Heading off to the sun in winter on a flight of barely 4 hours? Yes, we can!
Together with Sunweb we flew to Gran Canaria on, to be precise, 14 November. In jeans, a jumper and a thick coat, but 4 hours later there we were, puffing away in 30 degrees.
We stayed at the Lopesan hotel Baobab and that only helped to complete the tropical vibes. On arrival you walk through the treetops of a magnificent subtropical forest to the African hut where you can check in.
After an (incredibly tasty) welcome drink we flopped down on our bed and reconsidered our initial plan to do lots of excursions. See for yourself … we were actually already in paradise.
After a full day of relaxing in our heavenly hotel, we did eventually reach for the list of outings we had planned. Here are our 5 favourite trips for little (and big) adventurers.
Barranco Las Vacas
If you love little road trips with fabulous views, Gran Canaria is your island. First and foremost it is a small island, but a varied one too. On a drive of just a few dozen kilometres it feels as though you've travelled across continents.
From our hotel in Maspalomas we drove our Ford Focus from Jure Cars via the GC-1 into the mountains to Aguimes. From there you can also easily visit the beautiful cave dwellings of Guayadeque.
The gorge
If you type Barranco Las Vacas into Google you end up at a large car park. From there you can enter the gorge and walk uphill towards the magnificent formations. The walk takes 3 hours over an unprepared path going uphill.
With a pregnant wife and limited daylight (it was already fairly late) we didn't want to take any risks and took the short cut.
To reach it, drive from Aguimes towards Santa Lucia de Tirajana along the GC550 until marker 14. There you'll see a small lay-by big enough for about two cars. The gorge runs through the bend itself. Once again it takes some acrobatics to get into the gorge. At a certain point you'll see a steep little path down into the gorge once you climb over the fence. From there you walk under a bridge into the gorge. Don't worry, it's a dead end so you can't get lost.
But once you've walked under the bridge, it's as if you've stepped into another world.
It's a short walk. Even with lots of playing and climbing thrown in, we were back at the car well within the hour.
GC-60 and Degollada de Yegua
From there we drove along the GC-60 to Degollada de La Yegua. We timed it so we arrived at sunset. It's pretty spectacular. In front of you, you watch the sun sink into the sea, and behind you, you see the canyon change into the wildest colours.
INSIDER TIP: It's actually a stargazing platform. There's a detailed chart there valid for every time of the year. If you want to see the correct positions you need to be here at 10 pm.
Camel ride through the dunes of Maspalomas
The dunes of Maspalomas are often portrayed as if they were the Sahara. Although the dunes get barer and barer towards the sea, nowhere do you get the feeling of being in the vast Sahara.
While the Sahara is stunning, the dunes of Maspalomas have a beauty of their own which, in my opinion, needn't be portrayed as anything else. They are sand dunes, but everywhere you can find beautiful plants, even with brightly coloured flowers. In the north the dunes are framed by palm trees and in the south by the sea.
You can explore the northern part of the dunes on the back of a dromedary. Fun two-person seats are strapped onto the hump so you can enjoy the surroundings and your travel companion. For Daniel and me it was probably one of the most intimate moments of the whole trip.
The walk is fully guided by a camel driver and takes about 45 minutes.
Off-road 4×4 jeep tour with Viajes Tara Excursiones
We were thrilled when we heard we could head out with Viajes Tara Excursiones.
On every trip we try to go out with a guide at least once. Although it's cosiest with just our little family, the explanations and knowledge always add enormous value.
A big coach is not our thing at all, but a wild ride through the mountains along ravines certainly is.
Morning
In the morning the driver picked us up at our hotel.
After a short briefing we drove, with a few stops along rocks and ravines, to a cave, a reservoir and the second-largest crater in Europe. Everywhere we were given explanations in Dutch and time to walk around and play a little.
Afternoon
After a (sometimes really quite thrilling) ride we arrived at the restaurant. We've already spent a lot of time in traditional Spain and this fitted that style perfectly! A simple ‘eatery’ with passionate staff and wonderfully fresh food. If you'd like to go there on your own: it's along the GC-60 and is called Restaurante Grill Fagata. We had the vegan paella (highly recommended) together with Canarian potatoes and mojo sauce. Still finger-licking good just thinking about it.
After lunch you continue along the GC-60 (which they also sometimes call “the valley of the 1000 palm trees”) to an aloe vera plantation.
It was a short visit but very interesting. They showed us the plant and also how the gel is ‘harvested’. Strange but true, the children found this the most fascinating part of the day.
The plantation also has a shop with ecological products made from aloe vera and we seized the opportunity to pick up a few gifts for the folks back home.
As the last stop in the Valley of the 1000 Palm Trees we visited a camel park. It may seem odd, all those camels everywhere, but don't forget that geographically you are actually in Africa here. For me at least, it was a real treat to take another ride on the back of a camel. This time through the greenery and the mountains instead of the dunes and the coast.
After another short stop at a beautiful viewpoint we drove back to our hotel. Worn out but happy and satisfied, we still had some time there to enjoy the heavenly garden.
PERFECT
Sunset over the beach of Maspalomas
A good fifteen-minute walk from our hotel lie the beautiful beaches of Maspalomas. A wide, long beach that continues far beyond the dunes. Showers on the beach and even cabins to get changed. Behind the beach there are lovely little shops and bars. Enough to make it cosy, but not overwhelming. Between the shops and the dunes you'll also find a “lake” with lots of birds.
In short, the perfect beach.
During the day it's a beautiful, gently sloping beach with clear blue water, fun waves and fine sand to play in. But the real beauty comes in the evening when the sun sets right across the sea.
To see the full show, make sure you're on the beach an hour or two before sunset. The sun first creates a beautiful haze over the water before it fully sets.
A wildlife safari boat trip
Twenty-seven different species of whale and dolphin in Gran Canaria. The animal lovers in us got very excited about that. A catamaran trip to look for whales and dolphins was therefore definitely on our programme.
As nature lovers, we find it very important that the animals are respected. So look for an official boat to do this kind of excursion. Sunweb offers one itself, but because of our schedule we unfortunately couldn't join their trip. Luckily the tour reps on site recommended a boat to us.
It was the Supercat in Puerto Rico, a 15-minute drive from Maspalomas. A gigantic catamaran full of large double sunbeds. We chose the package with water sports and lunch. This lasts 4 hours.
The other option lasts 2.5 hours, after which you are taken back to the coast in a small boat.
For two hours we sailed far from the coast towards the open sea in search of dolphins. We saw birds and flying fish, but unfortunately no dolphin or whale. However disappointing that is, it's something you have to take into account.
We were certainly glad we had booked the water sports package, so it didn't feel like a wasted trip.
After 2.5 hours the boat stopped some way off the rocky coast. You could choose between swimming, jet skiing, a banana ride and even parasailing. We went snorkelling (great fun, because you can see very deep, right down to the seabed) and did a banana ride. The children loved it and so did we.
Although Gran Canaria is a small island (roughly 50 kilometres across), in a week's time we only did a fraction of what we had planned. It's such a fantastically beautiful island full of nature and culture. But also truly an island for relaxing and enjoying family holidays. It has eternal spring and rightly deserves to be called a micro-continent.
We'll definitely be going back to add to this list.
In collaboration with Sunweb Belgium.
https://www.sunweb.be/nl
