Is Gran Canaria expensive?

Captain Slow IRL

Me and the Mrs. are gonna head off for a week, she's never been there and it's been a decade since I've been - what's it like for costs; drink, food, etc.?

Ardennes1944

was there last summer. its pretty cheap in fairness. no duty on the island to be paid. if you want a cheap holiday its a good place

Dionysus

Deutschlandfürimmer7 wrote: »

was there last summer. its pretty cheap in fairness. no duty on the island to be paid. if you want a cheap holiday its a good place

Is it possible to get a place away from the crowds, particularly lager louts and soccer hooligans? Where's the "traditional" culture? A quiet romantic place for two people? [I'm avoiding all the "popular" destinations because of that, but I'm increasingly running out of options for the week I can take]

Also, are there many places you could go walking and do other more natural outdoor activities?

Ardennes1944

Dionysus wrote: »

Is it possible to get a place away from the crowds, particularly lager louts and soccer hooligans? Where's the "traditional" culture? A quiet romantic place for two people? [I'm avoiding all the "popular" destinations because of that, but I'm increasingly running out of options for the week I can take]

Also, are there many places you could go walking and do other more natural outdoor activities?

well to be honest my trip there was a bit, not much, of a boozer. i am very much into sightseeing and outdoor activities though and on the way from the airport to where we stayed there are nice small mountain ranges and open land. dont expect much greenery though! the taxis are cheap and the buses are good so what may be the best thing to do is stay in a quieter resort and just travel a few miles each day to see the real island.
also, renting cars are very cheap so you might look into that also.
its not the best place to go for a nice romantic holiday though. if you want that i would go to dubrovnik.

Captain Slow IRL

We went to Las Tres Calas, on mainland Spain, for our honeymoon and it would be ideal for you Dionysus - it's a really small and quiet village right beside the Mediteranean. You would need a car as it's out of the way but is an ideal place for relaxation and peace.

Dionysus

Captain Slow IRL wrote: »

We went to Las Tres Calas, on mainland Spain, for our honeymoon and it would be ideal for you Dionysus - it's a really small and quiet village right beside the Mediteranean. You would need a car as it's out of the way but is an ideal place for relaxation and peace.

Thanks, Captain. I'll google the nearest airport now. We can only go from 25.04 to 2.05 because of work so there's a huge problem finding a romantic destination to fit that schedule. Carcassonne (with Ryanair) fits it so far but a coastal location would be better.

Captain Slow IRL

We flew into Reus airport and got a rental car, it's under an hours drive to Las Tres Calas. Here's a map to show you exactly where it is: http://maps.google.ie/maps?hl=en&biw=1276&bih=606&q=ametlla+de+mar&wrapid=tlif130238307224511&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=Ametlla+de+Mar,+Spain&gl=ie&ei=38mgTfaMKIeJhQel-s2KBQ&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBsQ8gEwAA

Balmed Out

Any recomendations on where to stay in Gran Canaria. I would like to rent a surf board if I can there and the gf likes long walks. Not into big party area at all at all. Any parts of the island ye think would suit or an apartment ye have rented before?

gavindublin

i think mogan would suit you nicely. its a fishing village, busy one day a week when the local market is on but thats it. local boats run like taxi's, so you have alot of options. sail to puerto rico, when your there you can see the options for sight seeing and local tours.

i spend alot of time in puerto rico its really nice

meg3178

Dionysus wrote: »

Is it possible to get a place away from the crowds, particularly lager louts and soccer hooligans? Where's the "traditional" culture? A quiet romantic place for two people? [I'm avoiding all the "popular" destinations because of that, but I'm increasingly running out of options for the week I can take]

Also, are there many places you could go walking and do other more natural outdoor activities?

If you want Gran Canaria, why not look up Mogan? Its not developed like Puerto Rico etc and there are places to walk, a small beach, a local fishing harbour, traditional restaurants and bars.

Bawnmore

Was just about to start this exact thread Looking into the very same thing now for end of May/beginning of June. Ryanair flights are very reasonable and cheap accommodation seems plentiful. Anyone ever used http://www.lowcostholidays.com/ before? They seem to have some very good deals on apartments.

Anything better than those guys even? I've literally just started looking, so I could have missed anything.

nicky chick

I agree with you Bawnmore I have just looked at that web site too and prices do seem reasonable would be interested to know if anyone else has book holidays through them:D

Jofspring

Puerto Rico and Amadores along with Mogan are quiet enough in fairness. Not the loud drinking all night kind of places. It does go on in Puerto Rico but not as mad as other holiday destinations. There is a nice walk around the mountain from Puerto Rico to Amadores beach. Its a good base for other places to go too as you can rent a car fairly cheap and most places are accessible by motorway there now.

Have just booked Flights myself with Ryanair and accomodation in one of the nicest apartments in Puerto Rico (Terrazemar Suites) in June for €350 per person for a week.

eternal

I have been to three of the canary islands and found it not to be too expensive.
If you are into clubbing over there ,you will probobly get very cheap deals on drinks and loads of free shots.
Eating out is very cheap usually .You could sit four for what it costs here for two with drinks.If you like cocktails ,you can very often get two for the price of one. Things like perfume and cosmetics are for nothing in the shops.
Sangria is dirt cheap in these places but can be very strong ,be warned !
I think some of the tours can cost a bit ,or the event nights.Probobly cheaper to hire a car and look around yourself .If you fancy taking it easy ,then dont bother with the car. You will find the bars and cafes in the hotels / apartments will rip you off with prices for food and that.
Like getting a burger and beer there will cost three times more than if you just go to a local cafe.

Bawnmore

I was looking at car rental, it seems pretty reasonable. I wouldn't mind not having to rent a car too though. I might be looking on the wrong sites, but transfers tot he resorts look pretty pricey. Are they the best way to get there?

Jofspring

Bawnmore wrote: »

I was looking at car rental, it seems pretty reasonable. I wouldn't mind not having to rent a car too though. I might be looking on the wrong sites, but transfers tot he resorts look pretty pricey. Are they the best way to get there?

Alpharooms transfers are usually pretty reasonable. 52euro return for two people by shuttlebus. One thing to watch out for with the car rental is you can get a car for about 100 euro for a week but then there is a fuel charge of about 35 to 40 euro ontop of that. If you don't use the fuel you don't get any money back so make sure if you get a car that you get the use out of it.

stargazer 68

We have been to Gran Canaria several times and always stay in Maspalomas - lovely area and just far enough away from the pub/club bit

Bawnmore

Jofspring wrote: »

Alpharooms transfers are usually pretty reasonable. 52euro return for two people by shuttlebus. One thing to watch out for with the car rental is you can get a car for about 100 euro for a week but then there is a fuel charge of about 35 to 40 euro ontop of that. If you don't use the fuel you don't get any money back so make sure if you get a car that you get the use out of it.

Thanks, that's good info to know. Actually ya, I was looking at renting a car for just one day and dropping back close to the resort and it was coming in at €40. Hadn't considered the petrol though, and it seems most (if not all) rental companies run with "use it or lose it" as the petrol policy. Not very likely we're going to use a full tank of petrol in the trip down, so transfers bat be our best bet.

We have been to Gran Canaria several times and always stay in Maspalomas - lovely area and just far enough away from the pub/club bit

Was actually looking here mainly, as we wouldn't miss the whole pub/club thing a huge amount. You might be able to clear up a concern though - if we do feel like hitting the town for a night or 2, is Maspalomas too far away? I suppose, would it be a short cab drive, long walk distance away?

stargazer 68

Maspalomas is 10 minutes by taxi from Playa DIngles but you can also go the other direction towards the beach and there are lovely restaurants and shops all along the beach front. Bit more expensive but definitely worth a visit at least one night - cab will leave you to the lighthouse and then its 2 min walk from there.

We stayed at the Green Golf Bungalows in October and would definitely go back there.

Jofspring

Bawnmore wrote: »

Thanks, that's good info to know. Actually ya, I was looking at renting a car for just one day and dropping back close to the resort and it was coming in at €40. Hadn't considered the petrol though, and it seems most (if not all) rental companies run with "use it or lose it" as the petrol policy. Not very likely we're going to use a full tank of petrol in the trip down, so transfers bat be our best bet.

Most have policy that if you have the car for less than 3 or 4 days they only charge you for the fuel you use so if you only take it for one day the fuel charge should be small. Alpharooms car hire says a fuel charge applies when the car is rented for more than 4 days otherwise the amount of fuel used will be charged.

Azureus

If you want somewhere romantic and with long walks then Id defo go to Masapolomas. We booked Playa des Ingles because the travel agent talked us out of the above saying it was too old a resort for us, but we walked up the coast to it every day, its gorgeous and the restaurants are amazing. Theres lovely coastal walks aswell along the sand dunes.
Definately take a trip up to Mogan while your there-its like a pretty version of Howth with better weather.

Bawnmore

Azureus wrote: »

If you want somewhere romantic and with long walks then Id defo go to Masapolomas. We booked Playa des Ingles because the travel agent talked us out of the above saying it was too old a resort for us, but we walked up the coast to it every day, its gorgeous and the restaurants are amazing. Theres lovely coastal walks aswell along the sand dunes.
Definately take a trip up to Mogan while your there-its like a pretty version of Howth with better weather.

Cool, was in between minds with Playa des Ingles and Maspolomas but I think that's steered it Only thing that concerns me is will there be enough to keep us occupied in Maspolomas, or will we get bored fairly quickly. Love the sound of the coastal walks, but I presume we'll need to venture to Playa des Ingles for any activities etc?

stargazer 68

Bawnmore wrote: »

Cool, was in between minds with Playa des Ingles and Maspolomas but I think that's steered it Only thing that concerns me is will there be enough to keep us occupied in Maspolomas, or will we get bored fairly quickly. Love the sound of the coastal walks, but I presume we'll need to venture to Playa des Ingles for any activities etc?

Depends on what activities you are planning to do?

tan11ie

In my opinion Playa des Ingles is a filthy kip! I've traveled quite a lot and this place stands out as been the dirtiest place i've been to. Puerto Rico is quite nice and not far from Playa des Ingles if you waned to drop down for the activities.