Accommodation

If you need help with accommodation on Gran Canaria the following information may be useful to you.

If you would like to rent a rural house ( Casa Rural ) or cave in Gran Canaria, the following websites may be helpful:

Villas Rivero - Holiday Cottages and Fincas

Casa Vista Palmeral - Country house with spectacular views

There are several good rural hotels scattered around the island. There are some listed below and if you would like more details, then please Contact me and I will be happy to send you more detailed information.

Rural Hotels

Hotel Rural El Refugio is located in the centre of Gran Canaria at Cruz de Tejeda. El Refugio is managed by Juan Manuel and his wife and they believe in good quality customer service. Their food is home prepared, using mainly good local Canarian products. The hotel is built in the style of a typical 19th century Canarian house and has gardens and a pool with comfortable rooms and exclusive handmade furniture.

El Molina de Agua is a pleasant rural hotel located in the South of Gran Canaria, just outside Fataga. With traditionally furnished guest rooms, it is a paradise for anyone wanting to enjoy a relaxing atmosphere. The hotel includes extensive well kept grounds, a swimming pool, an holistic therapy centre and a large outdoor restaurant and bar area.

Mountain Walking Holidays

If you fancy a 7 day hotel-to-hotel trekking holiday in Gran Canaria we can recommend New Experience Holidays - we helped design this Trek, finding the hotels and the writing of the walks.

Inn Travel also offer a Hotel to Hotel Trek and The Ramblers Association offer a single centre guided walking holiday based in Las Palmas.

Headwater Holidays also offer a 2 centre self-guided walking holiday based in San Bartolome and in the north near Firgas.

If you choose to stay in 'tourist land' on the south coast there are a great number of good hotels, many offering excellent deals on The Internet. Maspalomas and Playa del Ingles is a much better destination than Puerto Rico or Puerto Mogan as far as getting to the hiking routes is concerned. The capital city Las Palmas is a good destination if you want to walk mainly in the north.

Canarian Food

The food in Gran Canaria is quite simple and wholesome, using mainly local ingredients. Here is a list of some of the local specialities: Potaje ( meat and vegetable soup ), Mojo sauce ( spicy sauce usually served with small potatoes boiled in their jackets called 'papas arrugadas'), Gofio ( toasted maize ), Ropa Vieja (a form of casserole made from chickpeas and potato with chicken, beef etc).

Cheeses made from the milk of sheep, goats and cows. Almonds and honey are used extensively in desserts and cakes. A lot of wine is made in small bodegas around the island, some of it is quite good and definitely worth a try. In rural restaurants, pork, rabbit and goat are popular meat dishes.