When it comes to the nitty gritty of booking a holiday in Gran Canaria, you have to think about two things in particular. The first is whereabouts in Gran Canaria you want to stay. This will depend on where you want to visit, which beaches you have heard about and many other factors as well. But the second thing really stays the same no matter where you will end up going. This is the type of accommodation you want to stay in – and it could depend on whom you are going with as well.

For example a big family may find it easier and more cost effective to rent a villa for the duration of their holiday. It certainly provides you with more freedom, especially if you have your own private pool to enjoy as well. As hard as it may be to believe, some people prefer lounging around a pool to going on the beach. If you are not a strong swimmer you may not enjoy swimming in the sea, and we all know that sand can get into absolutely everything! So you can see that a villa can be the best option for many people.

But what about the humble hotel – would this be a better bet for you? Gran Canaria has countless hotels, all with superb communal swimming pools, great restaurants and many other features besides. If you want a relaxing and pampered kind of holiday you will benefit from trying a hotel that has a spa included in its range of benefits. You will also feel better for knowing you don’t have to worry about mealtimes; many hotels will have all inclusive deals that make perfect sense to take advantage of.

Of course if your budget is the number one consideration you should think about staying in an apartment. You might be able to get one with a balcony that isn’t far from the beach. It all depends on where in Gran Canaria you want to stay, and how soon you can make your booking.

All in all you have plenty of great options – all it takes is some consideration and the ability to book in plenty of time.

Gran Canaria has plenty to offer to the average holidaymaker. One great example of a town worth exploring while you are there is Santa Maria de Guia. The town can be found on the northern edge of the island, offering the chance to see this and much of the rest of the Las Palmas province as well.

This is an old town and an attractive one at that – this is one of the reasons why so many people come to see it. If all you want is beaches you may be better off going elsewhere, as Santa Maria de Guia is not particularly known for its beaches. However it does have access to three of them, even though it is tricky access at times. But this does give you the prize at the end of the journey, if it is a journey you want to take. It means you can enjoy a fairly quiet beach when you arrive, since many holidaymakers will opt for easier to access beaches elsewhere on the island.

So if you don’t go to Santa Maria de Guia for the sands, what do you go for? One good answer is the history of the place. It is amazingly beautiful and part of the reason for this is the fact that it has many old buildings which have been well taken care of. In recent years some of the buildings have been repainted and touched up where necessary and so now Santa Maria de Guia is even more beautiful than it was before.

One key building you may wish to see is the parish church in the historic centre of the town. When the Iglesia de la Santa Maria de Guia was built, the year was 1607 and in the intervening four hundred years little has changed. It is like seeing a slice of history taken out and displayed right in front of your eyes.

No doubt you will appreciate many other sights in Santa Maria de Guia while you are there. But it will certainly make you think how Gran Canaria is capable of springing a few surprises on you.

Gran Canaria is one of the most popular Canary Islands to visit during the summer each year. Its many attractions include the fact that you can do all kinds of different things while you are there, and one of the best has to be to hop on board a boat trip.

You can get many different things out of a boat trip here. For instance there is the thrill of seeing Gran Canaria from an entirely different viewpoint. As you take your seat on your chosen boat trip you can watch as you move out from the land and see it from an entirely different angle. It gives you a whole new appreciation of the island, not to mention the opportunity to visit another area of the island as well.

The good news is that you will find all kinds of different boat trips to take while you are in Gran Canaria. The best ones are arguably those that only take very small groups out to sea. These are not overcrowded and as a result you get to take your seat on a smaller boat that is more pleasant to sail in.

Puerto Rico is the main place you will need to get to if you want to take a boat trip anywhere on the island. This is the main harbour on Gran Canaria and once you are there you should find there are several options available to you. Ideally you should book your tickets in advance as well, to ensure you are not disappointed. Your travel agent may be able to advise on the range of boat trips available, when they take place and how long you should allow for each one. One thing is for sure here – if you love getting out and about on the water, you can certainly do that once you book your spot on a boat in Gran Canaria.

From dolphin watching to glass bottom boats and everything in between, whatever you want from your boat trip you will get all of it and more, thanks to the huge range available in Gran Canaria.

Certain holiday destinations are known for certain things. When it comes to Gran Canaria you will find it has a name for diving. There are lots of companies on the island that offer diving experiences, and it doesn’t really matter whether you are experienced or not. In any situation you will find you have a wonderful opportunity to explore the waters around Gran Canaria.

A good first step to take is to find out how close your nearest diving school is to where you are staying. It doesn’t really matter which part of Gran Canaria you are planning on visiting for your holiday, because there are several diving schools dotted around that you can visit. Wherever you stay you won’t be too far from one.

Some of the schools also offer snorkelling so if scuba diving doesn’t quite appeal for whatever reason you have this option to consider too. But whatever you decide to do you will be glad you decided to take a look beneath the depths to find the best sights in Gran Canaria. The waters are so clear that you will easily be able to see lots of marine life you would otherwise miss if you didn’t stray from the beach!

Sea horses, colourful fish and even the odd angel shark could be in wait for you as you leave the dry lands of Gran Canaria in order to see a different side of life here. Even if you are not used to going beneath the waves the waters here are so clear you will be glad you did. This is an experience you should definitely be sure you have, so you can take some underwater photos and keep them as a memory of your excursion.

Scuba diving isn’t for everyone but since you can try snorkelling as well you might find you can still see many of the delightful sights in the subtropical waters that lap around the island. Gran Canaria is worth visiting for lots of reasons but as you can see, not all of those reasons reside on dry land.

Everyone knows that Gran Canaria is an ideal place to head to for all the S’s – sun, sea and sand. It’s great for a family holiday too, for these very reasons.

But it also plays host to some of the best attractions you could ever hope for. One of the most notable ones of all is Mundo Aborigen. The name of the attraction may not give you too many clues as to what you should expect when you get there, but when you do see it for real you will realise it is worth going.

So what exactly is Mundo Aborigen? And is it the kind of place the kids will love as well as the grown ups?

Well yes, they will love it and this is a very educational visit too. Mundo Aborigen shows you how the first settlers came to live on the Canary Islands, as well as how life developed for them. This attraction is set in a wonderful location as well, as the village forms part of a national park. So in reality you have more than just Mundo Aborigen to see. If you want to take a break from the beaches and sunbathing, you can head here for the day and explore what life away from the beach is like.

The great thing about Mundo Aborigen is not just the learning experience and depth of knowledge it gives you about Gran Canaria’s past. It also provides you with some sensational views out across the mountains that surround it. If you thought the only good views were found gazing across the sea, you will be proved wrong as soon as you start exploring Mundo Aborigen.

The great thing about the attraction is that it is a recreation of life as it was lived a long time ago. You will see models and tableaux that really open your eyes to life back then. The models depict daily life in all its forms, and some of them might surprise you! But one thing is for certain – the Mundo Aborigen grabs you from the moment you arrive, and fascinates you in all kinds of different ways.

There is no doubt that Gran Canaria is a superb place to take a holiday. But although the beaches on the island are a top destination for many people, there are other areas worth exploring as well.

A good example is Tamadaba. This is a pine forest located on the north western side of the island, and it is not the only pine forest you will find in Gran Canaria either. It is extremely well preserved though and if you get the urge to leave the beach behind for a day or two so you can explore an altogether different landscape, this is the best place to go to.

In fact once you are in the thick of the forest you may completely forget where you are. If you have visited Gran Canaria before but missed out on this beautiful destination, you will be amazed at how different the island appears when you are standing in the middle of such a luscious forest.

The good thing is that you can pack a picnic and take it with you for the day. There are some nice spots worth stopping in for a break and an al fresco lunch. The deep blue sky looks very inviting as it pokes through the deep greenery above you, making you realise just how bright and dramatic some of these colours can be. Tamadaba is pure heaven on earth, and it is well worth taking time out from sunbathing to explore everything it has to show you.

Once you are in the thick of the forest you can make your way along to the coast because you can see out and down into the sea from there. It makes a superb view because it is framed by the trees and you can see the rocks below too. It certainly gives you a different view of Gran Canaria, and one that you won’t want to miss.

As you can see, Gran Canaria can pack more into a holiday than you think. If you stay on the beaches you will only be seeing half the picture.

Gran Canaria is a stunning island, but you don’t always get to appreciate it fully from the ground. It is one of the most popular of all the Canary Islands and it has a volcanic history. Indeed, if there were no volcanoes in the area, Gran Canaria would not exist at all. It has been created from volcanic eruptions many years before, which have all led to the shape it is today.

And this is where we’d like to tempt you with an opportunity to see Gran Canaria from the sky. There is a lot you can see on ground level of course, but in order to fully appreciate the unique topography of the island there is nothing better than heading up into a helicopter to see what you can see from above.

There are a couple of helicopter rides you can take if you wish, and while they are expensive compared with some other things you can do on the island, they are definitely worth spending the money on. There is a ten minute trip which takes you over areas such as Maspalomas. This would be ideal if you happen to be staying there and you want to see it from the air. It also flies over Playa del Ingles.

The other trip is much longer, stretching to thirty minutes all in all. This also flies over Playa del Ingles but it takes in Maspalomas and San Agustin too. Either way you get to see a good view of much of the land below you.

In a way it can be good to take this trip early on in your holiday. It will give you an idea of the layout of the part of the island you fly over. Conversely you may want to leave it until later on, when you have a better idea of how the land lies. This would give you the opportunity to check out which locations are where and see how much you can recognise from the air.

Either way you can see that a flight above Gran Canaria is definitely a must do event.