Las Palmas, Canary Islands – Las Canteras beach that won our hearts

Reminder: Ian is a self-declared weather diva. Las Palmas Canary Islands is regularly rated as having one of the best climates in the world. How could he possibly turn down a chance to visit if we were in the neighborhood? We were in Krakow, and Ian found an inexpensive nonstop flight from Krakow to Las Palmas on Ryanair…done deal!

Let’s begin with a truth (as we see it): Las Palmas is not a pretty city. It doesn’t have an old town like most European cities do. The city consists mostly of 4-story or higher towers that are crammed together. And there are a several trash and various recycling bins about every two blocks. (Though it’s nice to see recycling.) In our opinion, the entire northeast side of Gran Canaria is not pretty, even to someone who likes the desert. (Gran Canaria, or Grand Canary, is one of the seven larger islands that along with several smaller islands make up Spain’s Canary Islands.) But people, including us, don’t come to this part of Gran Canaria for the beauty. We come for two reasons: the long, beautiful soft sand beach with its crystal-clear temperate waters, and the weather.

Krakow to Las Palmas Canary Islands

As mentioned earlier, Ian had found a relatively inexpensive airfare from Krakow to Las Palmas on Ryanair. We were scheduled to fly back to the US from Madrid at the beginning of October. We knew we wanted to spend more time in Spain before then. Adding Las Palmas got us back to Spain (if you count islands off the coast of Africa as Spain, hint, hint) and back to the beach, as we were beginning to go through withdrawal.

Side Note: Ian likes to imagine that since Gran Canaria is 113 miles off the coast of Africa, he just might be able to say he’s been to Africa.

Ryanair was not as bad as we expected. The key again, as with Wizz Air, is to purchase the priority package. It includes a checked bag, priority boarding, and the opportunity to select a seat. Pay in advance or maybe pay later? We’ve heard that Ryanair can be aggressive when trying to coax passengers at the airport into adding these extras. At much higher rates, of course.

Arrival in Las Palmas

Expecting a dinky little airport, we were totally surprised at how large the airport in Las Palmas, Canary Islands is. We had to walk quite a distance through the airport to get to the bus. The large motor coach from the airport into town costs 2,95 € per person each way. After stowing our luggage underneath, we boarded the bus and paid the driver. We were a bit surprised to realize that the driver could close the luggage doors from inside the bus. Visions of our bags lying in the road! We’ve taken many long-distance buses during this first year of travel, and this was a first!

The ride from the airport to the center of town took about half an hour. We got off at Santa Catalina, which is the second underground station coming into town. As we began the 15-minute walk to our Airbnb apartment, we passed Parque Santa Catalina. We would soon realize that this is just about the only greenspace in Las Palmas. You can also take a bus, about an hour, from one end of the island to the other.

Our Small Airbnb Apartment

We had read that Airbnbs in Las Palmas were a bit overpriced. Another blogger  that we follow was able to negotiate his two-bedroom apartment down from $2500 a month to $1300 a month. Since we were staying only 8 days, our attempt to negotiate a better rate was a dismal failure. We ended up booking a smaller apartment than usual. Our studio apartment cost us $61 per night including fees.

It might have been the smallest Airbnb we’ve stayed in. Plus, noisy remodeling projects followed us. Add the fact that the only windows were in an inner courtyard, hence very little natural light or breeze. Fortunately, the a/c worked quite well. We don’t mean to complain, just stating the facts. The apartment was tastefully decorated and very well equipped. We both thought it represented the best use of small space we’ve seen. Plus, it was about two blocks from the beach!

Climate in Las Palmas Canary Islands

After spending a week in Las Palmas, Canary Islands, we can see where it gets its reputation. Its climate is very temperate, similar to San Diego west of Interstate 5. Even with the “night and morning low clouds”.

The difference and the reason we think Las Palmas tops San Diego in the rankings is that the cloudy season is shifted by a couple of months. The cloudy season in Las Palmas is during July and August (unlike May and June in San Diego), when most of the northern hemisphere is roasting. During the cloudy season, drive an hour south and it will be bright sunshine, without giving up the ocean. The south side of the island is sunny all year and much hotter in summer. What struck a chord for us, after having lived in San Diego for over twenty years, was how much clearer the ocean is.

Las Canteras Beach

The beach in Las Palmas, Las Canteras, has a west/northwest orientation and stretches for 3 km. Yes, you guessed it: we walked the beach every day! When we couldn’t get through, due to high tide and/or rocks, we just popped up onto the boardwalk. The Paseo de las Canteras is lined with hotels, some shops, and a wide variety of restaurants, including yummy ice cream at Peña La Vieja  (since 1936). Plus, two locations of our favorite bakery chain in Spain, Granier . Side note: We’ve also patronized about a gazillion local panaderias throughout Spain to purchase our daily bread. The whole low carb thing is just not cutting it for us in Spain.

Las Canteras Beach is probably the best beach we have been to for what we like. Wide soft sand beach with little slope and clear water. The water temperature is again similar to San Diego. The main differences, when compared to beaches in San Diego are: Spanish is the main language, with English second; men in Speedos, and some women top free.

Walking the Beach

As we were here in shoulder season, the beach and boardwalk were much less crowded during the week than on weekends. A sunny day on the weekend, and the beach was packed. Made little difference to us; we still walked the length of the beach. And every day, we stopped near this one section of rocks to visit the fish that hung out there. One day, a man gently reprimanded another man for feeding bread to the fish. The friendly man with the bread was rambling to us in Spanish. When we asked him in Spanish to please speak slowly, he acknowledged our request and continued in his original rapid speech.

Additional entertainment came in the form of beach announcements over loud speakers. First in Spanish, then repeated in English. Yellow flag: “take care when going for a bath”. Red flag: “prohibited to take a bath”. We initially thought that it was a faulty translation, but when we listened more closely to the Spanish, it was “tomar el baño“. All announcements, which were very polite, ended with the statement that the announcement was from the city of Las Palmas and began with musical tones that reminded us of the Hunger Games announcements.

Cost of Living in Las Palmas Canary Islands

We’ve compared the beach and climate of Las Palmas to that of San Diego. One big difference between the two cities: Las Palmas has a considerably more moderate cost of living. Even though Las Palmas is on an island, we found food prices similar to mainland Spain. Unlike Hawaii in the US, where you need to take out a bank loan for grocery shopping. Besides several small trips to check out the local supermarkets (several nearby), we walked to the central mercado twice. There we spent a total, for both visits, of 24 € (about $28) for fruits, veggies, and serrano ham for eight days.

Instead of our usual eating lunch out most days, we ate out only three times during our 8-day stay in Las Palmas. Probably the best value and yummy meal we had was a Menu (served at lunch) while seated at a table on the boardwalk overlooking the beach. We each had bread, grilled fish, potatoes, small salad, a large beer (Ian), sangria (Ann) for 30 €.

Long-term apartment rentals in Las Palmas start at about 500 € per month. As mentioned earlier, Airbnb rentals tend to be higher here. After a brief online search, we had difficulty finding anything decent for less than 850 € (about $1000) per month, and that was a studio apartment. But we’ve heard that short-term monthly rentals are available for less, as mentioned earlier. We saw 2- and 3-bedroom apartments available to buy for under 100,000 €. Spain has no restrictions on North Americans buying homes.

Las Palmas Canary Islands Wrap-up

We had a morning flight from Las Palmas to A Coruña. Walking in the dark from our apartment to the bus station at 6 am on Sunday morning, we expected the streets to be deserted. To our surprise, we saw many young people walking and chatting. Surprisingly, none appeared sleepy, drunk, or unruly; just walking home after a Saturday night out.

Would we consider returning to Las Palmas for a longer stay? Did we mention how much we like the beach here? Time will tell.

Next up: A Coruña, in Galicia, Spain

Ian & Ann