Welcome to Visit-the-World's Fuerteventura section ...

Visit Fuerteventura

Fuerteventura is the closest of the Canary Islands  to Morocco on the
African coast. In fact, there are only 100 kilometres, or 60 miles, of Atlantic Ocean separating Punta de la Entallada, Fuerteventura from Cape Juby, Morocco. At 98 km, or 59 miles, long and 30km, or 18 miles, at its widest point, Fuerteventura is also the second largest of the Canaries, after Tenerife.

The name, Fuerteventura, is Spanish for "strong wind". So as the name suggests, it can be quite a breezy island, particularly around January - February, when the warm scirocco [or sirocco] wind is most likely to blow across from the Sahara Desert.

These persistent breezes, over millennia, are responsible for creating miles of large sand dunes along the north-east coast of the island, south of the capital, Corralejo. In fact, the gleaming white dunes that make up Corralejo National Park are an unofficial naturist reserve, with plenty of room to work on that all-over tan, without being disturbed.

Sand dunes are also a feature around Playa Jandia on the south- eastern coast. This is an even more secluded area, loved by those who
wish to avoid crowded beaches.

In fact, Fuerteventura is famed for its beaches of soft white sands, above
all else. The 152 stretches of  sand are regarded as the finest in the
Canaries. Since the Canaries are volcanic in origin, the rock is virtually
black. Therefore, many Canarian beaches, on Tenerife  especially,
consist of black sand. This is because Tenerife is further west into  the
Atlantic. The fine white blown sand of Fuerteventura originates from
trillions of sea-shells ground down by the sea over millennia and blown
onto the land after exposure by the tide.

These sea-breezes also make the island a firm favourite with those
holidaymakers who love wind-surfing and para-gliding. It is a wind-surfer's
paradise!

The main tourist resort, Corralejo, is located at the northern tip of the
island. It still retains much  of the original charm and atmosphere of its fishing village origins, although quite  a tourism  expansion is currently occurring around its outer edges.

The main street is filled with shops, bars, cafes and restaurants and
leads down through a square to a pleasant, relaxed harbour area with
great views of the protected sand dunes down the coast.

A large, twice-weekly market is rich with pickings for souvenir hunters. There are quite a few bars offering musical entertainment of various kinds, without having the vast choice  to be found  at Playa de las Americas on Tenerife or Playa del Ingles, Gran Canaria. From Corralejo's main harbour, ferries leave several times a day for Lanzarote, across a narrow stretch of water. A smaller ferry travels directly a little further to the busy resort of Puerto del Carmen on the east coast of Lanzarote. However, the better one to take, in my experience, is the big, comfortable Fred Olsen ferry which takes you on a short 15 minute crossing to the stylish resort of Playa Blanca on the southern tip of Lanzarote. A coach can then take you to Puerto del Carmen if you so wish.

This enables you to see something of the neat, ordered, farmed volcanic countryside of Lanzarote,  an island which is more developed
touristically than Fuerteventura.

South of Corralejo, on the east coast, is the purpose-built resort of Costa Caleta, formely known as Caleta de Fuste. It is a modern resort built around a family-friendly beach. The "Castillo" is a pretty 18th Century castle that was used as a watch-tower overlooking the harbour.

By night, there are a good selection of bars and restaurants. The island's airport is not too far away from Costa Caleta.

The island's capital, Puerto del Rosario is also nearby and worth visiting.

Located on the south coast of the island, Costa Calma is a smaller
resort with a beautiful stretch of beach. It is very popular with wind-surfers.Nightlife is low-key with a choice of bars and restaurants and a
few hotel-based discos.

Jandia at the south-east  tip of Fuerteventura  nestles between twenty miles of spectacular unspoilt beach with undulating sand dunes, and a string of volcanic mountains inland. Fortunately, none have erupted for 7000 years!

This is a magnificent quiet coast-line, with stylish upmarket hotels, often quite recently built. Some of them offer an all-inclusive option.

Away from the coast, Betancuria, the island's former capital, lies in a
picturesque valley. It was founded in 1405 by the Norman conqueror
Jean de Bethencourt, hence the name Betancuria.

In 1834, Betancuria handed over the honour of being capital to the pretty town of  La Oliva, which in due course handed over to Puerto del Rosario on the east coast.

Fuerteventura is a fantastic place for a winter break in warm sunshine, especially if one wants to avoid some of the busier resorts of the other Canary Islands.