Travel Eye on Playa Del Inglés (Gran Canaria, Spain)

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Overview:

Playa del Ingles, Gran Canaria's largest holiday resort, the second largest resort of its kind in Europe in fact (after Benidorm). It's a place to get lost in, an ideal resort for you if you're travelling with a group of friends perhaps, or a couple looking for plenty of action by night after days lazing on the beach or by the pool.

During the summer holiday period of July and August it's very much the ideal place for "young fun" or "18-30" style holidays. Known for its beach and nightlife, it proves ideal for the younger crowd during the summer. For the rest of the year it proves popular with everyone, all ages and all nationalities.

The mix of people is mainly made up of German and English but the mix of Scandinavian, Dutch and other European nationalities is very much present too.

Unlike Puerto Rico, there's no mountains to conquer in Playa del Ingles. Very much built on one level with major bus routes passing through town, it's an easy place to get to and around. Maybe the hardest journey you'll have to make is from your apartment or hotel to the beach.

The bus or cab only goes so far and from there, a large part of the resort is a one mile walk from the sea, some parts the more direct route is actually accross the sand dunes. Obviously, choose your footwear wisely before you set off on what's more of a daily pilgrimage for hundreds of people staying in Playa. Hundreds go the other way round, heading to the Annexo II center then walking along the beach until they've found their favourite spot.

Playa Del Inglés is a good-time resort for those who do not mind crowds but insist on beaches, entertainments and nightlife. Packed with budget-conscious self-catering Germans, Scandinavians and a fair number of British of all ages.

The accommodation here is mainly mid-range apartments and villa complexes of reasonable quality. Virtually all with pools. There are fewer hotels, but ther is some of good quality, as well as in San Agustin.

Locality:

Playa Del Inglés is on the south coast of this almost circular island, (10 mls E of Puerto Rico, 35 mls S of Las Palmas, 18 mls S of the airport). The extended resort occupies mainly hilly ground, flat and gently sloping in places, in a broad belt between the motorway and the ocean. Backdrop of barren mountains.

Entertainment/Facilities/Attractions/Things to do:

Playa del Ingles is a gently sloping, sometimes windswept, fine sandy beach that runs virtually unbroken westwards towards Maspalomas and is backed by a magnificent expanse of Sahara-like dunes extending over a mile inland (popular with large numbers of nudist and gay holidaymakers). The strip closest to the water's edge is often packed with ranks of loungers and parasols throughout the year. There are various water sports are on offer.

There are several commercial centres providing a big range of souvenir shops, beachwear shops, boutiques and fairly cheap electronic goods. The biggest include Yumbo and the area known as the Kasbah.

During the daytime activities include golf, horse riding, tennis, mountain-bike tours, amusement park, water park, roller-skating, windsurfing and impersonating Beau Geste among the dunes. The waves provide surfing potential at the west end of the beach. There are various water sports, such as windsurfing, diving (a couple of schools) and deep-sea fishing.

The nightlife here consists of dozens of unsophisticated bars and clubs (some of them popular with gay holidaymakers) heavily concentrated in the commercial centres. Most hotels have nightclubs and/or evening shows. There is a casino in San Agustin.

The area is predictably swamped with eateries along with English- and Irish-style pubs, fast-food joints, pizza, steakhouses, seafood, Italian and Chinese. Traditional Spanish is unbelievably hard to find. There is predominantly low-quality meals for the masses. The higher-quality fare can be found in the upmarket hotels and also along the promenade beside the lighthouse in neighbouring Maspalomas.