Often the hardest part of planning a cycling trip is working out which hotel to book, and that’s true when planning where to stay in Gran Canaria for cycling breaks.
In this article we cut through the confusion and share the best places to stay in Gran Canaria for cycling. We tell you about the best towns for cyclists, plus what you need to know about Gran Canaria’s cycling hotels.
Read on!
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Remember to double-check accommodation bike storage arrangements (and any other services you need) before booking as policies often change.
A cyclist’s overview of Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria is a relatively small, circular island, just 47 kilometres (29 miles) across. It is dominated by the ex-volcanic Pico de las Nieves in the centre.
As with Tenerife, the rule of thumb is that all roads lead up.
Most cyclists find that the best routes on the island are clustered in the southern half or two thirds of the island (check out the cycling route map in our main Gran Canaria guide). Fortuitously, the southern part of the island is also the area that sees less rainfall and is less populated.
The island’s main conurbations are the capital, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in the northwest, and the sprawling Maspalomas in the south. We’ve cycled the GC-191/GC-500 between Vecindario and Puerto Rico de Gran Canaria, and we can confirm there’s seemingly endless urban sprawl between Vecindario and Maspalomas.
It’s also worth knowing that Gran Canaria is well-known for surfing and windsurfing – yes wind surfing. The World Championship Tour Final for Stand Up Surfing happened around Las Palmas in December 2019. Due to the wind, the eastern coast of the island is not much fun for cycling.
Best place to stay in Gran Canaria (for cycling)
There’s no one dominant cycling base – and also no obvious cyclist-focused bike hotels on Gran Canaria. This means that the best place to stay depends on what you want from your cycling holiday.
Maspalomas
The most obvious place to stay is Maspalomas, which includes Meloneras (reputedly the most upmarket area), Playa del Inglés (where the annual Winter Pride Maspalomas is held) and San Agustin (on the periphery of Maspalomas). It’s home to an army of hotels; there must be thousands upon thousands of hotel rooms in this small pocket of land, much of which is a good few kilometres from the beach.
We stayed in Playa del Inglés with a supermarket next door (where we witnessed a fight one evening) and faceless accommodation all around. Two minutes walk took us to a crazy golf course and the brutalist concrete Yumbo centre, complete with tattoo parlours, bars selling 2 euro beer and adult dancing clubs. Not our cup of tea, but hey, you might love it!
Sunset over Maspalomas (definitely the most sympathetic time of day to see Maspalomas!)
The famous (and very ugly) Yumbo CentreSouth West Coast
Puerto de Mogán
We know several people who always stay in Puerto de Mogán and, having enjoyed a very pleasant evening meal on the beachfront, we can see why. It’s a fraction of the size of Maspalomas and feels a bit smarter. While the skyline is still dominated by hotels, they’re a bit less high rise and look a touch more sophisticated. In particular, we’ve heard great things of the Hotel Cordial Mogán Playa
The downside to Puerto de Mogán is the fact that in 2017 there was a landslide on the GC500, somewhere between Playa del Curo and Puerto de Mogán. While cars are fine, because they can zip around the landslide on the GC1 motorway, bicycles are banned on the motorway. Cyclists’ options involve taking the bus on the GC1 or the ferry between Puerto Rico and Puerto de Mogán.
This adds that extra bit of hassle to getting to the cycling routes east of Puerto de Mogán. If you’ve got a support car with you, and so can get a lift around, or are happy to take your time and catch the bus or ferry, you might decide the inconvenience is worth it.
Balito Beach
There are other options for places to stay on the southwest coast of Gran Canaria, that aren’t Puerto de Mogán and which avoid the landslide issues on the GC500.
For example at Balito Beach you find the Marina Elite Cycling & Sport Resort whose cycling focus is inviting and which is on the Maspalomas side of the landslips (so you can cycle to the routes connecting from Maspalomas). More on the hotel below.
Puerto de Mogán from above
Quaint buildings in the harbour at Puerto de MogánInland options
Inland Gran Canaria is absolutely stunning and, were we to return, this is where we would probably stay next.
Your choice of hotel is severely restricted compared to the coast, you’ll have very little choice of where to eat/bars and you’ll end up finishing each day on a climb, but the advantage is that you’ll be surrounded by gorgeous scenery and will be away from the crowds on the coast. Whether it’s the best place to stay in Gran Canaria for cycling is up for debate but we think it’s worth a try.
The village of Fataga
You’ll find lots of pretty traditional villages away from the coastAs we said at the start, it all depends on what you’re looking for!
Hopefully, this gives a useful overview of where to stay as a cyclist on Gran Canaria. In the rest of the article, we share our pick of the best bike friendly hotels on Gran Canaria. Comment below and let us know if you’ve stayed at these hotels before – or if we’ve missed anywhere from our list!
Cycling hotels in Gran Canaria: comparison table
| Name | Location | Price | Book | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marina Elite | Patalavaca | ££ | Book here | |
|
Hotel Cordial Mogán Playa
|
Puerto de Mogán | ££ | Book here | |
|
Dunas Suites & Villas
|
Maspalomas | ££ | Book here | |
|
Gold Playa del Ingles
|
Playa del Ingles | ££ | Book here | |
|
H10 Playa Meloneras Palace
|
Meloneras | ££ | Book here | |
|
Seaside Grand Hotel Residencia
|
Maspalomas | £££ | Book here | |
|
Gloria Palace San Agustín Thalasso & Hotel
|
San Agustin | £ | Book here | |
|
Parador de Cruz de Tejeda
|
Tejeda | ££ | Book here | |
| Casa León Royal Retreat | Maspalomas | £££ | Book here |
|
9 best Gran Canaria cycling hotels
Here’s a look at the best hotels Gran Canaria has to offer to cycling holidays.
Best hotels on Southwest coast
The Marina Elite Cycling & Sport Resort has spectacular views over the Atlantic Ocean and lies on the route to the famous Valley of the Tears and Pico de las Nieves climbs.
The large resort offers two heated swimming pools, a bike storage room, gym and a variety of rooms, from simple but cozy to deluxe rooms. There are also three bars and a buffet restaurant from where you can watch the waves breaking on the beach below.
A 5-minute taxi ride away, you find the lively locations of Puerto Rico and Arguineguin, with a variety of restaurants, shops, bars and pubs.
Hotel Cordial Mogán Playa is a large four-star hotel with a Michelin star restaurant serving traditional Canarian dishes. Situated just a ten-minute stroll from the beach, the hotel has two large outdoor swimming pools, a spa and over 48,000 square metres of lush botanical gardens.
Inside the hotel, you’ll find the Freemotion bike hire shop, which offers all the latest models of road, mountain and e-bikes. At the end of the day, guests can relax in the hot tub or by enjoying a relaxing massage in the spa.
Best Maspalomas hotels
Dunas Suites and Villas is located next to the Maspalomas golf course and the Dunas de Maspalomas nature reserve. This four-star hotel offers half-board or all-inclusive accommodation in a choice of bungalow-style suites and villas. The hotel features a whopping seven swimming pools, plus a splash park and beautiful gardens.
Dunes Suites and Villas sponsors Gran Canaria Bike Week. At the hotel you’ll find a Freemotion bike shop for bicycle hire as well as bike storage and repair facilities. Laundry services are available.
Playa del Ingles
Gold by Marina is where we stayed when we visited Gran Canaria. We liked it, especially the fresh orange juice at breakfast and the cooks available to prepare eggs as you would like them. The decor felt fresh and modern, if a little Ikea-esque. There’s no bike room but the staff seemed relaxed about us keeping our bikes in the bedroom.
It’s about 700 metres to the beach and 300 metres to the Freemotion bike shop (both on foot).
For the price, we thought the hotel represented excellent value for money.
Meloneras
H10 Playa Meloneras Palace is a five-star hotel and is the place to go if you’re looking for something special. Located next to Meloneras Beach and golf course, this stunning hotel has five pools, four restaurants and four bars. The décor is classy and modern and even though this is a large hotel, staff go above and beyond to help.
Bikes can be hired from the nearby shop, Rent Bike Playa Meloneras. Here you will also find bike repair facilities and a bike wash. Guests are permitted to store bikes in their rooms.
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Clare Dewey is a cyclist with a passion for travel. She set up epicroadrides.com in 2018 to help make it easy for cyclists to explore the world by bike. Today her mission is still inspiring cyclists to discover new places on two wheels – and doing what she can to make sure they have the best possible time while they’re there. Clare has visited 50+ destinations around the world, many of them by bike.
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Hi! Thanks for the nice recommendations. We are planning a week-long escape around New Year’s Eve in Gran Canaria, and are considering where to stay now. I was wondering, you wrote “the only option for getting east along the coast is to take the ferry between Puerto Rico and Puerto de Mogán” — is this still the case as of November 2021?
Hi there, thanks for raising this query. We have looked into the situation and believe that it may be possible to get a bus along the coast (and that you are allowed to put your bike in the bus). We haven’t used this ourselves first hand however. How was your trip?