta time until about 4.00pm then they are open again until late.

Local markets are great fun the stalls generally set up at about 8.00am and finish at 1.00pm
You can get some bargains if you shop around from fruit and vegetables to jewellery clothes and leather items. Watch out for pickpocket’s mind you they love to meander amongst the crowds of tourists.

Car hire is not very expensive approx. £15.00 per day depending of course on the vehicle size; drivers must be over twenty-one years of age.

Restaurants are plentiful all nationalities, but be aware of the touts outside some diners. They lure you in with cheap meal prices, and then you are stung with the drinks bill.
Also Time-Share touts on the streets are a bit of a nuisance. I found that just ignoring them worked, they soon got the message and left me alone. A better way is just to say you don’t have a credit card they will drop you so quick and the word will get around so you will be left to enjoy your holiday in peace.

Overall Gran Canaria is a lovely holiday Island, the weather is warm all year round and there is something on offer for everyone’s taste.
I will be going back again as soon as I have saved some pennies. Next holiday you plan have a look at this Island you will not be disappointed.

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