Fuerteventura – best for beaches

I was keen to visit Fuerteventura as the only canary island I hadn’t yet visited. I love Gran Canaria and Lanzarote. Tenerife remains incredibly popular, but Fuerteventura is less developed and has quite a different, more open feel.

Just a four hour flight from the UK, Fuerteventura, 100km off the north coast of Africa, is the oldest of all the Canary Islands. Flights to Fuerteventura are frequent and low cost in the shoulder seasons, more expensive in the summer months. Fuerteventura airport is small, bright and cheerful and you can reach most parts of the island in an hour or so.

The beaches of Fuerteventura

Fuerteventura is now part of Spain and appeared out of the Atlantic Ocean about 22 million years ago. It is known primarily as a holiday destination because of its warm year round climate and its incredible beaches.

The beautiful beaches were a real surprise to me – volcanic islands usually don’t have white sandy beaches.  The sandy fringes of the island are absolutely stunning and as dreamy as anything you will see in Mexico or the Maldives. The sea is turquoise and perfect for swimming and all manner of water sports.

The beaches all around the island are punctuated with cliffs and sheltered coves. The climate is lovely year round and offshore breezes keep things temperate in the summer.

Fuerteventura biosphere reserve

The island hosts one of the Canary Islands biosphere reserves, designated since 2009. Beautiful rolling sand dunes give way to an austere desert landscape which covers much of the interior. Cactus thrive here. Visit inland villages where time has slowed down and stop by picturesque fishing villages where they serve fresh fish and delicious local cheeses. The cheeses of Fuerteventura have a destination of origin and are internationally renowned. We love the ‘Majorero’ local goat’s cheese on offer in our hotel every day. It is very tasty and has won multiple awards.

Where to stay in Fuerteventura

Corralejo is by far Fuerteventura’s most popular resort followed by Caleta de Fuste and then Costa Calma, the least windy of them. Corralejo has lots of restaurants and was once a rather cute fishing village around which the resort grew up. There are some lovely sea food restaurants around the remaining harbour, and there are numerous music and entertainment events in the town centre throughout the year.

The shopping here is actually very good which is rare for an island destination. The usual seaside souvenir shops complement some quite high end boutique shops and some brand new shopping centres for you to explore. I certainly enjoyed buying some cool sunglasses in the Alehop shop and some lovely clothes in the Natural shop too.

 Is Fuerteventura windy?

Fuerteventura gets more wind than the other islands in the Canaries. It is sometimes nicknamed the windy island. It is therefore paradise for Kite surfers and Windsurfers, especially in the summer months when the wind is even stronger.

The Windsurfing and Kite boarding World Championships have been held on the beaches of jandia for years now and attract elite international sportspeople.

The beaches near Correlejo are dramatic and very beautiful. The coloured canopies of the kite surfers and the sails of the wind surfers, make it even prettier as you walk along the coast watching them soar and dip and bob along. Sometimes the sails are in groups for safety, I imagine, making them look like flocks of colourful birds riding on the currents of the wind.

Which is the best month to visit Fuerteventura?

I visited in late February and the weather was in the late teen/ early 20 degrees centigrade every day. Warm enough to sunbathe but also not too hot to go exploring or walking about. The island is a real winter sun destination. It is certainly a treat to escape the cold cloudy grey UK in the middle of winter. As the year progresses things get hotter but the temperature rarely tops 30 degrees centigrade. It really is a sun saturated destination and explains its enduring popularity.

Things to do in Fuerteventura

The main attractions of this sunny island are obviously the beaches and its relaxing holiday vibe. One favourite thing to do on Fuerteventura however is a day trip to the Oasis Wildlife Park in the south of the island.

Oasis wildlife Park

The Oasis Wildlife Park is a fairly new, thoughtful and well designed animal visitor experience. Things I really liked about it were.

• None of the animals are on their own they are all in pairs and groups recognising their social instincts.
• Animals are well cared for with large enclosures and enrichment activities and seem very happy!
• They are active and you can get really close to them, much more so than in other zoos I’ve been to.
• There are a number of animal experiences too where you can ride a camel or buy food and feed them by hand.

Animal encounters

Feeding the giraffes is a real highlight of the day and we had brought carrots and courgettes to feed them. They are huge animals but take the food from you so gently while unfurling their incredible tongues!

We use up our allocated supplies by the time we get to the elephants so we sacrifice bananas and kiwis from our packed lunch, which I think they appreciated.

The Sea lion show is great too – they are amazing animals. The park is keen to educate youngsters (and adults) about the animals that they see. If you understand something you are more likely to want to protect it.

Getting to the wildlife park

There are several fun jungle themed cafes and restaurants you can stop in for a rest and refreshments. Maps are plentiful around the park. They do, however seem to be more suggestive than wholly accurate. Consequently, you may find you have walked around a lot more than you planned to!

There is a bus which transfers visitors free of charge from most of the resorts. This is a great service but it does take a while with all the picking up and dropping off. If you have your own transport you will get there a lot quicker!

Best things about Fuerteventura

There is more to this island than meets the eye. The climate and the jaw dropping seascapes are its most outstanding features. There are more than 300 days of sunshine with very little rain which differs from the other Canary Islands. It really is a perfect winter sun destination and the beaches are absolutely stunning.

You might also like my article about Gran Canaria