Secluded beaches
The beach of Playa de Sardina is located in a small village in the North. If you want to get away from mass tourism and experience the true Gran Canaria, this is the place to go. This is one of the villages and beaches with the most authentic Gran Canaria vibe away from anything that has to do with tourism.
Playa del Cabron is most likely one of the best places to explore and snorkel in Gran Canaria. It’s a pretty far drive to get here from most places, but if you want, you can combine this with visiting the Cocodrilo Park in Gran Canaria that is just a few kilometres away. All of this together might make for a great day out.
El Confital you will find in many guides as one of the beaches “you have to visit”, but I don’t understand why. Also, while I was in Gran Canaria, this beach was a few times in the news as a restricted zone for swimming as the water was dirty. So, all in all, I would not advise visiting this beach.
Family friendly beaches
Playa de Amadores is a lovely beach that you can easily walk to from Puerto Rico. This beach has everything you could want for a great day out. There are many restaurants as well as loads of fun stuff for the kids. The beach is nice and sandy, but this beach gets pretty busy most of the time so keep that in mind.
Playa de las Meloneras is the more peaceful and relaxing beach in the Maspalomas area. So if you are staying in the Maspalomas area, this might be a great beach to walk to if the other ones are too busy in the high season.
Playa de las Burras and Playa de San Agustin are both pretty similar beaches in the San Agustin. Just as a quick warning, next to the Playa de las Burras is only one tavern/restaurant, and my experience was dreadful, so I would not advise going there. It’s overpriced, and service and quality were terrible. It may have been that that was just a one of… but just saying. Bringing your own food and drinks to these beaches would be my advice.
Less crowded beaches
Playa de las Alcaravaneras is the “other” beach in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The beach everyone visits here is typically the Las Canteras beach. However, suppose the Playa de las Canteras is too windy or busy, or you want to escape the weekend crowds on the Playa de las Canteras beach. In that case, you might want to check out this beach instead, the Playa de las Alcaravaneras just on the other side of the city.
If you are looking for a less crowded beach in the Playa del Ingles area, you might want to have a look at the Playa del Veril beach on the other side of Maspalomas. This is a bit on the outside and therefore gets less busy than the main beaches.
Playa de Tauro is one of the newer beaches. This beach has been there for pretty much ever, but they started developing it to prepare for new hotels coming to this area in the last few years. It’s a nice sandy beach now, where before it was more stones and rocks. It is still quiet and secluded, but this might change in the coming years, so visit it before it is too late. This beach is located close to the main tourist resorts in the South of Gran Canaria, so it is easy to get to. So if you are staying in Puerto Rico or Maspalomas, this beach might be a great choice to escape the summer crowds and not having to drive for hours.
Most unique and pretty beaches
Playa de la Verga, also known as the Anfi del Mar beach, is one of the more beautiful beaches in the South. It’s a lovely soft sandy beach with everything around for a great family day out on the beach. There is also a stage next to the beach with shows and mini discos for the kids in the evenings and many different style restaurants. So you can make this a fantastic full day out. Because this is a great day out for the entire family and not far from most resorts in the South, I put this beach very high on my list of best beaches in Gran Canaria.
Playa de las Nieves and Agaete are on the other side of Gran Canaria for most people on holiday here, but it’s a unique and rarely visited beach. It also has the best priced fresh fish restaurants on the island. This place has an authentic Spanish vibe. Also, while you are here, you can have a quick swim in the Las Salinas pools within walking distance of the beaches.
Playa de las Canteras is a great beach in Las Palmas. When I came to Gran Canaria for the first time, Las Palmas was my first stop and after walking through the city, finding this beach was amazing. It is incredible and hard to believe that there is such a beautiful beach next to the capital and a pretty busy city. Also here you will find one of the larger shopping centres in Gran Canaria right next to the beach would you not like to spend the entire time on the beach. This beach is my number 1 in Gran Canaria, and I would advise visiting it while on holiday in Gran Canaria.
Playa de Mogan is another one of those beaches you will find mentioned in many holiday guides as one of the “must visits” of Gran Canaria. I can see why. It is a pretty beach but nothing out of the ordinary. However, this is a must-visit because of the setting near the harbour with very stunning and unique architecture and the great restaurants you can find in the harbour. It is one of the most unique and pretty towns in the South of Gran Canaria. To find anything similar, you would have to drive to the other side of the island. So because it is close to most of the holiday resorts in Gran Canaria and the surrounding setting is unique and pretty, I would also advise a visit to this beach.
Gay and nudist beaches
I can not talk about Gran Canaria and the beaches without mentioning the famous gay beach in Maspalomas. Maspalomas is also one of the most popular holiday destinations for gays, especially in the winter. Here you will also find many clubs and winter events aimed at this group. You will find this beach between the Meloneras and Playa del Ingles area a bit tucked away in the dunes and out of sight of the main tourist resorts. However, many people here get surprised when walking with their family from Maspalomas to Meloneras because of the nudism. That is also one of the reasons I would like to point this out that it is here… so you don’t get surprised!
