The Canary Islands - Fuerteventura
Click on the name of the island below to reach the destination page :
CANARY ISLANDS Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera, El Hierro
CONTENT:
Fuerteventura Facts & Figures
Fuerteventura is about 100 km (62 miles) off the African Coast (Mauritania) and 1,379 km (1005 miles) from the Madrid. The Solitude Isle (Nickname) or also called the "The Old Country" is the second-largest Canary Island with 1,660 square kilometer (641 square miles) and with 80,000 inhabitants. Its capital is Puerto del Rosario with around 18,000 inhabitants.
The dimensions of the island is about 100 km/62 mi. from north to south and 31 km/ 169 mi from west to east. Of the 285 km/177 mi of coastline are 50 km/31 mi white, sandy beaches, 152 beaches along the coastline. The highest point in Fuerteventura is Pico de la Zarza with 807 m (southwestern part of the island)
Puerto del Rosario
Climate
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The island lies on the same latitude as Florida and Mexico, and so the temperature rarely falls below 18 °C (64 °F) -or rises above 32 °C (90 °F).
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Fuerteventura has a subtropical-desert climate. Rainfall in the summer is rare, it may rain between October to March. Sometimes the Calima, a hot, dry and sand-laden southerly to southeasterly wind blows from Northern Africa and the Sahara. Temperatures can rise to over 37 °C.
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The average temperature: winter means of 18 °C (64 °F) and summer means of 28 °C (90 °F).
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The northeast trade winds blow steadily throughout the year, a reason why you find many surfer on the island.
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The sun shines 6h (Jan.) to 10 h (Jun).
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The water temperatures is between 18 °C (64 °F) in February, March, April and 22 °C (72 °F) in August to October. The Canary Current, which flows to the west of Morocco is the reason for the cold sea.
A Brief History
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Some 250 million years the first step of creating was made, about 23 million years ago the island came above the sea level. The island is the oldest among the islands. More about the geology check here.
Just a WARNING: Do not collect any fossil, stone etc. from any site, the penalties are horrendous, including imprisonment! -
Fuerteventura early history, like the other Canary Islands is a mystery. Fuerteventura was originally inhabited by Berbers from North Africa living in caves and underground holes. Agriculture and fishing were the forms of livelihood for these first inhabitants. They became known as ‘Mahos or Mahorero’. It come from the word mahos, a type of goatskin shoes.
There is a museum at La Atalayita, in the Antigua municipality, which shows these dwellings and the type of tools and pottery they used.
More History .....
![Betancuria Church, By Xosema (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 4.0-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/69b47e_1501d60f5e004ec5a548251c5dbde467~mv2_d_3038_1370_s_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_600,h_271,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/69b47e_1501d60f5e004ec5a548251c5dbde467~mv2_d_3038_1370_s_2.jpg)
Port of Call - Puerto del Rosario
Arriving in Puerto del Rosario
The island capital of Puerto del Rosario (about 24,000 inhabitants) is located in walking distance of the port. It lays in a wide bay at the foot of a arid, gently rising slopes in the east of Fuerteventura. The "Solitude Island" is the second largest Canary Island after Tenerife and lies in the Atlantic off the coast of North Africa (100 km). It belongs to the autonomous Spanish region of Las Palmas. Lanzarote is just 15 km away from the north of the island.
Regular mooring: Muelle de Cruceros
Port shuttle: not available / required
Taxis: Usually available at the wharf just outside the gate (see picture)
Buses: Bus station on the Av. Diego Miller, tickets are sold by the bus driver
Car rental : Cicar, at the airport; Budget
Post: C / 1 ° de Mayo 58
Tourist Info:
Fuerteventura Tourist Board
Calle Almte. Lallemand, 1, 35600 Puerto del Rosario, Tel: 0034 928 53 08 44, open Mo-Fr.8:00 -15:15
http://visitfuerteventura.es/en/
Oficina de Turismo de Puerto del Rosario
Avenida Reyes de España S/N, 35600 Puerto del Rosario, Tel: 0034 618 52 76 68, open Mo-Fr 9:00 - 14:00,
http://www.turismo-puertodelrosario.org/en/
Banks: CaixaBank Calle Secundino Alonso, 41, 35600 Puerto del Rosario, Mon - Frid 8:15 -14:00,
Thursday 16:15 - 18:45
Bankia Calle Primero de Mayo, 62, 35600 Puerto del Rosario, Mon - Frid 8:15 -14:00, Thursday 16:15 - 18:30
What to See and What to Do in Fuerteventura
1. Puerto del Rosario
Is a town with 36,000 people, over the years the traditional houses have been renovated a promenade along the sea was established, modern art and architecture play a major roll. Shopping in town is good. The city is mainly by locals frequented, the tourists are in other villages along the beaches.
The port is just 10 min by foot from Plaza de España.
City Walk
Start from Plaza de España, have a drink, a cafe in one of the cafes, visit the small Mercado Municipal. Head to the Calle León y Castillo, walk along houses mainly from the 19th century to the Iglesia Nuestra Señora del Rosario. Around the church square all the important institution can be found the island government, the town hall and the police, as well as the tourist information and the Unamuno Museum. The 1995 museum is dedicated to the Basque writer and philosopher Miguel de Unamuno y Jugo and is located in the former Hotel Fuerteventura. Unamuno spent four months in exile in the year 1924.
Carry on to the Plaza de la Paz with its fountain and park. The Plaza is important throughout carnival and other festivities. Go back to the Nuestra Señora del Rosario and turn into Calle Primero de Mayo. It is a pedestrian zone with many shops. To the left you will find small roads which leads into the old part with its small natural stone houses. At the Avenida Maritima you will find a small beach' Playa Chica.
What to See and What to Do in Fuerteventura
If you come by ship, check with your tour desk if they offer any excursions you may like. Keep time constraints in mind when driving about, it may appear a short distance on the map however it can take a longer time to travel than you may think. Missing the ship is not an option!
If you like to be independent and make your own arrangements and if you are used to driving on
mountainous, winding and small roads - then enjoy the island while discovering your own path! We have prepared for you one round we have done ourselves and liked it very much. Start as early as possible with the trip, it is long trip, depending what you are visiting.
Approx. 180 km, 4 hours, but with stops it takes about 8 hours. The trip on: Google Maps.
Get your car by one of the rental car dealer inside the port. It is always good to book it ahead, you might find people queuing for cars.
Tip: for Navigation we use HERE or Google Maps Offline worldwide on our handy.
From the port follow the FV 20. Shortly before Antigua you will pass the Museo del Queso Majorero, Youtube.
(Opening hours : Tuesday to saturday from 10:00 to 18:00 hrs., 2 Euro)
The Landscape is sparsely populated and barren, but through the change between light and shade it looks very interesting. Just at the beginning of Antigua we bought some water for the trip and had our obligatory cortado (cafe).
Carry on on the FV 20. In Tiscamanita you can Visit the Los Molinos Interpretation Centre or, at least have a look from the outside.
In Tunineje turn right into the FV 30 direction Párara (8.5 km, 10 min) and Ajuy (17.8 km, 19 min) (your destination). The Cuevas de Ajuy, Youtube attract many tourists, there are many buses and individual travelers.
Ajuy is a small fishing village laying in a bay between steep cliffs. Jean de Béthencourt and Gadifer de la Salle landed here in 1402 for the first time.Puerto de la Peña was for a long time the best habour for the settlers. The beach is black and the surf is often violent. The rocks are the oldest in the Canary islands. Tere are many caves around here, for example Arco de Jurao.
Drive back to Pájara and turn left into FV 30 direction Betancuria. The road to Mirador del Risco de las Peñas (6.2 km, 9 min) , is a narrow windy road, but worth to drive. The pass is the border between Pájara and Betancuria.
Betancuria
was founded by Jean de Béthencourt in 1405, he made the village to the capital of Fuerteventura until 1834 . The history of the Canary Islands are closely linked to piracy. The islands have been the victims of many assaults by pirates. In 1593 the buccaneer Xabán de Arráez raided the town, destroyed it and took 600 residents into Captivity.
Betancuria is green oasis in the sparse surroundings. It lays in an extinct vulcano cater and in the middle of the Parque Natural de Betancuria. The pretty city center is protected by archi. urban urban heritage conservation.
The Iglesia de Santa Maria is based on a church from 1405, fully developed in 1425 (Bishop´s see), in 1593 burned down by Arráez, in 1620 newly build. The barock altar and the original stone floor as well as the choir stalls and coffered ceiling are well worth to see.
By now I bet you are hungry, next to the Ermita de la Virgen de la Peña you will find the Restaurant Don Antonio.
We loved it and enjoyed a good meal there.
Go back on the road FV 30 direction La Olivia. Follow the road for about 10 km (18 min) to the Mirador de Morro Velosa. On the way you will see the Morro Velosa Statues at the Mirador de Guise y Ayose , (Streetview) a monument for the Guanches. In addition to an excellent viewing point of both, the northern half of Fuerteventura and Betancuria Valley, there are two impressive bronze statues of the ancient kings of Fuerteventura before the conquest in 1402. Guise ruled the northern kingdom Maxorata and , Ayose ruled the southern kingdom Jandia.
The Guanchen shared the fate of so many indigenous people. The Guanchen converted to Christianity but often they have been enslaved by ruthless slave traders.
Not far from the statues turn right into Camino Velosa and drive up to the viewpoint.
Blanca Cabrera Morales , the niece of Cesar Manrique created this fantastic viewpoint looking like a Canarian estate. The view towards the north of the Island is fantastic. You can observe the Rural Park of Betancuria and the aridity of the landscape. There are many hamlets, often hundred year old , are doted over this landscape, trying to survive.
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Destination La Olivia
Drive down Camino Velosa and turn right into FV 30, drive through Tefia (Road changes to FV10) until La Olivia.
If you see time is getting tight turn a few kilometers after Tefia into FV 10 and drive back to Puerto del Rosario.
La Olivia
The town has a rich history, culture, and art, it is a sample of an old fashioned working economy with a little bit of 17th century politics. It was the political center of Fuerteventura (from the early 17th- mid 19th century). Archaeological sites have been discovered with links to the ancient Kingdom of Maxorata. In 1708 the regime of the militia transformed the town into the military capital of Fuerteventura.
To see: Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria, 18th century;
Museums: Casa Cilla Museo del Grano, Casa de los Coroneles (House of the Colonels),Cuevo de Llanos visitor centre
Destination La Olivia
La Olivia
At the beginning of the town you will find shops selling different types of Aleo Vera of products. Of course they want to sell their products, but yiu should listen to the explanations they give, it is interesting. Below there are pictures showing the plant and how to deal with it. By the way, if you have a sunburn, cut a leave and apply the liquid on the sunburn.
Puerto del Rosario
Follow FV 109 until the FV1, turn into FV 1 direction Corralejo. You will have no time to drive into Correalejo. You will come to an roundabout, there turn right and follow the FV 1a. This road will lead you to Puerto del Rosario along the beach and the Parque Natural Corralejo. It is a lovely road to drive to see the beach, the sand dunes to your right and the sand blowing over the road.
If your timing is tight drive the FV1. Don't forget you will need to tank.
We have done the trip coming from a cruise ship. This tour will give you an overview over the island, but stops are short.
Alternative do just parts of the described tour.
1. Corralejo, beach and the Parque Natural Corralejo
2. Ajuy and back
3. Betancuria, Mirador de Morro Velosa
In case you are interested into other destinations on the Island check the following site:
For planning another trip, you need to know the distances in Fuerteventura. The following website tells you the distances between the major cities and in the same time provides a lot of information about the island.
Street FV1 direction Corralejo before the FV 1a, Copyr.M&W.Hofmann
Beginning of the Parque Natural de Corralejo, Copyr. M&W.Hofmann
As the weather was cold and rainy nobody was on it. Copyr. M&W.Hofmann
Street FV1 direction Corralejo before the FV 1a, Copyr.M&W.Hofmann
Beaches
For sure the main attraction of Fuerteventura are the beaches. Here the beaches are golden and not black as in many of the other Canary Islands. If you are a beach lover Fuerteventura is your destination. The water temperature of the Atlantic is between 18 to 22 °C. Fuerteventura has a coast line of over 260 km, with over 80 beaches, the choice is yours. The beaches offering for everybody something, if you are a water sport fan, a family or you love nature the beaches of Fuerteventura offer it all.
To know more about the beaches just check the Beach - Inspector website.
Things to do in Fuerteventura
There are many sites offering activities, most of those websites are well known. Check the link given.
