Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria (originally meaning 'Great Island of Dogs') is the second most populous island of the Canary Islands, with a population of 838,397 which constitutes approximately 40% of the population of the archipelago. Located in the Atlantic Ocean about 150 kilometers (~93 miles) off the northwestern coast of Africa and about 1350 km (~838 miles) from Europe.
Gran Canaria is located southeast of Tenerife and west of Fuerteventura. The island is of volcanic origin, mostly made of fissure vents. Gran Canaria's surface area is 1,560 km² and its maximum altitude is 1,949 meters (Pico de Las Nieves). It has a round shape, with a diameter of approximately 50 km.
The island of Gran Canaria belongs to the region of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, one of the 52 regions belonging to Spain. Speaking about Gran Canaria means speaking about a miniature continent where centuries of rich history meet natural spots of great beauty. One only needs to tour the 21 towns on the island to feel inside another world. A restless island that changes its aspect at the turn of the road. In a total of 1.560 sqm you can find 236 km of coast line surrounding different landscapes from deep cliffs to green valleys, sandy dunes and banana plantations.
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- January 1st: New Year
- January 6th: Epiphany
- Holy Thursday and Good Friday (date varies but its usually on April)
- May 1st: Labour Day
- May 30th: Day of Canary Islands
- August 15th: Assumption of the Virgin Mary
- September (3rd Friday): Patron Saint of the Island (Virgen de la Peña)
- October 12th: Columbus Day
- November 1st: Day of all Saints
- December 6th: Constitution Day
- December 8th: Immaculate Conception
- December 25th: Christmas
On every island and in each “municipio” there are 2 local bank holidays. We will mention the local bank holidays of Las Palmas capital and touristic areas like Mogán and San Bartolomé de Tirajana: Las Palmas city 21st February & 25th June, Mogán 13th June & 16th July San Bartolomé de Tirajana 24th August & 8th September.
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1. Roque Nublo
2. Dunes of Maspalomas
3. City of Las Palmas (old town “Vegueta”, city beach “Las Canteras”, etc)
4. Caves of Guayadeque & nearby village of Agüimes
5. City of Teror
6. Cathedral of Arucas
7. Painted Caves of Gáldar
8. Pinetrees of Tamadaba
9. Village of Puerto de Mogán
10. The forest of Tilos de Moya
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- Aproximately 2 million habitants
- Language: spanish
- Currency: euro
- Time: GMT
- NO vaccinations needed
- It is recommended to drink bottled water
- Electricity: 220 V
- You should always pack sun protection, sun glasses, hat, swimsuit, comfortable shoes.
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- Only on the Canary Islands you can find more than 500 different endemic plants, much more than in entire Europe.
- The aboriginal name of the island is Tamarán; Gran Canaria is the latin version.
- The Island of Gran Canaria is the result of several cycles of volcanic eruptions more than 14 million years ago.
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- Visit the interior of the island
- Visit the City of Las Palmas
- Make a boat trip along the South Coast
- Yellow submarine
- Whale & delphine watching
- Hiking through the extense network of trails
- Visit Palmitos Park
- Visit Aqualand
- Discover adventurous Gran Canaria (Mountain Bike, Cycling, Windsurf, Kitesurf, Surf, Sailing, Scubadiving, Fishing, Karting, Quads, Buggies, helicopter flights, paragliding, parachute)
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Gran Canaria offers a wide range of accomodations. The most touristic areas are located in the south of the island distributed between Bahía Feliz and Puerto de Mogán. Local hotel chains like IFA/Lopesan, Cordial, Dunas, Bull or international ones like Barceló, H10, Meliá, Iberostar count with hotels from 3 to 5 star categories. But there is a huge number of individual hotels, each one with its own charme. You can find them bigger or smaller, right on the beach front or closer to the centre, next to night life, etc.
The Gay public finds also a wide range of establishments providing a private atmosphere; especially around the Yumbo Shopping Centre you can find gay friendly or gay only establishments.
Gran Canaria also gathers of a huge number of apartment and bungalow complexes for those who prefer the Self Catering option or a bigger space to spend their holidays. This is especially a nice option for families who urge for separate sleeping facilities.
But Gran Canaria is not only beach holidays; in the North of the Island there are nice hotels at the city of Agaete but for hiking friends or those who prefer to be closer to nature there are rural places to stay all over the interior of the island.
And we should not forget the City Hotels at Las Palmas City for city breaks.
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Apart from an extense network of the public bus company “Global”, taxis offer a fair rate. Nevertheless you can book any kind of transfer through us, starting from private transfers with or without VIP treatment to any size of bus (minibus, big bus, etc.) or adapted transfers for wheelchair users.
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There are several conference facilities on the island; in the South of the Island we would like to mention Expomeloneras and a huge number of Hotels offering facilities for meetings for different numbers of assitants.
Las Palmas has its own fairground (INFECAR).
We can organize you any kind of event fulfilling your ideas and wishes.
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Restaurants:
It seems pretty difficult to choose specific restaurants on this island with such a rich gastronomy and places all over the island to enjoy it. International food is available everywhere; especially in the south you can find any kind of food: Danish, Finish, Swedish, German, Japanese, Chinese, Italian, Greek, etc.
Fast food chains are well known and present.
But especially fresh fish is a must once you are here or the typical Canarian tapas.
In the interior of the island good meat smells perfectly different.
The list could be eternal, why don’t you ask for our tips once you are here on the spot?
Shops:
In the touristic areas you can find multiple souvenir shops but also handicraft. Big Shopping Centres are spread all over the island, especially Las Palmas Capital counts on a huge number of them with international brands but also Spanish ones. Maybe shopping is especially interesting at Las Palmas and its shopping miles like Triana or Mesa y López but you can find everything everywhere.
Shows:
Especially in the South of the island shows are offered to the public; most of the hotels offer their own entertainment programme with professional shows but there are shows open to the public like Garbos or the Casinos of Meloneras and San Agustín.
Las Palmas counts on several theatres like the recently refurbished Pérez Galdós or Cuyás as well as the Auditorio Alfredo Kraus. Many smaller cities and villages offer spectacles in their theatres.
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Gran Canaria is a very active place to be part of any kind of event: The carnival of the island is famous abroad; dates vary between the different places but all of them take place on the street and are a public spectacle to be part of.
In May we celebrate the Gay Pride at Maspalomas attracting a huge number of gays and gay friendly people who wish to share that party. Las Palmas counts on its own festival of cinema. Of course there are many markets spread over the island; the most famous ones are are Teror, San Mateo, San Fernando. The World Windsurf Championship takes place at Pozo Izquierdo in the month of July and in the November the ARC Transocean takes places, sailing boats crossing the ocean from Las Palmas to travel to the Carribean island Santa Lucia.
In October the Transgrancanaria makes of the island an adventure for many participants crossing the island by foot. There is an interesting selection of museums to visit like the Columbus House or the Canarias Museum, the Elder Science museum or the Botanic Garden. The WOMAD festival attracts each year many people to enjoy the different concerts on the island. International stars like Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Shakira, Luis Miguel, etc. come to Gran Canaria to give their concerts. Please do not forget to check when booking your holidays.
Especially religious folk festivals are common on the island as each village or city has its own saint. The most famous folk festivals are:
- Pino at Teror in September
- La Rama in Agaete
- San Juan in Las Palmas in June
- La Bajada del Gofio in Agüimes
- La Traída del Agua in Lomo Magullo
- Las Fiestas del Carmen in Arguineguín and Mogán
- El Almendro en Flor in Valsequillo and Tejeda.