Gay Gran Canaria

The Greek writer Homer called the islands Elysium—where the good and great spent an idyllic afterlife. Hercules visited the daughters of Atlas here, in their paradisiacal island home. The Romans bestowed the enviable name “Fortunate Islands” on them. Even Shakespeare sang the praises of the isles, gushing that Canary Island wine “perfumes the blood.”

The volcanic Island of Gran Canaria, situated just 130 miles off the northwest coast of Africa, is a gay man`s dream - it`s got sun, sea and sex in abundance and what`s more it`s a year round fantasy island. Gran Canaria is the gayest and proudest of the Canary Islands, with lots of history to explore, and plenty of relaxed revelry with a Spanish flair.

Why go?



Located just 4 hours from most European airports it`s an easy destination to obtain that perfect tan. If you want to get a bit cultural head into the mountains where the scenery changes from volcanic dryness to pine forests and evergreen shrubs. In the North around Arucas, Teror and Santa Brigida the valleys are green from the intensive cultivation of tomatoes, potatoes and bananas. You can drive leisurely around the coast road of the island in one day, with great stops for lunch and photo-shots that`ll amaze your friends on your return.

When`s the best time to go?



The islands three week carnival usually happens at beginning of February and it's a huge glamorous affair with costumes worthy of a place in a Las Vegas casino. Temperatures rarely fall below 21degress and during our summer months the average temperature is 29 degrees! Perfect for slipping on, or off, the swimming trunks and hitting the beach with G & T`s in hand.

If you want somehting alittle pinker, then Gay Pride Maspalomas takes place in May and every year it gets bigger and better.

The sand dunes of Maspalomas are definitely worth seeing to ease you into your holiday. They have an area to the south which is covered in bushes and, unsurprisingly, it is here that the gay population flock to set up camp for the day. There's a lot of action happening so if you`re a bit shy take yourself up to one of the bush covered hills. Ensure that you take plenty of liquids with you as the nearest bar is a bit of a trek away, and it gets hot, hot, hot up on those dunes!

The beach itself is split into three zones. Towards the lighthouse is the family area, in the middle the nudist section, where most of the gay community hang out and a third, family-orientated nudist area.

Alternatively, hiring a private yacht, with or without skipper, and sailing around the islands is a great way to spend the day. Or visit the Gran Canaria Diving Club for some underwater action!

Without a doubt the best places to shop are the shopping centres. The most significant being in Las Palmas, followed closely by Las Arenas. Housing many outlets from small boutiques to huge megastores like the Continente, just about everything and anything can be bartered over.

Like Tenerife the islands climate is cooler and more temperate in the north with the south having less rain and higher temperatures throughout the whole year. This then is quite naturally where the bulk of the tourist resorts are located. As well as Playa and Maspalomas there is Puerto Rica and the charming Puerto de Mogán, a picturesque village known locally as ‘Little Venice’ with its white coloured buildings and colourful flowers. Visitors should also make sure that they visit the islands mountainous interior and the rugged west coast towns of Puerto de las Nieves and Puerto de la Aldea.

PLAYA DEL INGLES

One of the biggest holiday resorts in Europa and busy pretty much all year round, often busier in winter than it is in the summer thanks to all the sun, sea, sand and ... that's here every day of the year.

On the whole, the resort is a mainstream destination other than one big commercial center, one of the biggest of it's kind in Spain, the Yumbo Center. This is home to a huge selection of bars, restaurants, shops, cabaret shows, night clubs, a sauna and is also where the annual carnival and gay pride events take place here in the south of the island.

There are literally hundreds upon hundreds of hotel and apartment choices around the resort as well as a handfull of very populalar gay-exclusive choices. All of the properties close to the Yumbo are gay-friendly and generally the whole resort is gay-friendly.

In the summer there's very much a "Club 18-30" feel about the place whilst the winter sees a generally quieter and older crowd but there's a huge mix of people here any day of the year from all over Europe. The English and Germans are the majority with the Italians in August but pretty much every European country chooses Playa del Ingles as one of their top destinations.

Wherever you are in the resort you're not far from a ton of shops and restaurants (there are 12 commercial centers in all around the place), there's a regular bus service from the resort center to the beach, to other resorts, towns and the airport & taxis are plentiful and cheap.

MASPALOMAS

The neighbour of Playa del Ingles, covers a similar kind of area but is nowhere near as built up and generally a quieter, more relaxed feel about the place. One is only 5 minutes from the other by cab so you're never that far from the Yumbo center and the nightlife whichever of the two resorts you choose.

Maspalomas is probably more famous for the "Maspalomas Sand Dunes" but depending on where in the resorts you are, often it is easier to get to them from Playa del Ingles!

Accommodation prices are generally cheaper here other than the gay-exclusives which comete against each other in price wherever they are. If you're a golfer there's an 18 hole course here, holidayworld which has an excellent gym, Faro 2 is the only main commercial center and a quiet one at that, there's a market two days a week (Wednesday and Saturday), and of course the start of the sdand dunes (look for the lighthouse to find where they start).

MELONERAS

Meloneras you´ll find located to the west of Maspalomas. The lighthouse at Faro splits Meloneras from Maspalomas but the two are side-by-side. Definitely THE posh part of Maspalomas and neighbour to Playa del Ingles, lots of hotels, bungalows and villas already here with more on the way and all tend to be 4 or 5 star. The Costa Meloneras is a good example, 4 star, 1,500 rooms and everything you'd expect to find in a town back home you'll find in the grounds here, including it's very own beach within the complex itself.

There's a main commercial center already finished with a nice choice of stylish restaurants, bars, cafes. The shopping here is the designer-label type. More shops are almost finished in various buildings around the area. Of course, being that close to Maspalomas you're walking distance from 8km of golden-sand beach and there's several smaller coves and another of those endless promenades here too.

The funny looking huge building that looks like the roof is sliding off is the Maspalomas Congress center. Pretty boring stuff, business meetings and so on for the most part but watch out for the odd, public exhibition and occasionally there's a (straight) night club on there in the summer, invited guest DJs and space for a couple of thousand.

La Palma

The islands capital, La Palma is situated on the north eastern tip of the island with a stunning location on the towns two large bays.

Founded in 1478 the important history of the town is best seen in the Vegueta district which attained World Heritage status in 1990. The city has doubled its population in the last 30 years and is now home to 400,000 people and is brimming with Spanish charm and culture.

It's well worth taking a visit to Las Palmas. It is less touristy and offers some rich history and architecture. The city has some beaches, and local bars and restaurants serve traditional Spanish tapas, small serving of meat, fish, and vegetables - often accompanied with beer.

The Gran Terraza Lolita Pluma (Centrical Parque Santa Catalina) is a Las Palmas landmark, literally a grand terrace cafe named in homage to a local colorful character who fed street cats and sold chewing gum to tourists in the park that faces here.

Sauna Portugal (Calle Portugal 37) has Finland and steam saunas, free cabins and darkroom, plus bar and massage services in Las Palmas.

Trebol (Tomas Miller 55) is another local sauna on this side of the island. For an entertaining gay tour, try Let Me Take U, , (Letmetakeu.com) for an excursion with highlights you might miss if on your own. They offer group or individual Las Palmas tours with a bit of the city's history and a visit to some local gay bars and clubs too.

Inland there are many picturesque towns and villages which are only a few kilometres from the hustle and bustle of the busy beach resorts.

Some of the most beautiful of these towns are Arucas with its popular cathedral that lifts its Gothic spires to the sky; Telde with its labyrinth of steep alley ways; Moya, located at the edge of the ravine; Barranco de Moya and the prosperous town of Santa Brigida with one of the most desirable residential locations on the island.

The Canary Islands offer one of the best places for us Northern Europeans to escape from the chilly winters. But, if you thought that this volcanic archipelago was just about package holiday pandemonium and dodgy gay resorts, then think again. The volcanic origin of the islands gives each their own distinct characteristics. There are huge volcanic craters, ancient forests and pristine black sandy beaches lapped by warm, crystal clear waters which are frequented by whales and dolphins. Four of Spain’s thirteen national parks are also located on the islands, more than any other autonomous region in the country.

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