Gran Canaria

[BernieBarks]

Hi everyone

Looking for some advice please .

I'm looking to possibly book to go to Gran Canaria in late August with my 16 year old daughter . Have never been .

I've been to Tenerife and Lanzarote when I was younger and didn't like either of them . Thought they were tacky and very Brits aboad .

GC is giving me a better vibe - it seems to be popular with Scandinavians , Dutch , French , Belgians and Germans so not so Anglocentric . And very LGBT friendly too I think .

What are people's experiences please ? X

All the larger Canary islands have both tacky Brits Abroad and quieter, more authentic, more international guests.

You'd like Playa Blanca in Lanzarote or Puerto de la Cruz in Tenerife a lot more than Puerto Rico or Playa de las Ingles on Gran Canaria for example.

So do your research and have an open mind. But Puerto Mogan in GC is what you want.

But as it happens I've just been planning a trip to Playa blanca and one thing I like is there's a regular bus to some inland towns and villages for some quiet Canarian authenticity.

Gran Canaria is the only Canaries Island I haven’t been to and I get what you mean regards Tenerife and Lanzarote. Have you considered Fuertaventura? It’s much smaller. We have just returned from a week. The Island felt very doable so we hired a car for 3 days. We stayed 10 minutes from the airport which is sort of in the middle.

south is popular with German tourists. A lot of Italians have settled in the North. Ate at a lovely Italian restaurant there and watched the kite surfers.

Puerto Mogan is absolutely beautiful.
Playa Blanca in Lanzarote is lovely staying at the marina end .

Puerto Mogan.

I loved Gran Canaria ! We stayed in Taurito , it’s near Porto Morgan - which is a stunning place . I went alone with my child and it was great . It has a bus service so you can travel around the island to attractions easily x

Puerto Mogan definitely where you want to be

Just booked some flights yesterday to GC - have been to all the others. Tho Lanzarote is my favourite and Tenerife my least fave. I liked Fuerteventura but the weather wasn’t great (but the beaches were stunning) . In GC I’ve booked a studio in Puerto Rico as we are going in March and I wanted it to be busy, plus it’s very near Puerto Moghan. Hope you have a fantastic time, GC looks lovely!.

Thank you for your replies . It is appreciated .

Puerto Mogan and Puerto Rico were the two places I was looking at so the feedback on these is helpful . Thank you .

Hi there,
I totally get where you’re coming from — I had similar hopes for Gran Canaria, but to be honest, I found it quite similar to Tenerife and Lanzarote in vibe. Some areas definitely had that “Brits abroad” feel, especially in the more touristy parts like Playa del Inglés or Puerto Rico.

That said, there are lovely spots too — I thought the mountain villages and places like Agaete or Puerto de Mogán had a more authentic charm. And yes, it’s definitely LGBT-friendly, which is a real positive.

If you’re hoping for something very different from the other islands, it might not quite hit the mark — but it does depend on where you stay and what kind of holiday you’re after.

Croatia is nicer than any of the Canaries IMO.

Would definitely recommend Puerto Mogan. We had a week there in Jan and loved it. It's not built up, just very pretty with a beach, harbour and lots of restaurants. We went to Puerto Rico one evening for a bit of shopping and food but ended up back in PM to eat as we weren't keen on PR at all.

Also been to Playa Blanca in Lanzarote and liked that too. It's a lot bigger than PM but still nice and low rise.

if you didn't like Tenerife I doubt you would like GC. I have visited both and would visit Tenerife again maybe but not GC. I think it's popular with pensioners though

Do NOT go to Puerto Rico if you didn’t like Lanzarote and Tenerife

I love Gran Canaria and last year we had an extra five days in Las Palmas which was quite an eye opener. Miles of beach and promenade to walk, good shopping and interesting sights.

Puerto Rico was awful. All up steep hills and focused round a concrete shopping centre. Did NOT enjoy.

Also, if you want LGBT friendly that's all around Playa de la Ingles which is very Brits abroad, the Yumbo Centre is the gay centre and again very concrete. More for nightlife than daytime!

Agree that Puerto Mogan was lovely, did a dolphin trip from there and much nicer than PR. Also agree Playa Blanca is lovely in Lanzarote.

Puerto Mogan. Not Puerto Rico.

But it’s only popular with the Scandinavians from October to April ie their Winter. They don’t normally visit during the Summer months.

Definitely Puerto Mogan then !

We stayed in Puerto Mogan with dd, 18, in March this year and all loved it. Would definitely recommend.

Yes, Mogan is lovely but don't discount Puerto Rico! You can stay down at the beach and marina end and there are some beautiful restaurants & bars down there so you'd never need to go up to the shopping centre! Also just next to the old shopping centre is a new placed called Mogan Mall which has upmarket shops in one end and opens out to a beautiful outdoor area full of lovely restaurants and a big fountain. You can easily walk up from the beach/marina but taxis are everywhere and very cheap. PR is a great base, the public bus network is really good you can get at bus from there into the city of Las Palmas and lots of other places and you can get the ferry taxi to Mogan which is a beautiful short sail around the coast. Gran Canaria is my favourite of the Canary Islands becuase it's far less windy and Puerto Rico and Mogan in particular have really lovely weather almost all year round, even compared to other parts of the same island.

Just come back from GC. We stayed at the Cordial Mogan Playa in Puerto Mogan last year which was beautiful but for us Puerto Mogan was a bit too quiet. We stayed in Puerto Rico this year overlooking the marina (Marina Suites) and absolutely loved it. Plenty of lovely restaurants and bars without going into the commercial centres unless that's what you want. Loads of good excursions and boat trips. Ferry to Puerto Mogan on a Friday for the market!

Echoing a lot of pps here but you definitely want Puerto Mogan!