Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura Oct 13

EDUCATIONAL TRIP 4th – 9th October GRAN CANARIA & FUERTEVENTURA

I decided to book into the very nice 4 star Copthorne Hotel, Gatwick as we were meeting so early and left my car there for not much more than the cost of car parking. It also has a pool, steam room and gym which was a lovely start to the trip.
Friday 4th October, 2013 GRAN CANARIA 05:00 Met at Gatwick North Terminal with Gran Canaria representative Katarina 07:00-11:30 Flight Easyjet 8693 London Gatwick-Gran Canaria Transfer and check in at 5* Sheraton Salobre Golf Resort & Spa. This was our hotel for the duration of our stay in Gran Canaria. The hotel is set in the grounds of the golf course for the area and has lovely views from the room balconies over the golf course one way and towards the sand dunes of maspolomas the other way. This hotel is set 10 minutes inland from the beach by transfer which operates at least 4 times a day. Golf buggies can be hired and rounds of golf range from 40-90 euros a round (depending on offers)

 

13:30-15:30 Transfer to Maspalomas & Melonearas area and lunch at H10 Playa Meloneras Palace 5* The food was delicious at this unusual 5 star hotel with reception in the shape of a huge palm tree. Had a quick tour of the hotel and spa with lovely grounds but unable to take any photos here. The Masplomas and Meloneras is definitely the more upmarket end of Playa del Ingles area.
15:30-16:30 Visit Maspalomas Dunes and short walk along the Meloneras promenade The Meloneras area is considered Gran Canaria's best tourist area and has a conference centre, golf club, 4 and 5 star high-quality modern hotels, bars, restaurants, casinos and boutiques. The promenade is 2 km long and is joined with Maspalomas and its 6 km famous dunes, palm grove and lagoon. This is definitely a nice, smart area with good choice of shops.
16:30-19:00  Relax at sunset terrace and pools -the large hotel has pools on each floor and a stunning adult only pool on the 11th floor with fantastic views

19:30-21:30 Dinner at Sheraton Salobre Golf Resort & Spa with hotel representative

Saturday 5th October 2013, GRAN CANARIA 09:00-10:00 Breakfast at hotel
10:00-11:00 Transfer to Las Palmas
11:00-12:30 Visit Bandama Crater and wine tasting with tripgrancanaria.com
 Had an enjoyable wine tasting at the Bandama crater in the Santa Brigida region. The picturesque Caldera de Bandama is a volcanic crater – 1000 m. in diameter and enjoys breathtaking views of the island and with a clear sky you might even get to see Fuerteventura.

The Royal Golf Club of Las Palmas, the first ever golf club of Spain, developed by the British in 19th Century is in this beautiful residential area, known well for its vineyards. This is a prestigious and scenic golf course opened in 1891 by the british and one of the first golf courses in europe with stunning views and a round of golf costing around 90 euros.

12:30-13:30 Visit Vegueta and Triana with tripgrancanaria.com Visited Vegueta, lovely old quarter of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria with its most important historical buildings which have been standing for the past five hundred years. Visited Columbus House Museum, Plaza de Santa Ana Square and Cathedral. There is an amazing amount of history in this area and the old quarter was very nice with cobbled streets and nice quiet pavement cafes and restaurants.

  14:00-15:30 Lunch at Las Canteras Beach at “Charcón 41” Restaurant. A nice beachfront position where we sampled a selection of tapas and choice of fish or beef main course. 15:30-17:00 Enjoy Las Canteras beach and promenade Las Canteras Beach has been awarded as one of The Top 10 Best Beaches in Spain 2013 by TripAdvisor. This 3.5 km long urban beach in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is protected by its fine golden sand and rocky reef of volcanic origin creating a natural space of big ecologic value. This beach has lovely promenade and is full of places of leisure with bars and restaurants giving a life to the city. The weather can suffer with a few more clouds than the sunny south as closer to the mountains but still very pleasant.
17:00-18:00 Transfer back to the South to San Agustín area. This is the quieter end west of playa del ingles and its famous sand dunes.
18:30-19:30 Enjoy Thalasso at Gloria Palace San Agustín 4* This was a great experience, a selection of relaxing massage jets in the salt water pools and with hot and cold pools also. They also offer therapeutic massages and seaweeed/mud treatments as one of the extras available.
Enjoyed a lovely meal at this hotel with great service at their rooftop a la carte restaurant Gorbea - renowned to be the best on the island.

  Sunday 6th October, 2013 GRAN CANARIA 08:30-09:30 Breakfast at hotel 09:30-14:00 Transfer to Anfi Beach Club for water sports activities Here we experienced parasending, jet skis and jet boats before boarding the half an hour boat excursion from Anfi to Puerto Mogán. Pretty Puerto de Mogán has beautiful gardens with exotic plants and tasteful bars and restaurants, located in South-West area of the island that enjoys unbeatable weather and perfect conditions for water sport activities all year round! Porto Mogan was my favourite place on the island known as the little Venice due to the waterways running between the streets and lovely low rise apartments give a special attraction to the place.

14:00-16:00 Lunch at Cordial Mogán Playa 4*+ Our visit to the Cordial Mogan Playa was special with lovely natural grounds and a superb buffet lunch. This is a large hotel with lots of facilities but does not seem hectic in anyway and the surroundings are spectacular.

18:45-19:30 Transfer and visit of Seaside Grand Hotel Residencia 5*GL –Member of The Leading Hotels of the World

20:00-22:00 Visit and sample BBQ dinner at Seaside Hotel Palm Beach 5*-Member of Design Hotels

Had a fantastic meal here with wonderful puddings which are made by their onsite patisserie.

Monday 7th October, 2013 GRAN CANARIA -FUERTEVENTURA 7:00-8:00 Breakfast at hotel 8:00-8:45 Transfer to the airport 10:00-10:40 Flight NT210 Gran Canaria 10:00h -Fuerteventura 10:40h Raúl Herrera.
  11:00 Check in at Sheraton Hotel, Caleta de Fuste.

We had a spacious room in this good quality hotel in the quieter resort of Caleta de Fuste.

  12:00 Trip to El Cotillo in the north of the island. 12:30 Lunch in El Horno in Villaverde.

Fuerteventura dishes have a taste of salt, sea and pasture of Majorera goats. Discover and enjoy the typical food of the island. Here we had a good selection of quality tapas followed by goat (a very bony meat and similar to lamb!) 13:30 Visit el Tostón Castle and its museum. The building is made of stone from a stone quarry close to el Cotillo. It was declared a historic monument in 1949 and it is an important element in the cultural heritage of the island of Fuerteventura. Nowadays, it has turned into a space for history and culture promotion for the population of Fuerteventura. It hosts contemporary art exhibitions, as well as a tourism office and a viewpoint over the white sand beaches of El Cotillo, which is one of the main tourism resorts in Fuerteventura.

  14:30 Visit the fishing village of el Cotillo and relax by the Sea. Crystal clear waters, a pleasant temperature and much quietness can be found in el Cotillo. 17:00 Enjoy Corralejo Natural Park and the town of Corralejo. From this natural park you will enjoy spectacular views of the dunes, the beaches of white sand and turquoise water and the Lobos Island. Walk through the streets of Corralejo.
This was a much larger more touristy resort.

 

  Tuesday 8th October, 2013 FUERTEVENTURA 09:15 Breakfast. 10:00 Meet Raúl at reception for a day trip to Jandía in the south of the island. 11:00 Visit Betancuria, the historic capital of the Canaries and the Archeological Museum. Betancuria town was founded by the Norman conquerors around 1404. It has enormous historic value as it is considered to be the first capital of the Canary Islands, with the first monastery, first cathedral and episcopal headquarters in the entire archipelago. 12:00 Visit Morro Velosa Observation Point. It was designed by the artist from Lanzarote Cesar Manrique and from its installations you can see the full view of the beautiful landscape of plains, volcanoes and trusses that form Northern and central Fuerteventura.

13:30 Lunch in Risco del Paso beach bar, a great lunch and superb beach front setting. Jandía beaches are some of the best beaches of the Atlantic Ocean. The golden sand with turquoise waters of these beaches are stunning.

Wednesday 9th October, 2013 FUERTEVENTURA 08:30 Breakfast. 09:15 Check out and transfer to the airport. 11:20 – 15:15 Flight EasyJet 8536: Fuerteventura 11:20 – London Gatwick 15:15h

Fuerteventura is much quieter than neighbouring Gran Canaria and there is little to do but relax and unwind with the locals. Temperatures in both were between 25c-29c whilst we were there and are perfect winter sun destinations. We were mostly fed tapas which are the local dishes that just keep on coming and are delicious (not for those with small appetites or on a diet!)

A big thank you to the Spanish Tourist Board for hosting our trip. More photos can be found on our EmsworthTravel facebook or contact Sue Tooke on 01243377211 or travel@emsworthtravel.co.uk for more information.