We’ve been quiet on the blog for a while and we have a tiny reason for it. Our traveling tribe got a bit bigger in late September with the arrival of our daughter Larissa. And in traditional travel family style she took her first trip at 4 weeks old to the Netherlands at Hof Van Saksen Holiday village ( more on that in a separate post).

Three months post partum, the grey skies and wet weather of Northern Europe winter just did not cut it for us anymore so, after grabbing a good Black Friday deal on tui.nl we packed up our bags and headed to Schiphol Airport on 31 December. Destination Las Palmas in Gran Canaria.

This was our 3rd time in the Canaries, a favourite family holiday spot in Europe due to its mild year-round weather. We took our son at 4 months in Tenerife and also visited Lanzarote when he was two. Gran Canaria is the Southern most island and we were expecting glorious weather.

Flying on the 31st December was pretty chill. Most people were probably deciding what to wear for the big NYE celebrations than what to pack in their suitcase and drive to the airport. We arrived at our resort in Gran Canaria shortly before 8 Pm, just in time for dinner and waiting for the countdown. At 0h we cheered with champagne, ate the traditional Spanish grapes and had a short dance before falling asleep exhausted. Bye 2019 and welcome to 2020!

We spent the first day of 2020 relaxing at the resort and giving the kids ( and us) a chance to acclimate to 20 degrees C weather . The Villas and Suites by Dunas is not the newest resort in Maspalomas but I found it quite nicely set up for families. First, the all rooms have a sitting area with a convertible couch and a bedroom. Some (family suites) have kitchenettes too which is very handy with small ones. Second, as there were only villas, spread around, it never felt overwhelming or too crowded. Also not too noisy, with the exception of the breakfast area. Sure, there was a kids club and a mini- disco if you could convince you little one to join in. They had English, Spanish, Italian and German speakers in their animation team. Although quite young, the animation team at the kids club was making quite an effort to keep the above 4s engaged. We joined in a few activities but never managed to do the entire day, which is when your kid gets a diploma in the evening.

Very important in December, the water in the pools and splash play area was heated and pleasant to swim in for the whole family.

On to the food: We were on B&B basis so only ate breakfast and two dinners at the resort. The breakfast was plentiful and varied with a few Spanish staples like churros and tortilla, on par with other 4 star hotels. The only downside was the insufficient number of coffee machines ( leading to a bit of a wait each morning) and the very noisy breakfast area. As the resort was fully booked, we kind of expected some level of noise and preferred to eat either very early or after 9h30. You could also have breakfast on the terrace which was a bit more relaxing.

The only dinner we had there with the exception of the new year one was nothing special. The NYE buffet we found pretty good, with seafood and deserts being especially tasty.

Even if we were in a resort with activities for all ages, it is difficult for us to stay put too long. On the third day of our stay, we rented a car to discover more of what the island has to offer. We found rental prices at the airport to be half of those in the Maspalomas area even if this meant an extra trip to the airport. The local bus was stopping 100m from the resort and took 45 min to the airport.

Here our our top tips for an adventure filled week in Gran Canaria with the family and lovely local places to try canary flavours :

1. Agüimes for tapas, homade ice cream and a stroll through a charming village. This village is about 45 min from Maspalomas resort but feels like a world away. No high rise buildings, few tourists and a pretty walkable centre. A few terraces lined the main square where you could relax with a cortado (Spanish expresso with milk) or a tapa. We stopped at both El Populacho and Bar Teressa San Anton and can warmly recommend them. Grab a homemade ice cream in local flavours (e.g. Toro) at Almogaren. If the little ones get restless, 5 min from the Center there is a lovely playground. If you have a sweet tooth, just a little walk from the playground, on the main Boulevard Calle Joaquin Artiles at no 26, we stumbled upon a great pastry shop called Dulceria Brazil. All cakes are made fresh and there were lots of locals ordering there. The dulce de leche cake was divine! If you did not stop for lunch in Agüimes, continue the mountain road to the Barranco de Guayadeque ravine where you will find a settlement of cave homes. There are a few cave restaurants with Canary dishes.
2. The scenic drive in the heart of the Gran Canaria mountains and a visit to Fortaleza. The roads leading inside the island are not for the faint of heart. They are windy and pretty narrow but the views are worth it. We headed up from Agüimes and drove to Temisas and then Santa Lucia, a smaller and sleepier village. After a quick look around, we headed to Fortaleza de Ansite, a site dedicated to pre- Hispanic settlements. At the interpretation Center there is a movie showing the way of life of the locals and a huge touch screen for the kids to play around. The visit and movie take about 45 minutes.
3. Porto de las Nieves and one of the most scenic costal road rips. Starting in Maspalomas, this road rip takes on the whole Western side of the island. If you have enough time, a quick stop at Puerto de la Aldea is interesting. If not, head directly to Puerto de las Nieves as the trip will last about 2 h of scenic inland and coastal winding roads. We timed this with the kids mid- day naps to give us a bit of time for stops at viewpoints on the way and limited whining in the car. In Puerto de la Nieves there are several seafood restaurants lining the shore. For something a bit more modern, try Ragu. For a no frills affair, we quite enjoyed the fresh octopus at Cofradia de Pescadores. Ragu has a better view but both are lovely to see the sunset. We were there is early afternoon (5PM) and most restaurants were open and uncrowned. There is also pretty cool playground in the shape of a boat just behind the restaurants.
4. Los Azuléjos for local food with a view and a stroll in Porto Mogán’s pretty harbour. Mogán is a small village on a hill 40 min east of Maspalomas. After a quick look around, we continued the road up to Aldea de San Nicolas in the heart of the mountains. We stopped at Las Canadas for lunch. They have local food (Canary style chicken and lamb) and delicious fruit juices. The best is however the view over the valley. For children there are high chairs to keep the at the table and few turtles, a chameleon and even a donkey in the premises to keep them entertained. If you continue on this road, you can also have a few snaps of Los Azuléjos, a multi-coloured rock formation.
5. Working up a sweat and imagining how it all looked before all the hotel development in the Dunas de Maspalomas. We did this walk on our second day as the Natural Park is only 400 meters from the resort. It then takes about 45 min walk through the sand dunes to the beach and the lighthouse in Meloneras. We had the little one in a carrier but even for our oldest, walking in the sand became a bit tiring after a while so we did plenty of breaks. There is the option to take a camel ride through the dunes as well. We met the tourists caravan on a couple of occasions and there were lots of kids doing it. The starting point is on the Meloneras side of the natural reserve and rides are about 20 Euro for an adult.
6. The Casa- Museo de Colon in Las Palmas. Now this sight we didn’t actually mange to visit. I have done all the research and was looking forward to see the replica galleons that I am sure are a hit with kids. However we left this for our our last day but forgot that 6 January is a big holiday in Spain (dia de los Reyes) and the museum was closed. If you want to prepare your visit a bit better than us, you will find all the information on opening times on the museum website.

Our kids are still small but you may want to consider taking a break from sightseeing and visit one of the water parks for a fun day out with older kids. Aqualand looked like a lot of fun when driving by.

We liked Gran Canarias rugged heart and would definitely recommend the hotel Suites and Villas by Dunas for a solid family option that didn’t break the bank. When comparing the three Canary islands we have seen so far, we would probably still prefer Lanzarote as it best preserves an authentic Spanish atmosphere and is not as built up as her sisters.

Have you visited Fuerteventura? How does it compare with the others ? We look forward to visiting it soon.

Happy travels !

CGK