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Roque Nublo above the pine forest, with Teide on Tenerife rising over the sea of clouds
Walkers on a dune crest in the Maspalomas reserve, with the Atlantic behind
Puerto de Mogán from above: the beach, the low white houses and the marina below the cliffs
The deep Fataga ravine with layered lava cliffs and green slopes
The carved stone doorway and wooden balconies of the Casa de Colón in Vegueta

Things to do in Gran Canaria: 14 experiences

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Photo: Basotxerri, CC BY-SA 4.0

Maspalomas

Walk the Maspalomas dunes on the marked paths

Tours in Gran Canaria

Photo: Marc Ryckaert, CC BY 3.0

Puerto de Mogán

Spend a day in Puerto de Mogán, market or not

Check dates and prices

Photo: Martin Falbisoner, CC BY-SA 4.0

Barranco de Fataga, San Bartolomé de Tirajana

Drive or jeep up the Fataga ravine to the palm villages

Check dates and prices

Photo: Bengt Nyman, CC BY-SA 4.0

Vegueta, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Walk Vegueta and visit the Casa de Colón

Check dates and prices

Photo: CARLOS TEIXIDOR CADENAS, CC BY-SA 4.0

Gran Canaria splits into very different trips. The south, from Playa del Inglés and Maspalomas to Puerto Rico and Puerto de Mogán, is the resort coast: the dunes, the big beaches, the boat trips and the most reliable sun. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, in the northeast, is a real city, with the old quarter of Vegueta and Las Canteras, a three-kilometre beach in the middle of town.

The centre is mountain country. Roque Nublo, Pico de las Nieves and the cave villages of the Risco Caído World Heritage landscape sit around the Caldera de Tejeda, and about 43% of the island lies inside the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve declared in 2005. The greener north adds Teror, the Cueva Pintada in Gáldar and the coffee valley of Agaete.

Most visitors sleep on one coast and drive inland for the day. The experiences below are written for that: what to book, where to park and which day to go.

14 things to do in Gran Canaria

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The Roque Nublo monolith and the smaller rock beside it on the summit plateau, with a hiker for scale

Hike to Roque Nublo with a booked slot

Degollada de La Goleta, Tejeda

Half a day with the shuttleTimed entry

The almost 90-metre monolith that stands for Gran Canaria, reached on foot once you hold a booked slot.

Check dates and pricesGuided Roque Nublo hike with access booked
Walkers on a dune crest in the Maspalomas reserve, with the Atlantic behind

Walk the Maspalomas dunes on the marked paths

Maspalomas

2 to 3 hoursFree

Three linked environments, moving dunes, a palm grove and a lagoon where migrating birds rest, crossed on signposted paths.

Tours in Gran Canaria
The carved stone doorway and wooden balconies of the Casa de Colón in Vegueta

Walk Vegueta and visit the Casa de Colón

Vegueta, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Half a dayGo alone or with a tour

The quarter where Las Palmas began, and the chapel where Columbus is said to have prayed before sailing on.

Check dates and pricesPrivate walk through Vegueta and Triana, with tapas
Swimmers in the calm water of Las Canteras, with the La Barra reef breaking the waves offshore

Swim and snorkel inside La Barra at Las Canteras

Playa de Las Canteras, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Half a dayFree

A reef more than 100,000 years old breaks the Atlantic swell, so a city beach behaves like a sheltered pool.

Tours in Gran Canaria
The harbour at Puerto Rico de Gran Canaria, where many boat trips leave

Go dolphin and whale watching from Puerto Rico or Mogán

Puerto Rico and Puerto de Mogán

2 to 3 hoursBook ahead

A Natura 2000 marine area off the southwest coast, protected for bottlenose dolphins and loggerhead turtles.

Check dates and pricesCatamaran out of the south to look for dolphins
Puerto de Mogán from above: the beach, the low white houses and the marina below the cliffs

Spend a day in Puerto de Mogán, market or not

Puerto de Mogán

Half a dayGo alone or with a tour

Low white houses, bougainvillea and canals with footbridges, which is why this fishing village is called Little Venice.

Check dates and pricesMogán market day with a one-way boat ride
The sun setting over a sea of clouds, seen from the Pico de las Nieves viewpoint

Watch sunset and stars from Pico de las Nieves

Pico de las Nieves

2 to 3 hours around sunsetFree

A viewpoint you can drive up to beside the island's highest ground, looking across the Caldera de Tejeda to Roque Nublo.

Tours in Gran Canaria
Stone-fronted cave dwellings at Risco Caído, in the World Heritage cultural landscape

Visit the Risco Caído centre in Artenara

Artenara

1 hour at the centre, a full day with TejedaBook ahead

A replica cave where a beam of light crosses a frieze of engravings and marks the equinoxes and solstices.

Tours in Gran Canaria
The excavated pre-Hispanic houses of the Cueva Pintada settlement under the museum roof

Take the guided visit to Cueva Pintada in Gáldar

Gáldar

Half a day with GáldarBook ahead

A settlement of the island's first people, more than fifty houses and caves, and a cave decorated with geometric friezes.

Tours in Gran Canaria
The Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pino and the Plaza del Pino in Teror

Go to Teror for the Sunday market and the Basílica del Pino

Teror

Half a dayNo booking needed

The island's religious centre, where a Sunday market of about a hundred stalls has surrounded the basilica for two centuries.

Tours in Gran Canaria
The Agaete valley, with farms on the valley floor below steep mountain ridges

Taste Agaete valley coffee, then eat fish at Puerto de las Nieves

Agaete

Full dayNo booking needed

Coffee grown in a valley, an unusual crop anywhere in Europe, then fish by the harbour below.

Tours in Gran Canaria
The Bandama crater seen from its rim, with scrub and agaves in the foreground

Walk the Bandama crater and taste Gran Canaria wine

Bandama, Santa Brígida

Half a dayNo booking needed

A volcanic crater about one kilometre across and 200 metres deep, named after a Flemish merchant who planted vines here.

Tours in Gran Canaria
The deep Fataga ravine with layered lava cliffs and green slopes

Drive or jeep up the Fataga ravine to the palm villages

Barranco de Fataga, San Bartolomé de Tirajana

Half a dayBook ahead

A ravine cut into lava flows up to 500 metres thick, climbing to a village in the so-called valley of a thousand palms.

Check dates and pricesJeep day out to Fataga and the southern hills
The lit-up carnival stage in Las Palmas during the 2015 body painting contest

Join the Las Palmas Carnival in January and February

Parque de Santa Catalina, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

A weekend, or several eveningsBook ahead

About five weeks of carnival, mostly free, with night stages, a Drag Queen Gala and a sardine burned on the beach.

Plan your trip

  • Getting there

    Gran Canaria Airport (LPA) sits on the east coast at the Bay of Gando, 19 km south of Las Palmas and about 25 km from the southern resorts. Global's guaguas leave from the terminal: line 60 runs to Las Palmas twice an hour during the day (last departures to the city at 22:15 and 23:15), line 66 goes hourly to Faro de Maspalomas, and line 1 links Las Palmas and Puerto de Mogán via the airport, about every 20 minutes at peak and into the small hours. Ferries from Tenerife dock at Puerto de las Nieves in Agaete, and cruise ships berth a few blocks from Las Canteras.

  • Getting around

    Global runs the intercity guaguas, and the coast between Las Palmas, the airport, Maspalomas and Mogán is well served. The interior is different: Tejeda, Artenara, Pico de las Nieves, Bandama and the Agaete valley are far easier by car, on narrow mountain roads that take longer than the map suggests. Roque Nublo is the exception to driving all the way: there is no parking at the trailhead, so leave the car at Cruz de los Llanos and take the shuttle, or come up from the south on Global line 18.

  • How many days

    Five days covers the essentials: Las Palmas and Las Canteras, a summit day (Roque Nublo, Tejeda, Artenara), a northern loop (Teror, Gáldar, Agaete), the dunes and Mogán, and a day at sea or on the beach. A week leaves room for Bandama, the Fataga ravine and a Sunday morning at the Teror market. A long weekend based in Las Palmas works if you skip the south.

  • When to go

    The coast works in any month, which is why winter is high season in the southern resorts. January and February bring the Las Palmas Carnival (22 January to 28 February in 2027). Summer is the busy time in the mountains: Roque Nublo slots for some August days were gone in 2026. Nights at Pico de las Nieves, close to 2,000 metres, are cold all year, and the dunes are best early or late in the day.

  • Where to base yourself

    Playa del Inglés, Maspalomas and Meloneras have most of the hotels and the sunniest beaches; Puerto Rico and Puerto de Mogán are smaller and closer to the boat trips. Las Palmas suits travellers who want a real city, Las Canteras and the best bus links, with Vegueta and the north close by. For the mountains, rural houses in Tejeda or Artenara, or the Parador de Cruz de Tejeda, put you at the viewpoints before the day-trippers.

Questions travellers ask

Do I need a car in Gran Canaria?

Not for the coast: Global's guaguas link the airport, Las Palmas, Maspalomas and Puerto de Mogán often. For the mountains and the north a car saves a lot of time, because Tejeda, Artenara, Bandama and the Agaete valley have few buses. If you drive to Roque Nublo, remember there is no parking at the trailhead: use Cruz de los Llanos and the shuttle.

Do you need a reservation for Roque Nublo?

Yes, during the controlled daytime hours. The Cabildo requires a booking at reservasroquenublo.com to enter by the Degollada de La Goleta, with up to 60 people per hour and a QR code check. Going up without one in those hours can mean a fine, and slots for some summer days sell out.

Is Gran Canaria worth visiting in winter?

Yes. Winter is the main season on the south coast, where people sunbathe even in December, and it is Carnival time in Las Palmas. It is also a good season for hiking in the interior, but pack warm clothes for the summit, which can be cold and cloudy.

Can you walk on the Maspalomas dunes?

Yes, but only on the signposted paths. The dunes are a Reserva Natural Especial, the rest of the sand is restricted, and the Guardia Civil and the Cabildo's environmental agents patrol it, with fines starting at €150. Start at the visitor centre and viewpoint in the Hotel Riu Palace in Playa del Inglés.

How many days do you need in Gran Canaria?

Five days covers the city, the summit, the north and the dunes. A week lets you add a boat trip, Bandama and Fataga without rushing, and a Sunday for the Teror market.

Is it better to stay in the north or the south of Gran Canaria?

Stay south for beaches, sun and boat trips; stay in Las Palmas for city life, Las Canteras and the bus network. The interior and the north are day trips from either, and both are within reach of the airport.

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