The south coast of Gran Canaria is an almost constant succession of beautiful golden sand beaches. Between Playa de San Agustin on the west and Puerto de Mogán to the east, sunseekers will find no less than six major beach resorts.
The largest is Maspalomas, perhaps the island's most popular beach, painted with bright umbrellas and backed by a promenade and a line of restaurants, cafes, shops, and amusements. It's one of the island's liveliest beach scenes at any time of day or night.
At one end is a protected reserve of huge sand dunes stretching in layers to the sea. Mountains of wind-riffled sand undulate above beaches, where dunes as high as 12 meters are constantly carved and shifted by sea and wind. You can wander for hours on foot, marveling at their desolate beauty, but it's more exotic to climb on a dromedary for a lurching ride through this spectacular dunescape.
The capital city of Las Palmas has several excellent beaches, including Playa Las Canteras, with a wide, sandy shore and gentle waters thanks to a natural breakwater formed by volcanic rock. Part of the beach is a scuba diving area.
