Then come the sailors, who find in Gran Canaria a great place to hold sailboat races. Winds practically made-to-measure, sea currents that gather large schools of fishes close to the coast, and spectacular sea bottoms represent its natural advantages. While in the rest of Europe winter stops all sea-related activity, the island’s impressive water sport season remains open. Throughout the year.

Then come the sailors, who find in Gran Canaria a great place to hold sailboat races. Winds practically made-to-measure, sea currents that gather large schools of fishes close to the coast, and spectacular sea bottoms represent its natural advantages. While in the rest of Europe winter stops all sea-related activity, the island’s impressive water sport season remains open. Throughout the year.

Had they told me when I was a child that I would be flying over the water at full speed tied to a kite, I would have never believed it! Had they sworn to me that I would be able to tumble over the sea as if on a trampoline, reaching so high I could almost touch the bottom of small airplanes, I would have never bought into that. But life is a big surprise. Now that I have grown older I spend hours on end tied to a kite. Enjoying kite surfing, the best sports ever invented for adrenaline junkies such as myself.
A sport tailored to the island of Gran Canaria. You only need wind areas, fine weather, and the blue sea reaching a coastline filled with beaches. All found on this island with a long surfing and windsurfing tradition. Plenty spots where to test your skills, and a growing number of schools where to take your first steps. This explains the many kites flying on the skies of Gran Canaria, driving not only tourists but also locals, who all of a sudden leave their offices and close their shops. For there are many who rush to the sea with their kite-surfing gear in their trunks the minute they have the chance to sail the sea under the sun.
It is somehow hard to explain the reasons for this peculiar fever, this sea sport addiction. So hard I will leave you here and head to the beach. I feel like tumbling on a kite-surfing board for a thousand times. Come and try it if you like!

We can offer you a thousand and one alternatives to make your holidays one long party. Gran Canaria is young and fun providing a whirl of colours and flavours at any time of day. Gran Canaria lives outdoors all year round. If you just can’t sit still, make the most of the coast, the ravines and the fantastic climate. You can take part in sports such as climbing, trekking, windsurfing, surfing or scuba diving, among others. If you want, you can enjoy more than a hundred days of holiday in this miniature continent, trying outdoor and adventure sports. Gran Canaria throws parties all year round including the smallest villages, particularly in the summer. Pilgrimages, shows and local festivals welcome thousands of people offering endless parties and grand traditions.

Extroverts can find passionate, hair-raising activities in Gran Canaria trying adventure sports such as windsurfing, climbing, surfing or scuba diving. Do you also fancy a night out? The Island’s capital and tourist area in the south offer an attractive nightlife. You can party the night away until the early hours of the morning in busy bars, pubs and discos. Terraces offer the other main focus on this Island where the privileged climate means you can socialise in the open air, all twelve months of the year. Gran Canaria nightlife combines partying, great weather and lots of fun.

Do you want to know why so many people are crazy about surfing in Gran Canaria? The answer is simple. In Gran Canaria, great places to surf and bodyboard are right on your doorstep. The good year-round climate and the vast number of beaches along the coastline mean that kids start surfing very young. For youngsters, bodyboarding has become a type of national sport on the island. And talking about waves, Gran Canaria can provide you with all types, such as the “Confital right” in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. It even manages to surprise surfers from outside the island, although you can also try your luck in Arguineguín, in the south or in Lloret (La Cícer), in the capital. The Island’s north coast is also a haven for surfers and bodyboarders. You’ll find good waves in Puertillo de Arucas, which is another key spot.

Why are the waves so special in Gran Canaria? Those in the know would tell you that the Island’s waves are ‘powerful’ because the waves reach the coastline from a great depth.

The Archipelago coast does not have a continental platform and therefore the waves break with more energy. Furthermore, the coastal soil is mainly volcanic which limits great movements in the sand and the wave is always fixed at the same point, as occurs for example with the infamous Confital Right. So you’ll see why it is a “mortal sin” not to surf or bodyboard in Gran Canaria. There are just too many surfing beaches. The island has all the right conditions to attract surfers after good waves and remember you don’t have to squeeze into your full wetsuit here either. Do you need any more reasons why so many people are crazy about surfing in Gran Canaria?

Most tourists who stroll happily along the Gran Canaria beaches are not aware of what is hidden beneath the sunshades and sand. Only a few metres from the beach’s bustle and sun there is a surprisingly lively world. However, this is no secret to scuba divers visiting the island. Gran Canaria’s marine depths are like the hidden face of the moon, a secret you don't give away to just anyone. Whilst hundreds of people sunbathe on the beach everyday a few people enter the water and leave the sun behind for a while for a trip to the depths of the island. You do not actually need any special equipment and the sun will still be there when you get back. Scuba diving in Gran Canaria is a real delight and enjoyed by both tourists and locals. This includes diving with oxygen or just swimming with a snorkel, mask and fins. Everyone is impressed by the silence at the bottom of the sea and the extraordinary marine landscapes hidden by the Gran Canaria coast.

Catfish, sheephead fish, bream, canary damsels… endless types of fish splash through each coastal area around the island. Local divers have their own circuits round the coast. To the South in Pasito Blanco, or in Veneguera; in the North in Caleta de Abajo or in Sardina del Norte. Skirting the island, it is easy to find the best places for new and expert divers. The Playa del Cabrón is one of these places. Located in the southeast of Gran Canaria, it is a small beach tucked out of the way, protected from the local wind and perfect for divers. It offers scuba divers an extraordinary landscape including anemones, all shapes and sizes of fish and a blanket of algae interspersed with cracks and rocky caves. In the North, the Playa de las Canteras, in the capital of the island, we can find even more surprises. Located in the very heart of the city, Las Canteras has an exceptional natural volcanic stone bar which practically crosses this entire bay zone.

The popular “Barra de las Canteras” protects bathers from the waves and turns the whole seabed in the area into an underwater show. You only need a mask and snorkel to discover the rich marine life which is protected by the volcanic stone. It is a real miracle to find such variety and so many species really only a few metres from the city’s noise and frenetic life. If you want to discover these amazing landscapes, you’ll have more than enough opportunity on the island. Gran Canaria also has numerous scuba diving schools which will quickly teach you about diving with oxygen, rent you the equipment you need or organise group excursions. Gran Canaria’s coastline is waiting for you. Immerse yourself and discover the silence of the dark side of the moon.