Fuerteventura is the second largest of the Canary Islands and is about 90kms from the African coast. It is one of the least populated of all the Canary Islands and a beachlovers paradise with over 150 beaches, also renowned for its windsurfing and kite surfing. As you are flying in for the first time to the Island, you may be forgiven for thinking you have come to a barren, almost lunar-like, landscape. We did, but after landing and exploring the island 12 years ago. On exploring you will find an island of contrasts, there are lava plains in many colours, wonderful mountains, picturesque white villages and green palm groves. Against this there is the incredible coastline. On the mid-west of the island there are thundering waves coming down onto dark lava rock and black sands (sometimes reminding you of the North coast of Cornwall). On the rest of the coastline you will find mile upon mile of sandy beeches, some with black sand but the majority fine white or yellow sands. In Sotovento there is 18kms of golden sand beach. You can walk for miles in some places on wonderful golden sands and not see another soul, if that is what delights you. Again, in Caleta de Fuste there is a golden beach that is completely family safe. In Corralejo you will find the incredible sand dunes where the sand has literally blown across from the Sahara dessert, miles and miles of beautiful white sand. The main tourist areas are El Cotillo, Caleta de Fuste, Corralejo, Costa Calma and Jandia.

EL COTILLO

Situated in the North West, El Cotillo has the most beautiful sunsets to be seen on the Island. The best place to see one is sitting in one of the restaurants in the old harbour having a good meal of local fish and a glass of wine or a beer, while watching the sun go down and the beautiful colours of the sky.
The village is dedicated to the Virgin of good travel (Virgin de Buen Viaje); these words can be seen painted on the cliffs overlooking the old harbour.
But before sunset you need to explore the village.
Entering the village turn to the right (North) you enter El Cotillo with the old harbour, bars and restaurants. Carry on round and you will come to the most beautiful white sand bays with safe lagoons for swimming and snorkelling. This is such a wonderful place for those with young children, one of the best activities I have seen there is to get an empty 5 litre water bottle and some bread, cut a hole in the side of the bottle and put the bread in the bottle and lower it into the water in one of the lagoons, if you are lucky the fish will come to you, the children just love it and the adults too! Snorkelling is particularly good here; many different colours of fish can be seen in the volcanic rocks. There is also a very nice beach bar to get a coffee or a snack during the day or a very welcome ice cream.
Again, when you enter the village turn to the left (South) you come to the Fortaleza del Toston (Strength of Toston) a round fort that was built in the late 1790s to protect the area from invading pirates and is now a museum which is free to enter and has some very interesting history and artefacts. After the fort is the Playa del Castillo, one of the best surfing beaches on the island but it can be very rough and is mostly used by experienced surfers. The cliffs above are really only suitable for a 4 wheel drive vehicle, so beware if you take your hire car and get stuck. When you clamber down the cliff edge, which can be quite steep, the walk along the waters edge for the whole of the beach is very exhilarating.
If you are feeling energetic and need to shed some of the pounds gained from all the lovely Fuerteventura food and wine, you can try the walk from El Cotillo to Corralejo but be warned it is very long. There are various estimates of the length of the walk, somewhere between 11 and 15 miles, taking between 4 and 5 hours depending on your stamina and if you stop along the way for a rest. You should be well prepared, wearing suitable walking shoes, loose cotton clothes and have plenty of sun screen on. Take with you plenty of water and a light snack to keep you going. Also don’t forget that it is a long walk back to El Cotillo, phew. If you do the walk in the summer months you will see hundreds of caravans, campers and tents along the way. This is a favourite place for the Spanish and others to take their holiday. For those of you who are into the flora and fauna of the island there will be plenty to see along the way. Look out for little egret, ringed plover, Kentish plover, grey plover, turnstone, common sandpiper, lesser short toed lark, linnet and of course the collared dove is widespread throughout the Island.
For those of you who would like a shorter walk, the walk from the lagoons to the lighthouse is very pleasant.
Also remember that it can get very hot on the beach and there is very little shade, it may be an idea to take a sun shade with you and DON’T FORGET THE SUN SCREEN.
There are supermarkets, restaurants and bars and there is a bus service to take you into Corralejo, which is the closest town and the home of the famous sand dunes of Fuerteventura.

Caleta de Fuste - Costa Caleta - El Castillo

Caleta is a modern purpose built resort with shops, restaurants, cafes and bars. You can find just about any food you can think of including Spanish, Mexican, Italian, Chinese, Indian, Thai and of course English, there are also many Irish bars. The castle (martello tower) that gives El Castillo its name was built in 1743 by a military engineer, Claudio de Lisne, and is situated in the busy harbour. In the harbour there is a glass-bottomed boat for trips out, a catamaran, which will take you out to hopefully see Dolphins and swim with turtles. There are facilities for windsurfing, scuba diving and sailing. As mentioned earlier, the beach is gently shelving and the calm shallow waters of the bay make this ideal for families. The main shopping area is traffic-free and there are boutiques, gift shops, bars, restaurants, banks and supermarkets. There is a market once a week, on Saturday morning, where you can barter for goods; there are some bargains to be had in leather. There is also an English book swap stall for those visiting for longer than a week.

Corralejo

Lying in the north of the island, Corralejo has 2 small beaches, the Galera and a small beach near the harbour. Less than 1km outside of Corralejo is miles of fine white sand here are the spectacular sand dunes. Watersports, including diving, windsurfing and kitesurfing are available. The latest addition to the Island in 2005 is the Baku water park. Ferries can be taken to the island of Lanzarote, with its incredible volcano and wonderful art and also to the island of Lobos. As with Caleta there are many bars and restaurants to suit every taste.

Costa Calma

Predominantly holiday makers were German tourists but now this is changing with more English and Italians. There are bars and restaurants and miles of golden sand beaches. A few miles down the coast is Risco del Paso where the World Wind Surfing Championships are held every July.

For those of you who have not been to the Canary Islands before: -

• The language is Spanish.
• The currency is Euro.
• Time difference is the same as GMT.
• Average flight time - 4 hours from Gatwick. Direct Charter flights from all major airports to Fuerteventura.
• Average temperature is 22 degrees. January can be about 19 degrees and October around 25 degrees.
• In the region of 5 - 8 hours of sunshine daily.
• The island is windy, this can sometimes be an advantage (cooling) and sometimes a nuisance (sand in your sandwiches).
• The tap water is desalinated and will not harm you but it is advisable to buy bottled water from the supermarkets, 5 litres for approximately 90 cents.
• Driving - Drive on the right.
• Electricity, you will need European converter plugs.