Playa del Ingles

Playa del Ingles exists soley for tourists, is altogether given to holiday good living. The resort is compact covering roughly 2 sqaure miles, and is one of the densest concentration of accommodation, restuarants, bars and nightlife.

The beach can be crowded, so it's suitable to those that don't mind a busy beach. The resort is packed with budget conscious self catering Germans, Scandinavians and a fair number of British of all ages. The resort is also appealing to the gay community.

The accommodation in resort are generally mid-range apartments and vila complexes of reasonable quality. Almost all accommodation have pools.

Playa del Ingles is a gently sloping, sometimes windswept, fine sandy beach that runs virtually unbroken towrads Maspalomas. The section of beach closest to the water's edge is often packed with ranks of loungers and paraols throughout the year and there are various water sports on offer. A pedestrianised promenade leads from here a couple of miles E to San Agustin. The water is clear and generally safe.

There are commercial centres provide a big range of souvenir shops, beachwear shops, boutiques and fairly cheap electronic goods. The biggest include Yumbo and the known as the Kasbah.

The resort is swamped with eateries, English and Irish style pubs, fast food joints, pizza, steakhouses, seafood, Italian and Chinese. Traditional Spanish is unbelievably hard to find. Predominantly low-quality meals for the masses. Higher quality fare can be found in the upmarket hotels and also along the promenade beside the lighthouse in neighbouring Maspalomas.

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico is tree-shaded, has a traffic free promenade, 2 marinas and a beach, all making the resort a very popular package holiday resort with an emphasis on sun, sea and sustenance. The resort exists entirely for tourists and is generally safe, clean and well maintained, with tumbling flowers and the inevitable Canary palms and cacti.

The resort is suitable for families and couples with a preference for a compact, moderm, purpose built destination offering a good range of facilities and vibrant nightlife. Summer attracts the younger crowds who are out to live it up and enjoy poolside parties. The resort is popular with Brithish and Europeans.

The man made beach is small with light coloured sand and clear water. There are various water sports on offer.

The main commercial centre is compact, offering a plethora of shopping opportunities which are good value. There commercial centre offers supermarkets, souvenir shops, electronics shops and a host of duty free outlets. There is a second almost identical commercial centre on the west side which offers much of the same.

During the day there is mini-golf, tennis, bowling, wind surfing, sailing, water-skiing and fishing. During the night there is a choice of bars, restaurants and discos.

Pavement cafes and restaurants to suit most budgets, including the inevitable fast-food joints, Chinese, Itanlian, Mexican, German and international. British breakfasts are widely available. May restaurants serve slap-up meals for the masses which are easy on the pocket.

Maspalomas

This modern, purpose-built resort, which measures about 3 by 2 mls, is made up of extensive residential estates and private villas. Theres a golf course and some small modern shopping centres to the west. Around the area known as Oasis Maspalomas lie the large luxury hotels, which extend West along the promenade as far as Playa de Meloneras – an exclusive developing residential area with a 5-star hotel, upmarket shops and a golf course.

The resort is quieter than Playa del Ingles, but still fairly busy. Suitable to those who are budget-conscious. The upmarket area of Oasis Maspalomas attracts well-heeled quests.

Most of the accommodation is mid-range apartments and villa complexes of reasonable quality. Most accommodation have pools, and there are several large luxury hotels in Oasis Maspolomas.

The beach has fine sand that runs virtually unbroken towards Playa del Ingles. It's backed by magnificent expanse of Sahara like dunes. The section of beach close to the water can be busy. The water is clear and generally safe.

There's a dated shopping centre called Faro, and one or two additional shopping centres, all offering lots of beachwear and souvenir shops, a couple of boutiques and a good choice of duty free shopping, as well as plenty of bars and restuarants. There are three or four small modern shopping centres along the promenade beside the lighthouse at Oases Maspalomas offer the same.