Corralejo

Your opinion of Corralejo will entirely depend on where you stand. Despite the influx of tourist numbers, the former fishing village near the harbour and main beach at Corralejo still have charm, with narrow, uneven streets, good seafood restaurants and even a fishers' cottage or two. Venture inland a couple of blocks, however, and you find the predictable resort fare of fish and chips coupled to a grid system of streets. At least the buildings are low-rise, and some local Spanish bars and cafes survive.

Corralejo's real allure is the miles of sand dunes to the south of town, sweeping back into gentle sugar-loaf rolls from the sea and fabulous broad sandy beaches. Protected as the Parque Natural de Corralejo, no one can build on or near them (though a couple of concrete eyesores from the Riu hotel chain managed to get here before the regulation was in place).