Playa del Inglés: Europe's Most Famous Beach

The vast Playa del Inglés beach in Gran Canaria The vast Playa del Inglés beach in Gran Canaria

Playa del Inglés must be Europe's busiest and most famous beach; its three kilometres of sand are packed every day and it gets millions of bums on sand each year.

You might expect a beach this busy to be claustrophobic, but Playa del Inglés is big enough for everyone to find their own space. With Maspalomas next door (the two are actually one long beach), it's over six kilometres of sand with a vast dune system attached. The brochures call it a mini Sahara Desert, but scientists believe the whole area formed during an enormous tidal wave over 200 years ago. 

Alex says: Playa del Inglés (Englishman's Beach) is named after an English farmer who grew tomatoes where the resort is now, and transported them up the coast by camel. Mad dogs and Englishmen.

Playa del Inglés beach runs right along the front of the resort but quickly widens out into dunes as you head east. The easiest way to reach the sea is at the Annexo II strip of bars and restaurants (directly in front of the Kasbah and Plaza shopping centres).

Annexo II is also where services and facilities cluster. You can eat anything here from a Big Mac to a Chateaubriand and buy anything from a surfing trip to a fluffy camel. Or just walk past it onto the sand.  Rent jet skis and book banana boat rides (yes, they still exist) just east of Annexo II. Sunbed concessions and kiosks are dotted along the beach.

Playa del Inglés beach becomes more nudist the further you walk and as soon as you go round the corner onto Maspalomas beach it's almost completely nudist. You don't have to strip to walk along the beach, although you will get in the way of nudists heading for a swim. For more on the nudist zones of PDI and Maspalomas beaches click here.

Lex says: The sea at Playa del Inglés is almost always calm but if there are waves, it's safest to swim close to a lifeguard.

The beach and dune front promenade behind Playa del Inglés beach stretches all the way from Avenida Tirajana in central PDI to San Agustín several kilometres to the east. It's one of Gran Canaria's great resort walks, especially early in the morning. 

Park at Annexo II for direct access to Playa del Inglés beach. The main car park charges a fee, but it is convenient. Otherwise park in the resort and walk down to the beach.

 

Additional Info

  • Lifeguard: Yes
  • Calm water: Yes
  • You're sitting on: Sand
  • Sand colour: Sahara yellow
  • Looks best at: Sunrise
  • Nudist: Yes
  • Hippy rating: 5
  • Lat/Long: 27.754190, -15.567693
Start from: Get directions Show Street View

Join the Gran Canaria Info newsletter list

endanlfifrdeisitnoplptruessv

Beaches

We're loading the markers, please wait a few seconds…

Click on a beach, then click on the title for the beach's own page right on this website.

 

 

Follow us on Facebook

Tip of the day

  • The Best Gran Canaria Weather Forecast
    The Best Gran Canaria Weather Forecast

    The single most common question we get in the Gran Canaria Info group is...

    What is the weather going to be like during my holiday?

    The answer is almost always the same: If you are going to south Gran Canaria's resorts, it is very likely to be sunny every day. Yes, even in the winter. Yes, even though your weather app says it is going to be cloudy. Yes, even in January. And in February, etc.

    Obviously it does sometimes rain in Gran Canaria, even in the sun-baked south, and there are occassional cloudy days. 

    To check for these rare rain and clouds there is no point using generic weather apps because they use data that averages out the weather and temperature across Gran Canaria.

    This means that the forecast for Puerto Rico and other resorts includes weather and temperatrure predictions for inland and highland areas that are cooler and cloudier.

    So, instead of believing your current weather app use the Spanish weather service website called the AEMET. It's website has detailed and very accurate forecasts for individual resorts, town and even beaches.

    Here's the forecast for the Mogán area including Puerto Rico.

    The mobile website works very well in English although the app is only in Spanish at the moment.  

Latest articles

Who's Online

We have 4695 guests and no members online

Login / Register

Take this website to the max, login or create an account now! By clicking on any Social Media platform logo, you can login with just one click.