If you’re staying in San Agustin, Playa del Ingles, Meloneras or Maspalomas, there is no harbour in those areas so you’ll need to get the bus to Puerto Rico. There are various dolphin trips and you might want to check out both harbours (there is one on either side of the beach) – Puerto Escala harbour and Puerto Base harbour.

Do You Always See Dolphins?

One of the most common questions is “do you always see dolphins?” and that’s a good question because the dolphins are wild animals, so it’s not like going to the zoo! The answer is no and this is where you have to be careful because different boats have different policies. If the captain doesn’t manage to find the dolphins (or a whale) some boats will let you repeat the trip for free and others won’t, so ask at the desk when you book! Also, some dolphin boats have a glass bottom and others don’t. This isn’t vital but it does make the trips more fun.

Dolphins, Gran Canaria

Most dolphin boats have a multilingual tour guide and you can buy soft drinks, beer and snacks like chocolate or crisps. You might want to bring your own though. Also bring a camera or camcorder and perhaps a jacket or sweater unless it’s baking hot. Tips are never compulsory on dolphin trips and some boats leave a bucket by the exit when you get off. If you want to drop a euro into the bucket for the crew, you can. Others come round with a bucket but you don’t have to tip.

How Long is the Dolphin Trip?

Most dolphin trips range between 2 and 3 hours. Sometimes the dolphins are right in front of the harbour so it takes about 10 minutes to get to them. Other times you might have to go out 9 miles and this obviously takes a lot longer.

When is the Best Time to Do This Trip?

Choose a day when the sea looks calm, especially if you have a delicate stomach! The dolphins don’t care about the weather so if you have a dull, cloudy or drizzly day, this might be a good day for the trip, since all the dolphin boats have covered seating areas and you can enjoy the views without getting wet. If you are doing a Gran Canaria dolphin trip in the winter, take a sweater or coat with you. It might be 22 deg C and sunny but the air can be nippy out at sea.

What About Sea Sickness Pills?

Visit a chemist before your trip and ask for “biodramina con cafeina” – take one half an hour before the trip and another two hours into the trip. I don’t often get seasick but taking these guarantees I’ll feel fine. There’s nothing like seasickness to spoil a boat trip and if you like boat trips you might want to do more than one during your holiday!

You can usually find a trip easily enough but they do get busy in the summer months. If you want to ensure places on one of the good boats and if you need a pick up from Playa del Ingles or Maspalomas it is best to book your dolphin trip online before you go.

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It’s close to the Europa Centre (a couple of minutes walk) and you can walk to Amadores beach in ten or fifteen minutes but it is also located in a quiet, peaceful street.If you want to go to the main shopping centre in Puerto Rico you can walk down in twenty minutes or get the bus or a taxi down for a couple of euros.

The swimming pool has massage jets and there’s a billiard table too, as well as a barbecue grill and a sheltered lodge. You can contact the owner, Bernardo, to ask about booking but be warned this is a popular place to stay and he’s booked up until March 2011.

All the apartments have a VCR, satellite TV, toaster and coffee machine and the bedding and towels are changed twice a week. I used to live five minutes down the road from Finca E and it’s in a really nice location. Some people prefer big hotels but others like a more personal touch, which is why Finca E might appeal to you.

You can call Bernardo on +34 928561397 or +34 670833384 to ask about availability and prices, or send an email to fincae@web.de, but do remember he’s fully booked until March 2011.

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First of all, follow the signs north to Las Palmas from wherever you are staying. Las Palmas is the capital of the island so it is quite well signposted. When you reach Las Palmas, follow the signs to Arucas. You can see the Montana de Arucas and the town centre. There is also a rum factory there. Next drive to Moya and see the Nuestra Senora de Candelaria church. This is a very scenic area. Drive to Santa Maria de Guia to sample the local cheeses and see the vibrant, colourful town centre. Galdar is next and its Cueva Pintada is very interesting.

Santa Maria de Guia Photo by Noniq

The Huerto de las Flores in Agaete is your next stop and after visiting the gardens you might want to break for lunch, having some tasty fish at one of the harbour restaurants in Puerto de las Nieves. If you want to stay there overnight and continue your trip the following day there are lots of guesthouses in this area.

Next is the remote Aldea de San Nicolas and this is a stunning drive, before heading to Artenara. You can see the cave restaurant there if it is open. The view of Roque Nublo is well worth a photo and this is in Tejeda. The highest point on the island is Pico de las Nieves and you will be able to see for miles.

The Bandama Crater Photo by Scott Zona

Drive towards Las Palmas again and stop at Santa Brigida to see the wine museum. You can visit Bandama which is an old crater and you can see some nice views of Gran Canaria’s northeast from there. This is a great route to take and you will see more of the island than a lot of tourists who spend all day by the pool. There are lots of great things to take photos of too

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I bought a “Techniks” CD player in my first week in the island and it worked find but not everyone is so lucky and once you are back home it is usually too late to do anything about the problem.

The Indian shops in the Pasarella Centre by Puerto Rico beach are some of the worst ones. Saying that, there are one or two reputable ones but it’s better not to buy electronics or anything expensive from these shops. Why risk it?

Photo by Alexkerhead

If you want to buy electronics check the prices in your local shops before you leave home. Some electronics are the same price or more expensive than what you could get at home. If you do want to buy something in Gran Canaria, Visanta is a reputable electronics chain – there is one in the Yumbo Centre and another in the Meloneras area.

Perhaps you are buying a mobile phone, in which case check it is unlocked and works with your sim card. If you plan to spend a lot of time in the Canaries, you might want to get a Spanish sim card to save money on calls.

The saying “caveat emptor”, which means “buyer beware”, is an important one to bear in mind. If something looks too good to be true, it probably is!

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Photo by BlaM4c

Loro Parque is home to the biggest collection of parrots in the whole world (actually “loro” means parrot) and there are also sea lions, chimps, tigers and much more.

You can arrange your own ferry to Tenerife but since Loro Parque is quite far from the port it makes sense to have a look at Loro Parque trips online before you go because these excursions usually work out cheaper and of course much easier too

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Yes the shops are closed today but never mind because there are lots of parties taking place and, if this year is like last year, our neighbours might invite us to their Canarias Day barbecue again. Let’s hope so anyway!

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Las Canteras was actually the first tourist resort in Gran Canaria. The beach is about three kilometres long and the sea is safe for swimming. Click here to see a good map of Las Canteras.

Photo by Rafael Tovar

Near to this beach are lots of restaurants, bars and shops and the beach is bordered in the north by La Isleta and in the east  by Santa Catalina, which is where the bus station is. Las Arenas, a really big shopping centre, is nearby.

There is a landscaped promenade in the south of Las Canteras which takes you to the Auditorio Alfredo Kraus. This is home to the Las Palmas Philharmonic Orchestra and it is an interesting piece of architecture which was build as a tribute to the tenor Alfredo Kraus in 1997.

If you want some tips for exploring Las Palmas then make sure you take a walk along Las Canteras beach or even spend a day there. Not everyone speaks Spanish there (like in the south) and you might not find English menus but that all adds to the fun! Recent temperatures have been good (27 degrees C today!) so we’re well into the summer now, making the Las Canteras beach even more tempting for a visit.

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There are plenty of bars and restaurants in Playa del Ingles but everything is more spread out than in Puerto Rico or Mogan for example, because in Puerto de Mogan everything is near the harbour and Puerto Rico has two main shopping centres.

Photo by Canariensis2

If you are wondering which resort is the best, it depends on what you are looking for, as well as the time of year. If you like nightlife, you will find that Playa del Ingles has several shopping centres, each of which also has bars and restaurants in (the Cita Centre is mainly German, the Yumbo Centre is primarily gay, the Aguila Roja is mainly Irish bars, the Kasbah is a mixture etc) and there is a nice beach running all the way along the coast so wherever you stay in Playa del Ingles you can be on the beach within a few minutes.

Photo by Jyrki Leskelä

There is not a huge amount to do in Playa del Ingles if the weather is bad (fortunately it is usually hot and sunny!) because it is mainly beach-oriented, although you can get a bus to Vecindario to do some shopping or visit a restaurant or cafe to try some Canarian cooking if you get the odd rainy day. Have a look here to find the best prices for Playa del Ingles hotels.

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