Gay Gran Canaria

A guide to Gay Gran Canaria

This little piece of Spain, some 150 km off the West African coast, is a hugely popular holiday destination. Gay Gran Canaria is hot all year round, easy to get to and not expensive. Gran Canaria, with over 800 thousand inhabitants, is the most populous island of the Canary Islands. Conquered by the Spanish in 1483, the Port of Las Palmas served as a stop-over for Christopher Columbus on his first trip to the Americas. Las Palmas and Santa Crus de Tenerife, jointly, are the capital of the autonomous community of the Canary Islands. The islands are believed to have been already populated around 500 BC by north Africans. The archipelago consists of 7 islands: Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, Tenerife, La Gomera, La Palma and El Hierro.

Getting to Gran Canaria

Due to being such a popular destination, the island is served by many inexpensive charter flights, low cost airlines and national flag carriers. The airport is well connected to almost every country in Europe, all year around.

If you have time to spare, you might want to try the Spanish ferry company Naviera Armas who offer several routes to Gran Canaria from mainland Spain and from the autonomous city of Melilla on the north coast of Morocco.

Getting Around Gay Gran Canaria

Renting a car is the best way to getting to know the island, however, Gran Canaria has pretty good public transport. The bus company Global offers routes around the island, with inexpensive hourly departures to and from Maspalomas to the airport.

Official taxi services equipped with a taxi meter using official prices approved by the local government are also at your disposal at the airport: Socomtaxi accepts payment by credit cards and Radio Taxi San Juan (+34 928 683 713). Limo services are also available from Canary Forum and Canary Limousine.

With water temperatures that vary from 18C in the winter to 22C the rest of the year, sailing around the island can be an extremely pleasant way to see Gran Canaria from the sea. Several companies offer sea trips – some offering dolphin and whale watching and deep-sea fishing.

To move between islands, use Gran Canaria’s inexpensive ferry services - Fred Olsen, Trans Mediterranea and Naveira Armas. If you are in a hurry or get sea-sick easily, air services between the islands are offered by Binter and Islas Airways.

Shopping in Gran Canaria

Gran Canaria has two distinctive shopping areas: The Southern Area, located around the many tourist spots of Maspalomas, Playa del Ingles, San Agustin, Puerto Rico and Meloneras. It plays hosts to the infamous Yumbo Centre, located right in the middle of Playa del ingles, which offers the largest concentration of restaurants and shops, particularly for the gay visitor. It’s also close to many of the gay hotels in Gran Canaria. Many consider the Yumbo to be the centre of gay Gran Canaria.

The Northern Area has some of the best shops in the island, located at the historical Triana Street and its surroundings, and if you are looking for a shopping centre, The Mesa y Lopes offers a wide range of department stores and boutiques.

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Gay Gran Canaria

It is quite surprising that Gran Canaria, which can only really be reached by plane, is one of the largest gay destinations in Europe. In fact, it's one of the 'Big 4' - along with Ibiza, Sitges and Mykonos. Particularly loved by Germans and British holiday-makers, gay Gran Canaria attracts gays from all over Europe and increasingly the world. Once in Gran Canaria you will soon understand why the island is so loved by its gay visitors. It is inexpensive, extremely gay-friendly, has a very diverse gay scene, good gay hotels, fantastic weather, deserted beaches and one of the most convenient deserts you will ever find, just steps from your hotel room, and full of action! It is a combination that doesn't seem to disappoint.

The south of gay Gran Canaria is warmer and sunnier than the north. The two favorite hotspots there are Maspalomas and Playa del Ingles – where most of the gay hotels are located. The former has miles of beaches and sand dunes that seem to go on forever. The latter is home to the famous Yumbo Center – a shopping centre during the day and a huge gay entertainment centre at night, with dozens of restaurants, bars, clubs, etc. It caters for almost every gay scene and because it’s all duty free it’s a very cheap destination. It’s one of the many reasons why so many people return again and again to the island.

Both Maspalomas and Playa del Ingles were famous for low budget holidays. Recently, however, with the opening of top five star hotels, it has started to attract the more affluent holiday makers.

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Looking for gay hotels Gran Canaria? You’ve come to the right website. If you're looking for a gay hotel in Playa del Inglés, then you might want to find somewhere to stay relatively close to the Yumbo Centre – where most of the gay bars are concentrated. It’s marked on the Gay Welcome accommodation map, so you can easily see which gay hotels, guesthouses, apartments and bungalows are close.

There are quite a few good 4-star hotels in Play del Inglés – and you will also find quite a few apartments and other holiday homes for rent. In the Maspalomas and Meloneras areas, which have seen the most development in recent years, there are now lots of very good 5 and 4-star hotels. There’s no real gay centre here, so any of these would be fine to stay in. Most of these are very gay-friendly. If you’re staying in Las Palmas, the capital of Gran Canaria, book into one of the larger hotels that look out over the Playa de Las Canteras. Las Palmas is great place for a holiday, with all the restaurants, shopping and nightlife you could want. Don’t forget, however, that most of the gay bars are in Playa del Inglés 45 minutes away by taxi. Click this link to search for gay hotels in Gran Canaria using a handly map.

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Even more information on gay Gran Canaria

Below are a number of websites and magazines where you'll find even more detailed information on gay Gran Canaria - what to do, where to eat, and how to hook up.