Leisure in Gran Canaria

Gran Canaria offers a big choice of leisure, sports and fun activities inclusive of theme and entertainment parks for all age groups. This magnificent island has developed natural and artificial areas to provide visitors with lots of entertainment and fun, combined often with the possibility of learning something about the Canary culture at the same time. When driving around the island, you will come across arid and dry landscapes and some of the leisure parks located in those areas will appear to you like oasis’s coming out of the middle of nowhere.


The Atlantic, its winds, warm water temperatures and the well developed infrastructures provide excellent conditions for the practice of all kinds of water sports. It takes much more than a simple coincidence for this island to have around thirty world champions in several sailing disciplines and six Olympic Gold medals. Not to forget the more than 50 world record size catches in deep sea fishing having been achieved off some ports on the east and south coast.


Winds ideal for sailing, sea currents attracting large schools of fish to the coast and the rich sea bottom have generated a non-stop sporting season on Gran Canaria. Almost all locations by the sea have created infrastructures and special services to meet all requirements of sea lovers, so that it won’t be difficult to find a company, club or association providing services like whale watching, sailing, windsurfing, big game fishing and many others.


The mild climate permitting outdoor sports practice all year round, it is only a natural development that in recent years Gran Canaria has become a favourite winter training centre for many European sports clubs.


Some of the hotels even offer specialized sports facilities or have contracts with sports centres to provide their clients with the possibility of activities like golf, tennis, sailing and windsurfing.


Radical sports such as hang-gliding, paragliding and climbing are favoured by the presence of trade winds and the mountainous features of the island, so if you're into more risky sports just look for one of the many specialized companies based on the island.

Almost 43% of Gran Canaria’s territory is protected, presenting visitors with very interesting places for walks or hikes. The ‘caminos reales’, an ancient network of paths reopened to public that form part of the cultural heritage of the island, are an excellent example.