Things to do in Playa Del Inglés & Maspalomas
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Camel Safari Park La Baranda
After the water rides and Guanches, how about a trip to the Orient? Camel Safari Park La Baranda has 70 camels and is located in a lush property with palms and avocado and citrus trees and also has a restaurant, bar and small zoo.
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Free Motion
The slickly run Free Motion offers a range of tours for small groups and has bikes and quads for rental.
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Walking
Away from the coast you find a complete contrast to the beaches: untamed countryside with a dramatic variance in terrain, ranging from rocky and wild to gently undulating hills.
Free Motion has a choice of four hiking trips: Roque Nublo, Green North, Lake Tour and the daunting-sounding Summit Tour; all priced at around €45. The company will arrange transport to/from various resorts on the coast, including Puerto Rico and Puerto de Mogán for a small fee. Happy Biking offers gentler day walks from around €40, including pick up from your hotel.
To enjoy an exhilarating (and free) 5km walk, simply follow the promenade that extends eastwards from Playa del Inglés. The path…
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Dunas de Maspalomas
In 1994 the fabulous Dunas de Maspalomas were designated a national park. The best view of them is from the bottom of Avenida Tirjana. Stroll through the arches of the Hotel Riu Palace Maspalomas to the balcony, which is surrounded by a botanical garden displaying many shrubs and plants endemic to the Canaries. There is a small information office here with sporadic opening hours.
Although the dunes look too pristine to blight with footprints, you can walk on the sand, but do respect the signs and keep to the designated trails. Alternatively, you can go the full Sahara and opt for a camel trip.
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Shopping Centres
About the only interruption to the hectares of apartments, hotels, restaurants and bars comes in the form of the shopping centres. In them you can buy everything from children's wear to electronics. A good tip is to keep on looking, despite the enormous temptation to buy everything as soon as you see it - you may well save even more money if you shop around. The main Shopping Centres are north of the centre in San Fernando and Bellavista.
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Centro de Talasoterapía
Centro de Talasoterapía is Europe's largest Thalassotherapy centre, occupying a huge complex attached to Hotel Gloria Palace, and is nothing short of breathtaking. Fabulous sea-water treatments leave your skin as smooth as a baby's bum and your mind as light as a feather. A day's dunking and use of the various appliances costs from around €50.
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Palmitos Park
Palmitos Park is a few kilometres north of the resort area, this is a subtropical oasis crammed with exotic flora and 1500 species of birds, along with an aquarium, orchid exhibit, reptile house, petting farm and animals such as wallabies and orang-utans. Buses run here regularly from various stops in Playa del Inglés, Puerto Rico and Maspalomas.
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Windsurfing
Although surfing is possible here (the best waves tend to break off the western end of Maspalomas by the lighthouse), this is not mind-blowing surfing territory. Windsurfers are better off heading east, beyond the resorts to Bahía Feliz, Playa Aguila and, best of all, Pozo Izquierdo, which is for experienced windsurfers.
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Casa Vieja
Just north of the GC-1 motorway, along the road to Fataga, this restaurant is run with passion. The 'Old House' has a real campo (countryside) feel. Plants festoon the low roof, canaries trill and the menu is unwaveringly authentic; try the grilled meat. There is live traditional music most weekends.
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Fedac
If you're after local handicrafts, visit the small Fedac shop located with the Cabildo tourist office. Fedac is a government-sponsored nonprofit store, with prices and quality that are a good standard by which to measure those of products sold elsewhere. You'll also get a guarantee with your purchase.
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Mundo Aborigen
Mundo Aborigen is located 6km along the road north to Fataga, where around 100 model Guanches stand in various ancient poses designed to give you an idea of what life was like here before the conquistadors turned up to build theme parks. Take bus 18 from San Fernando or San Bartolomé.
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Mundo
An oasis of fashionable sophistication, Mundo has seriously raised the culinary game in these parts. Think American diner-meets-Japanese, with a spruce-minimalist dining room with retro black-and-white tiles and cherry-red chairs. Try the black pasta with king prawns if it's on the menu.
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Beach
For many, the only energy left after partying at night will be for getting down to the beach and collapsing for the day. Beaches, from east to west, are Playa de las Burras, Playa del Inglés and Playa de Maspalomas. They all link up to form the one Beach .
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Restaurante La Liguria
Serving up a better class of pizza than the cardboard-base norm, the flamboyant Genoese owner also whips up tasty pasta dishes, including a vegetarian choice. Sit outside on the attractive terrace, thankfully separated from the main road by shrubs and trees.
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Restaurante Rías Bajas
Within stumbling distance of the Yumbo Centrum, the tank of tentacle-waving crustaceans at the entrance gives it all away: the fish and seafood dishes here have an island-wide reputation. There's a sister restaurant in Urbanisation Meloneras in Maspalomas.
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Restaurante La Toja
A quality establishment blending the best of cuisines from France and Galicia. Try the veal in Marsala wine or troubling-sounding elephant's ear with chips (actually a thin fillet of steak). The prices are reasonable given the fancy atmosphere and food.
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Yumbo Centrum
There are more than 200 businesses in this four-level commercial centre. You can buy shoes, leather goods, perfume and anything else you fancy, tax-free, although the quality should be checked. There are also supermarkets on the premises.
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Happy Biking
Happy Biking ; now there's a nice name! Happy Biking rents out a range of cycles and also organises cycle tours, mostly quite gentle, which start at around €30, including bike hire, transport and a picnic.
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Aqualand
An enormous water park, Aqualand boasts its own surf beach with seven types of waves and miles of rides and slides. Take bus 45 or 70 to get here from Playa del Inglés or Puerto Rico respectively.
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Meloneras Golf
Don those plaid Bermudas and head off to Meloneras Golf , which opened late 2006, in between Maspalomas and the harbour of Pasito Blanco, in an area earmarked for yet another luxury development.
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Dunkerbeck Windsurfing Center
In Playa Aguila, world windsurfing champion Bjorn Dunkerbeck runs the Dunkerbeck Windsurfing Center with several courses available, including a 10-hour initiation course for around €190.
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Canarias Extreme
If you are looking for a watery pursuit more adrenalin-boosting than a glass-bottom boat, check out Canarias Extreme, which organises single- and double-kayak tours all around the coast.
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Dive Academy Gran Canaria
Dive Academy Gran Canaria has a free minibus to pick up plungers from their hotels and take them to the dive academy, due west of town. Both boat and shore dives are available.
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Economical Mercadona
Three large supermarkets, including the Economical Mercadona , are situated in the Centro Comerciál Bellavista, just beyond San Fernando, to the north of town.
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Club Mistral
Club Mistral , in Bahía Feliz, rents boogie boards, surfboards, ocean kayaks and windsurfing boards and equipment. It also organises windsurf safaris.
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