Maspalomas Beach

The dunes roll right down to the sea. Behind the strip of golden sand the Maspalomas Dunes rise in bare, wind-shaped ridges, and the way to the water crosses soft sand that gives underfoot. At the western end Maspalomas Lighthouse stands over the shore, 56 metres tall and completed in 1890 to guide ships sailing between Europe and the Americas.

The shore makes a long, clean walk, with clear water at the edge and an easy way in. Kiosks along the beach sell beer, cocktails and soft drinks, with somewhere to sit and watch the sea. In the evening the sun goes down towards the lighthouse end, and the dunes turn the colour of the sand at its warmest.

• The beach is windy. Check the forecast before you go: a strong wind makes a day on the sand hard work.
• Public toilets charge a fee, and there is no drinking water close by — bring your own.
• Sunbeds and umbrellas are for hire. Away from them there is no shade, on the beach or in the dunes.
• The stretch by the dunes is a nude beach, with LGBT and family areas alongside, and some of the bars there serve naked guests.
• The restaurants are touristy and offer much the same menus.

Buses arrive at Faro de Maspalomas bus station by the lighthouse, about 525 m in a straight line from the beach. Services connect it with Playa del Inglés, Mogán, the towns of the east coast and Las Palmas. By car, two car parks lie about 170–180 m away in a straight line.

The last stretch is on foot across soft sand, with the dunes rising behind the beach. Map boards for the Dunas de Maspalomas stand near the shore and show how the reserve lies around the beach.

Best: morning, when the light is bright and the water clear, or evening for the sunset towards the lighthouse.

Avoid: windy days, midday on the open sand, and weekends, when the stretch by the dunes fills with crowds.

The beach is exposed to the wind and the dunes give no shade, so a calm forecast matters more than the month: average temperatures stay above 18 °C all year, and winter is the busy season for visitors from northern Europe.

The Maspalomas Dunes behind the beach are a nature reserve, declared in 1994 to protect native wildlife after hotel building had damaged the habitat. Keep to the marked routes through the dunes and leave the plants alone; map boards for the reserve stand near the beach.