Maspalomas Guide - A calm and delightful town on Gran Canaria

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Maspalomas is a well-known holiday resort on Gran Canaria, which lies just south of Playa del Ingles. Here you’ll find resorts, bungalows, and apartments to rent for 1-2 weeks of vacation or longer. I myself have lived here for about 10 months in total and it’s a nice place to stay.

The resort of Maspalomas, however, is perhaps most famous for its giant sand dunes that originated from the Sahara Desert.

Maspalomas is namely in the middle of everything that is of interest to tourists. It is close to the beaches of Puerto Rico and Amadores, but also close to the nightlife of Playa del Ingles and San Agustin, while it is much closer to shopping centers and Las Palmas than Puerto Rico and Mogan.

Best things to do in Maspalomas

Maspalomas desert

To wander in the desert is one of the must things do in Maspalomas. If you ever wonder what it’s like to walk in the Sahara desert, you can actually experience it here. The dunes extend several meters above the ground and there is the possibility to try sandboarding or just sitting on the top of a sandy peak and enjoy the sunset.

Holiday World

A small amusement park with rides, video games, air hockey, gym, restaurants, and other fun stuff. Holiday World is located in Maspalomas along the road that goes towards Puerto Rico and Arguineguin. There is also bowling, karaoke and swimming pools.

In other words, the Holiday World has everything for the children, even if you might not want to compare Holiday World in Gran Canaria with the big Tivoli’s around Europe, since it is much smaller. If you live in Maspalomas you will find the best gym here upstairs.

Aqualand

Are you traveling to Gran Canaria with children? Then Aqualand in Maspalomas is a place that your kids will love. In fact, Aqualand is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Gran Canaria.

Water parks are fun for both big and small, but I would strongly advise against letting your children be photographed with various animals exploited by tourism, including sea lions. Animals do not deserve to be in captivity, and it is something that I hope you have in mind when you visit the waterpark.

Palmitos Park

Palmitos Park is a popular tourist attraction in Gran Canaria. Seeing animals is both exciting and fun. I love animals and because that I love them, I want to urge you to not visit Palmitos Park. Zoos are doing some good job to breed endangered animals, but mostly it’s about exploiting animals and monetize on them.

Think twice before you decide. Ask yourself, would it be okay to locking people behind bars when they have done nothing wrong or have no choice to be free? Your answer is probably no, and then I want you also to think that animals are living beings with feelings just like humans.

Animals are not on earth to entertain people and they deserve to live out in the wild.

Faro 2

An old shopping center, which now only has a few bars, restaurants and a supermarket Hiperdino. If you live in the area, you can always go here on the weekend to watch English football, or shop at Hiperdino when other stores are closed on Sundays.

Besides that, there are also a bicycle rental company, a bank and a souvenir shop at Faro second

Meloneras

About 20 minutes walking, at the end of the Maspalomas desert, lies Meloneras, which is a luxury tourist resort in southern Gran Canaria. Here you will find the lighthouse of Maspalomas as well as a shopping center with restaurants and shops.

Meloneras also has a nice beach walk and to sit down at one of the bars here and enjoy the sunset is something that I highly recommend.

Recommended hotels in Maspalomas

Maspalomas Princess

A luxurious option that is perfect for those who want peace and quiet. Here you can enjoy the full 6 outdoor pools, spa treatments. There is also a children’s club for those traveling to Gran Canaria with children.

Here you can see photos, reviews, and current price

Riu Palace Maspalomas

A 4-star hotel right at the beginning of Maspalomas Desert. The hotel is nestled among palm trees and desert and the sea front. Riu Palace is one of my favorite hotels and it is a safe bet for those who want to have a successful holiday in Gran Canaria!

Here you can see photos, reviews, and current price

Tips on good restaurants

Samsara
La Palmera Sur
Abrasa
Nicola Trattoria Pizzeria
El Salsete

Shopping

For those of you who want to shop, I recommend you to go to San Fernando or Meloneras. There you will find traditional shops such as Mango, Stradivarius and other international/Spanish shops. The best shopping can be found in the mall El Tablero, located in the outskirts of Maspalomas.

El Tablero shopping

The largest stores of El Tablero is Zara, Pull & Bear, Stradivarius, Timberland. There is also a larger Hiperdino and Vodafone Store.

Address: Av. Francisco Vega Monroy; 21.
Website: cceltablero.com

Weather & Climate

Maspalomas has a pleasant climate all year round with an average temperature around 20-25 degrees. On the day it is rare that the temperature drops below 25 degrees and it’s mostly sunny. The line goes namely in Playa del Ingles, which often gets cloudy in the afternoon.

Maspalomas on the other hand is almost as sun-safe as Puerto Rico and Amadores. The weather is nothing wrong either. It rarely rains and the sun shines almost always. Because it is located in a valley, so it’s almost never too hot either, except when Calima winds are passing by from Sahara, just a few times a year.

Maspalomas map

Here you can have a look at the whole area, and as you can see it’s quite big. Maspalomas includes San Agustin, Playa del Ingles, Meloneras, Sonneland and of course the sand dunes located in the south.

Other interesting facts about Maspalomas

The large area of Maspalomas also includes the tourist resorts of Playa del Ingles, Maspalomas, San Agustin, Bahia Feliz, Sonneland, Meloneras and San Fernando, even if they tend to refer to these as their own tourist destinations. The name of the place believed to have come from Rodrigo Mas de Palomar, who came to Gran Canaria from Majorca as a settler.

Here is Gran Canaria’s only English-language newspaper
Foreign schools available (English and Swedish)
San Fernando and El Tablero built to the locals who worked in tourism would have somewhere to stay.
There are about 40,000 in Maspalomas, many of which are wintering northern Europeans.
Belongs to the municipality of San Bartolome de Tirajana