Fuerteventura - blessed with over 150 beaches - is one of the least damaged and least discovered Canary Islands.
With a dramatic volcanic landscape, small rainy and round warm temperatures, the desert landscape is unique, and large areas of the island are protected by parks.
Visit Fuerteventura, and you return to how Spain was about 30 years ago - no high-rise buildings and a calm and gentle lifestyle, clean streets and beaches.
Unlike more tourist and built-up neighbors of Tenerife, Lanzarote and Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura is a place where you can relax, unwind and retreat in time. There are no open air discos without dusk until dawn, there is no club 18-30 ...
On the island near the Canary Islands to Africa, there is an embargo of beaches - some of them are in desert bays and small fishing villages, and others are in small mud paths, but the most popular ones can be reached from the main roads.
Not that the main roads were similar to those found in mainland Spain or the UK. Yes, they are in good condition and mostly direct, but the lack of traffic is the first thing you notice. And the lack of traffic lights. Until now, I found one on the island - and it never worked!
Traveling is easy ... buses and ferries are cheap, run on time and integrate with each other so you can easily get from, say, from Caleta de Fuste to Corralejo.
Caleta de Fuste is a very popular family-oriented resort. You can find restaurants of all nationalities for every taste and all pockets.
There are shops and bars where you can choose a quiet drink and see how the world goes. Entertainment can be found - everything from live bands and cabarets to karaoke, quizzes and bingo - but it's not like “on your face,” like Benindorm or Costa del Sol. There are even places open to the early hours - but you will not be disturbed if you want a good night. Even the airport here turns off the runway lights and locks up at night!
Caleta has a golden sandy beach located in a bay in the shape of a horse shoe. Gentle coast provides a very safe swim, and this beach is one of the most relaxing. But there is a south beach - reclaimed from the sea and landscaped in small bays, which are dotted with small round brick structures to ensure some privacy.
Fuerteventura (Fuerte - strong: Ventura - happiness) is described as “the land that time has forgotten”. This is the second largest Canary Islands, and here is very similar to how to retreat in time! Many people mistakenly believe that the name of the island means “strong wind”, and although there is often a steady pleasant breeze, this is usually a pleasant relief that makes hot temperatures pleasant.
It also makes Fuerteventura a paradise for water sports - windsurfing, surfing and kite surfing take place all over the island.
Landing at the airport, the first thing you are stuck is a harsh, moonlit landscape. But explore it and you will find huge sand dunes, lagoons, small fishing villages and isolated sandy coves.
Caleta de Fuste is the ideal base for exploring this island, which is halfway between north and south.
Head north to Corralejo, where all these years ago the first few apartments for food appeared. Now it’s a lively resort, and the holiday industry has gone a long way.
Approaching Corralejo, the landscape gives way to miles of huge, shimmering sand dunes resembling Saharan of Morocco, just 60 miles to the east. The famous dunes are now a protected national park.
The city of Corralejo itself still retains its charm in the early days, especially around the old harbor. From here you can see breathtaking views of Lanzarote and the island of Lobos - worth a visit if you find even the pace of life on Fuerteventura too much!
Also in the north of the island is El Cotillo, a paradise for surfers. This beautiful relaxed village has excellent beaches, interesting lagoons and some good restaurants and bars. When you head to the village, you will meet a new harbor. On the left - huge golden beaches and to the right, lagoons.
To the left of the village is Forteleza del Toston, a round stone fort built in 1790 to protect against pirates.
Beaches are made for water sports enthusiasts, and many experienced surfers head for the sands between El Cotillo and Corralejo. The area of the lagoon is much calmer and calmer - white beaches with crystal clear water.
This fishing village is the sanctuary of the Virgin of Buen Via (a good trip), and these words can be seen on the rocks overlooking the old harbor.
From Caleta de Fuste to the south of the island are the beaches of the Jandia peninsula, almost 20 km of vast white beaches more than 1 km wide.
This vast territory includes golden white beaches that range from beautiful coves supported by low cliffs on the Costa Calma coast to huge dunes, vast desert areas and lagoons. It also includes a beach, immortalized on thousands of postcards. Playa de Sotavento is probably one of the most photographed beaches in Europe. This is also the place where surfers flock. The PWA World Windsurfing and Slalom competition attracts the best windsurfers every year, and the World Kitesurfing Championship was held in 2005.
At the southern tip of the Jandia peninsula is Morro Jable, another well-developed resort with golden beaches and one that is well loved by German tour operators. So loved, in fact, that even many road signs here are in Spanish and German.
With so many beaches, it is not surprising that naturists also love the island. It would have been impossible to list them all, but there is a very good guide to the best beaches - and the best beaches of naturists - on the Fuerteventura Island Guide website. [http://www.geocities.com/holiday_fuerteventura/ ]
But Fuerteventura is not only beaches. This also applies to sightseeing. One of the most amazing sights of the island is the shipwreck of The American Star - a huge ocean liner that a few years ago was stranded in a deserted bay in mysterious circumstances.
Like this huge ship - one of the largest in its class in the world - stopped, there is another story and controversial, but the view of this towering wreck, lying just a few yards from the coast in a deserted bay not far from Ajuy, is very creepy and haunting look.
It’s not easy to find, but there are instructions on the Holiday_Fuerteventura website.
From here, take the mountain road to Betancuria - the former capital of the island - and you will be rewarded with some truly scenic views, and the city itself is worth spending a couple of hours.
Or try visiting Coffee - difficult to reach, but the beach lasts about 5 km, is white and sandy and has a lot of space, and on the southern tip lies Cofete village - isolated and used mainly as a day off.
Giniginamar is perfect if you are looking for peace and quiet. The beach, fringed with palm trees, has black volcanic sand, and in the village itself you can find local tapas and on the outskirts, some rather exclusive properties.
Arts and crafts are well served - Fuerteventura is not known as an “island of sculptures” for nothing! At almost every roundabout on the island you will find a sculpture of some form!
There are several museums - the center of crafts in Antigua, which is based on a converted windmill and an art center in La Olivia, which has beautifully landscaped gardens and which features many works by Canarian painter Alberto Manrique. Or La Alcogida, a living museum founded around a village that shows you how Canarian lived many years ago.
There are many other parts of Fuerteventura that are hidden from the mass tourism market - for a long time it can remain that way!
