Beach – Purple Travel Official Blog

Top Tips: Gran Canaria beaches

Nov 17 2010

The third entry in our 4-part series on the best beaches of the Canary Islands highlights the splendor of Gran Canaria beaches, the largest of the group.

Playa de Las Canteras

Considered one of the best beaches in Spain, Playa de Las Canteras boasts 3000 meters of golden sand and calm waters. The beach has a very good range of facilities for the entire family with restaurants, bars, and shopping in the direct vicinity. For the snorkeling and diving enthusiasts, the coral reef protecting the beach is about 2km for the shore. Something for everyone means windsurfers and body boarders will love it as well. Located in Las Palmas, this is the best and busiest beach on the island.

Playa de Maspalomas

Sand. Miles of sand. This is Playa de Maspalomas, home of the famous sand dunes of Gran Canaria. Stretching for 12km is a nature reserve of soft golden sands that leads down to the sea. This is a very busy beach as well, with different areas for families and nudists. Watersports enthusiasts will enjoy the winds in the as well. Hint: don’t bring anything to this beach you don’t want getting sand on.

Playa del Inglés

If you continue down the coast of Maspalomas, you will arrive at the highly organized and very busy Playa Del Ingles beach. This beach has plenty of facilities for everyone and quite a bit less sand than Maspalomas, which makes it more accessible to the surrounding restaurants, bars, and shops.

Playa de Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico beach is man-made and filled with white sand. Shaped to resist the winds, the waters are turquoise and calm as a result. This beach is very well organized and has all the amenities to make your stay both relaxing and entertaining. Ideal for families.

Playa Meloneras

On the other side of the Maspalomas beach is the beach of Meloneras, home to the outstanding H10 Playa Meloneras Palace. This is also a busy beach with golden sands, calm waters, and characteristically windy for this side of the island.

Top 5 Things to Do on a Rainy Day

Sep 23 2010

Rain, rain, go away; come again another day! The season has come again where this will be true for many more days to come. Since you have to deal with the rain anyway, there should be ways of making the best out of it. Now, we are a travel company, so obviously our first piece of advice would be to book the first flight to a sunny destination. If that’s not an option, however, there are other things you can do to make the most of the rainy day. You certainly can’t beat the rain, so just join it!

1. Go Swimming

This may seem like an unpleasant way of spending your time, but don’t knock it until you try it! Visit your nearest beach for incredible surfing or the nearest outdoor pool. The water will seem warm compared with the outside temperature, and you’ll feel much better about getting wet from the rain. Make sure to take dry clothes and a towel with you and stay away when there’s lightning in the air!

2. Splash in the Puddles

Your kids will love you! Sport your wellies and some water-proof clothes and go splashing in the rain. There is no better feeling than letting go of your initial urge to run away. Take turns to see who can make a bigger splash and get each other as wet as possible.

3. Picture Marathon

If enjoying the great outdoors on a rainy day just sounds a bit too crazy for you, grab your kids or your favourite person and go on a picture marathon. Head to your local pictures and see all those films that you’ve been aching to see and haven’t had time. Then, see the ones you weren’t so crazy about but sound interesting. It’s not like you have a job, right? If you don’t have much time to kill, just see the one. Rainy days at the pictures are always delightful. If you really don’t feel like heading out of the house at all, there is always the traditional curl-up-on-the-couch-with-hot-chocolate option.

4. Cozy Café

Take your best friend or lover to a cozy café and curl up with your favourite hot beverage next to the window. Watching the rain come down from a warm and comfy place will go far to brighten up your rainy-day mood.

5. Go Somewhere Sunny

We can’t help it. Seriously, this is the best and most effective solution in the books. Whether it’s for just a few days or two or three weeks, there is nothing better than getting away from the rainy weather and following the sunshine – and while you’re at it, you’ll win the envy of all your friends back home.

Tag - Beach