Roaming Rogue

After a few days of sightseeing and hiking, I decided to spend some time relaxing. I moved over to the southeast end of the island where most of the resorts are located (and also where most of the tourists are). It was very nice to relax by the pool and at the beach. After over a week and a half of always having tours to wake up for, I finally could sleep in and have some me time. It’s hard for me to do that especially when traveling, because I always want to see something new.

There wasn’t really anything noteworthy to report, only that this area of the island really is just resort after resort with no real downtown or neighborhood. It was a bit disappointing because I was at least hoping for a downtown area to walk around in. My hotel was also really nice, but I had so many issues with the service and billing. 

As I readied to leave Gran Canaria, I jotted down my takeaways of the stay: 

1. Rent a car. This was my biggest mistake. Many of the major sights are spread across the island. Unless you do group tours, you won’t be able to see them using public transit. 

2. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria isn’t touristy. This is obviously good for the locals, but it surprised me because I didn’t realize how large the local population was in the city. It felt like I was dropped into mainland Spain. I was expecting similar vibes to Honolulu, but did not get that at all. 

3. If you want to stay in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, stay in the old town. I found that as a tourist, this is where most of the sights were centralized in the city. Many of the streets are lined with shops and restaurants. 

4. Don’t overstay. I was worried I wouldn’t have enough time on the island, but if you’re just looking for highlights, you probably can do the island in two days and then head to other islands. I don’t mean this in a bad way. I had planned for beach days, but the weather didn’t cooperate, and found it was hard to find things to do given the distance of tourist locations. 

5. If you’re not well traveled, you can probably skip. Again, I don’t mean this in a bad way, but I also don’t think Gran Canaria (at least in my experience) needs to be at the top of anyone’s list in the US. It’s a beautiful island with amazing things to see, but it’s difficult to get to for anyone not in Western Europe. If you’re looking for an island getaway with days of things to do, I think Hawaii is a better bet. If you want Spanish influence, you can get that from islands in the Caribbean. This is just my opinion from my short stay in the island. 

Overall, I had a great time, but I don’t know that I need to visit again and probably will cross off the other islands from my list of places to see as well. There are just too many other options out there that are easier to get to.