Playa del Inglés

A purpose-built resort means everything is within a 20-minute walk or short bus ride — the shortlist below covers the sand, the dunes, the kitchens and the night.

🏞️ Nature & Outdoor Activities

• Camel-trek the Maspalomas Dunes at sunrise (Maspalomas trailhead, just west of Playa del Inglés)
• Play 18 holes at Maspalomas Golf, the only dune-side course in the Canaries (Maspalomas)
• Windsurf at the Anexo II end of Playa del Inglés beach — winter trade winds make this the resort's strongest watersports zone
• Cycle the Paseo Costa Canaria from Playa del Inglés to San Agustín — 4km flat and seaside
• Spend a day at Palmitos Park (Barranco de Chamoriscán) — orchid gardens and dolphin shows 20 minutes inland

🏖️ Beaches

• Playa del Inglés itself — 3km Blue Flag stretch with sunbeds at €3, lifeguards in season
• Playa de Maspalomas — wider, dune-backed and more peaceful, with the Faro de Maspalomas at its western tip
• Playa de San Agustín — pebblier and quieter; best snorkelling on this stretch of coast
• Playa del Cura — a tucked-away cove 15km west, reachable in 25 minutes by hire car

🍽️ Food & Drink

• Order papas arrugadas con mojo (wrinkled potatoes with red and green pepper sauce) at El Senador (Avenida de Tirajana)
• Eat vieja a la espalda (butterflied parrotfish) at La Toja — a Galician seafood institution open in Playa del Inglés since 1965
• Pour a Guinness at Mulligan's in the Yumbo Centrum — a long-running Irish bar with live football and acoustic sets
• Sip ron miel (Canarian rum-honey liqueur) at the rooftop terrace of the Bohemia Suites in Playa del Inglés
• Try Tabaiba, chef Borja Marrero's casual Canarian-Asian counter — a Repsol-guide favourite

🎉 Nightlife & Entertainment

• Watch a drag cabaret at Ricky's or Sparkles Show Bar in the Yumbo Centrum
• Dance until dawn at Pacha Gran Canaria beside the Kasbah Centre
• Hop the bars of the Metro Centre for commercial dance and karaoke
• Salsa under the stars in the central square of Plaza Maspalomas, with live music nightly in season
• Join a Gran Canaria Boat Party — daytime catamaran with DJ sets, departing Pasito Blanco

📸 Instagram-Worthy Spots

• The metallic-modernist façade of the Templo Ecuménico de San Salvador (1971), Avenida Tirajana
• The Mirador de las Dunas lookout at the eastern dune entrance, off Avenida Tirajana
• The painted staircases of the Cita Shopping Centre — clown faces, turrets and the famous wall-mounted car
• The palm-fringed inland lagoon of La Charca de Maspalomas, behind the Faro

Best Value Deals

🏨 All-Inclusive Holidays

Playa del Inglés is one of Europe's most concentrated all-inclusive markets, with Bull Costa Canaria, Abora Continental by Lopesan, Servatur Waikiki and Riu Don Miguel at the top of UK booking lists. Shoulder-season weeks with flights typically open from £429pp in May or October, climbing to £899pp at February half-term — a genuine winter-sun escape that costs less than a UK domestic city break.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family Holidays

The resort handles family holidays at scale. Beachfront sunbed zones, gradual-entry sand and short transfers (25 minutes from LPA) keep travel days easy. Pair with Aqualand Maspalomas, Sioux City Wild West Park and Palmitos Park — all within 20 minutes — and a week's entertainment is locked in. Hotel Riu Papayas and Abora Buenaventura lead the UK family hotel rankings.

💎 Luxury Holidays

True five-star inventory clusters in next-door Meloneras (15 minutes' walk west), but Playa del Inglés holds two heavy hitters of its own: the adults-only Bohemia Suites & Spa, designed by Alberto Pinto and 800m from the dunes, and the Seaside Sandy Beach. For couples wanting a quieter pairing, book Bohemia for romance and add a day at Lopesan Costa Meloneras.

⏰ Last-Minute Deals

Genuine late deals are uncommon during the December–February winter-sun window, when European retirees fill the resort to capacity. The strongest discounts surface mid-May to mid-June and from late September into early October, when prices can fall 25–30% inside three weeks of departure.

Why book with us:

💷 Low deposits from £49pp

🔄 Flexible payment plans with balance due 6 weeks before travel

🛡️ ATOL Protected — your money and flights are safeguarded

✅ Free amendment window on selected packages

📞 UK-based customer support, 8am–11pm every day

📅 Best Time to Visit Playa del Inglés

The single best argument for Playa del Inglés is that there is no bad time to visit. December to March is the headline winter-sun window — daytime highs of 21–23°C, sea temperatures of 19–20°C, and the resort's biggest cultural pull, the February carnival. April to June and October to November are the value-strong shoulders, with 24–27°C and noticeably cheaper hotels. July and August reach 28–30°C, occasionally dusted by Saharan calima haze for a day or two. The southern dune-side hotels are reliably 2–3°C warmer than Las Palmas city.



🏨 Where to Stay

• Families: Hotel Riu Papayas, Abora Buenaventura by Lopesan
• Couples: Bohemia Suites & Spa, Seaside Sandy Beach
• Luxury travellers: Lopesan Costa Meloneras, Seaside Palm Beach (both adjacent Meloneras)
• Budget travellers: Servatur Waikiki, Abora Continental by Lopesan
• Nightlife & first-timers: Riu Don Miguel — three minutes' walk from the Yumbo

🚗 Getting Around

The resort is compact: end to end is 25 minutes on foot. Global runs the public buses; line 66 connects Gran Canaria Airport (LPA) to El Veril and Yumbo stops in 35 minutes for €3.50. A taxi from the airport is around €33 and takes 25 minutes via the GC-1 motorway. For day trips inland, hire a car from Cicar or PlusCar from €25 a day; the GC-503 climbs into the central mountains and connects Playa del Inglés to Tejeda and Roque Nublo in under an hour.

💡 Travel Tips

• The Canary Islands run on UK time year-round — no jet lag.
• IGIC sales tax is 7% versus mainland Spain's 21% — perfumes, cosmetics and spirits are noticeably cheaper.
• Tap water is desalinated and technically safe; locals stick to bottled.
• Plug type is European C/F at 230V — bring a UK adapter.
• The Kasbah area touts can be persistent; the "free drink" voucher routine is rarely worth following.
• The dunes have a designated nudist and gay zone around beach posts 5–7; the family stretch is east of post 4 toward El Veril.