Fuerteventura is a secret gem in the Atlantic.

With 50 kilometers of fine white sand, Fuerteventura has the biggest selection of beaches of all the Canary islands.
Some of the beaches, with their seemingly endless stretches of white sand and turquoise, crystal-clear waters, make you feel like you are in paradise. They are frequently used for fashion shoots and television commercials.
You can enjoy the sun and the sea in dream-like locations, where you can lose yourself and forget about the passing of time.
Fuerteventura’s coastline is a paradise for sun-worshippers, water sports enthusiasts and naturists. There are a total of 152 beaches offering something for everyone. Some are wild and lonely, like something from Robinson Crusoe, while others bustle with tourist activity.
There are child-friendly beaches, surfing beaches and remote spots favored by nudists, nature-lovers and bird-watchers.
There are no official nudist beaches, but topless sunbathing is accepted more or less everywhere and naturists can do their own thing (as long as they do it away from the main tourist centres).
Fuerteventura has a magnificent airport with a 2,400m runway where national and international flights land and airplanes arrive from numerous, mainly European countries.
Fuerteventura has lovely beaches in the vicinity of its capital, Puerto del Rosario. But in the very north and south, there are two areas with beaches that can be compared with the best in the world. Especially outstanding are those of Jandía in the south and those of Corralejo in the north.
At Playa Blanca in Puerto del Rosario there is a Parador belonging to the Office of the Secretary General for Tourism.

The Trade Winds blow all year round making not only a comfortable climate, but a wind-surfers’ paradise.
World Championship speed and slalom wind-surfing events are held here every August, attracting the cream of the wind-surfing fraternity.
Flag Beach Windsurf Centre offers excellent surf from body boarding, surfing, wind surfing and kite surfing.

Places to visit and things to do:

Small coastal villages full of flavour and tradition will show you their most typical architecture together with churches, chapels, castles and a network of museums which will take you on an interesting historical tour of this island of treasure, which also loves its craftwork: openwork, basket-making, wood and clay.

Getting to know the Canary Islands, their origins, their rich history and traditions is a real discovery. From the striking remains of the legendary culture of the Guanche people, your days can be spent visiting museums, ethnographic parks, archaeological sites and arts centres.

Caleta de Fuste, a purpose built holiday resort.

If you look around Caleta de Fuste, you will notice that it does not have a significant old town. This is because it is a purpose built holiday resort. It has been created around the original cove, because this offered a safe, sheltered environment for beach activities. Caleta is Spanish for cove and a fuste is a type of fishing boat.

The Beaches at Caleta de Fuste

The large beach at Caleta de Fuste has been created from pale golden sand, that was brought in especially for the purpose. Over time the sand has compacted, but unlike some other locations where the man made beach has been removed by nature, the beach at Caleta de Fuste remains intact, and there are plans to upgrade the services at the main beach. Further beaches have been created between the newly opened Sheraton Hotel and the Atlantico commercial centre. They were made by creating lagoons where there was once solid rock, and then importing sand for the beach. These beaches have almost settled in, and there is a slightly muddy feel to the bottom of the lagoons they had when they were created has almost disappeared. They look good and are conveniently placed for a quick sunbathe when you are shopping.

These beaches are being created hand in hand with the quality hotels being constructed to the south of the original development. Several of the new beaches are complete.

Costa Calma, Fuerteventura

Costa Calma is a true beach resort, having been built adjacent to a mile long section at the start of the white sandy beaches that run for about twelve miles from Costa Calma to Morro Jable. The colourful seas that lap the shores of this part of Fuerteventura are relatively benign and the area as a whole is very popular with beach lovers and wind surfers.

Costa Calma Hotels

The beach-front part of the resort runs from the Hotel Rio Calma, a very swish affair, with its own waterfall, fresh water pool at the edge of the sea, and opulent gardens, to the Hotel Esmerelda, which tough a little less secluded has the benefit of being closer to the wind surf schools and other activity centres of Costa Calma.

The sea front between these two hotels has a range of other hotels and aparthotels with various star or key ratings that allow easy access to the shore. None of the hotels that are not on the shoreline are a great distance from the sea and their slightly elevated position gives then good views of Costa Calma and the surrounding dunes.

Costa Calma's development.

Costa Calma was built around a small village called Cañada Del Rio, though it is now difficult to see how the original pueblo fitted into the landscape. The attraction for the tourism industry was the sandy beaches, but care was taken when the resort was being developed to make sure that countryside did not disappear under concrete. The built up areas of Costa Calma are separated from each other by a green zone that runs the length of the resort. This provides a haven for wildlife, and we spotted several European Hoopoes. This greenbelt provides a pleasant area to walk through during the day, but on a dark night it is a little spooky. It does not take too much imagination to feel that any second the trees are likely to talk to you.

The length of the resort means that it has no real central area to Costa Calma, but there are several shopping centres with restaurants and shops that act as a nucleus for the immediate vicinty.

One of the events in Costa Calma that does act as a focal point is the Sunday morning market. This is a colourful, crowded affair that starts about 9 and carries on until early afternoon. The whole range of goods that you would expect to find on a holiday island is available from the stallholders who represent numerous nationalites.

Costa Calma Beach

The beach at Costa Calma, which is cleaned daily, is long enough for early morning joggers to have a decent workout by running the length of it a couple of times.

Early each morning joggers, nordic walkers (nordic walking involves the use of poles similar to those used by skiers) and swimmers can be seen taking their morning excercise. Later in the day the beach at Costa Calma has more of a relaxed feel to it as the sunbathers relax in the sunshine.

The tourists in Costa Calma seem to be largely German. This is evident in that when we bought a drink in a bar the cost was often quoted in German. Many of the cafes emphasize their German ownership, and the entertainment tends to be in German rather than English

Jandia, Fuerteventura

Jandia is the peninsula at the southern end of Fuerteventura. It includes the resorts of Costa Calma and Playas de Jandia, as well as the port of Morro Jable and several smaller resorts. The highest point on Fuerteventura, Pico de Zarza, is to be found there, and once upon a time Jandia was separated from the rest of Fuerteventura by the sea. The deposits of sand that linked the two have resulted in some of the best beaches in the world.

Jandia - Fuerteventura

Travelling to Jandia

All the civilised parts of Jandia can be reached in less than an hour from Fuerteventura airport. It used to take a little over an hour to reach Morro Jable, but the opening of a new motorway in September has reduced the journey time from the north of Fuerteventura to Morro Jable by around ten minutes.

Jandia Bars and Restaurants

Most of the tourists that stay in Jandia are German and this is reflected in the higher percentage of German owned restaurants and bars. There are lots of Spanish owned bars and restaurants and one or two British owned bars, as well as a few belonging to other nationalities.

Playas de Jandia

The people of Pajara are rightly proud of the beaches of Jandia. The lighthouse at the Playa Del Matorral acts not only as a warning to shipping, but as the point at which the beach is divided into naturist and non naturist sections. The beach the north the are more naturists, while that to the south is used more by non naturists.

The Playa de Sotavento (leeward beach) is in the lee of the wind. There is a very long spit here and an enormous "lake" appears at high tide. The Reni Egli centre is to be found here and the are always windsurfers and kite boarders practising their art here.

The Playa De Barlovento (windward beach) and the Playa de Cofete are much less accessible, and the sea conditions here are much wilder. An excellent view of both can be seen from the Pico de Zarza.

The wilder parts of the island that are to be found beyond Morro Jable are well worth a visit, but we would recommend the use of a 4 wheel drive or Jeep to reach them.

Morro Jable, Fuerteventura

Morro Jable is at the southern end of Fuerteventura, just under one hours drive south of the airport. A new section of road was opened in September 2005 and this reduced the transfer times by about ten minutes, as the new road is both straight and level, and replaces a narrower windier coastal road in Jandia.

If you find yourself out for a drive in a hire car it is worth taking the more scenic route as it allows the driver to take in the views, while still concentrating on the road.

Morro Jable, Old and New

The older parts of Morro Jable are either side of the headland around which the village was built. The port was originally the home of the fishing fleet, and still is, but now hosts a variety of tourist attractions, including a catamaran and several sports fishing vessels, and a ferry service to Gran Canaria. The port is undergoing further work, so that it can host a fast ferry service, and this work should be completed in 2007.

The part of the old village that is separated from the port by the headland runs up a barranco, or valley, into the hills. The newer parts of the town have been built to connect the old village area and the port area, and the tourist facilities have been built along the coast to the east of the old village, in such a way that Morro Jable now stretches for a mile or so along the coast, the newer parts having been appended to the older parts in a pleasant way.

Tourism in Morro Jable

Most of the tourists that visit Morro Jable are German and this is reflected in the higher percentage of German restaurant and bar owners. The newer part of the town has been built along the beachfront to the east of the port. The promenade at Morro Jable makes up the main part of the newer town and there are numerous shops, restaurants and bars, all with views towards the sea.

The beach at Morro Jable is part of a long line of natural white sandy beaches. The beach to the east (left as you look to sea) of the impressive lighthouse is used more by naturists, while that to the west is used more by non naturists. On the beach to the west of the lighthouse it is possible to hire yachts to sail.

All the facilities that you would expect to find in a beach resort that is close to seas abundant with life can be found in the resort.

One of the crops grown on Fuerteventura is Aloe Vera. In Morro Jable there is an information centre about this plant and the magical properties of its extracts. The plants grow until they are 2 to 3 years old and then they are processed so that the extracts can be added to a range of aloe vera products.