Удачная поездка. Have a good trip.

Good time of the day. I myself often look for reviews in one direction or another, I want to contribute and tell about our vacation in Gran Canaria. Previously, it was believed that rest in this direction is quite expensive, I want to please you that if you wish, you can relax here at quite adequate financial costs. I would like to make a reservation right away that this is not the first time we have a rest in the Canary Islands and in hotels of different categories - we were in Tenerife, Homer, so there is something to compare with. We flew from Kyiv on Lufthansa + SpainAir (at that time it had not yet gone bankrupt) with 2 transfers via Munich and Madrid (where we had 6 hours and had a wonderful walk around the Prado Museum, Royal Botany, and Parque del Retiro, if there is an opportunity to just walk very recommend).
To cheaply get from Barajas airport to the city center and back, use the Aerobus bus, there is a stop near each terminal, the fare is 1 euro per person one way, a taxi will cost more than 25-28 euros one way. Some may say that such a flight is inconvenient or long ... but in our case, a wonderful price played - we paid 770 dollars for 2 round-trip tickets (we booked 2 months in advance) ... unlike UIA, where such a ticket costs at least 650 USD per person and even more. (of course there is a trick with UIA and such a ticket can be bought for 560 dollars per person + -, it will be interesting to write to those who are interested in person). But back to the flight, yes, it took a whole day to depart from Kyiv at about 7 a. m. , and there was a late arrival at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria airport at about 23:20, but we ordered a car in advance (where to order without prepayment, ask, I’ll tell you personally verified places) we were given a new Volkswagen Polo (mechanics), with a volume of 1.
6 for 180 euros for the entire period (+ surcharge for night time and guarantees, as a result it turned out to be 250 euros) and we got wonderfully along the chic high-speed autobahn in 30-40 minutes to our hotel. For those who will take a taxi to San Augustin, this is an average of 60 euros and at night + 20% surcharge. , so see which taxi or car rental is cheaper. The hotel is located in a rather quiet town of San Augustin - if you are lovers of shopping and partying, then alas, you will be bored here ... for the "movement" direction, keep to Maspalomas, Meloneras. So, the hotel was located on the very hill of Los Hazmines street, having reached the hotel and its parking lot, of course, we faced the eternal problem of the Spaniards to park ... we twisted a couple of circles, finding nothing, parked a little down the street ... as a result, there were a lot of people like us . At the reception, we were given the keys to the room in the Tara building, it is located near the restaurant, to the right of the reception, I will say this...

there are all standard rooms (not Family), and the view from the window may not be the best, it’s how lucky ... they responded to my request and gave a slightly different number than was recorded in advance ... otherwise we would have initially looked at the technical boxes. The hotel area is quite large and stretches along the road. It is green, planted with a lawn, tropical trees and shrubs, spacious and in the presence of a large number of tourists, it will completely allow you not to interfere with each other. There are sun loungers on the lawns, so you can relax under a palm tree near the pool or not far from the bungalow with a cool view of the beach and the dunes in the distance.
There are also Family rooms in the complex, they are located in 3-storey buildings along the road (odd rooms face the south side of the road, the 1st floor has a terrace and a lawn (sun from 9 am to 5 pm), even rooms on the territory of the hotel, Bungalow rooms are removed from the reception and located in the back of the territory, designed for families where there are a lot of people or there is an urgent need for a kitchen, there are one-bedroom and 2-bedroom rooms. Our standard room was quite spacious, quite comfortable for 2 people and had: beds, a sofa for a 3rd , TV (old), wardrobe, safe (extra charge), balcony, bathroom without hair dryer and shampoo (only liquid soap and toilet paper), no air conditioning. furniture and technology and repair, but if you do not find fault - GOOD VALUE FOR PRICE AND QUALITY.
The hotel goes on a basic meal -All Inclusive, and it was very pleasing, where is Egypt 5 * ... here you have several types of meat, and fish and seafood, and vegetables and fruits, for lunch several types of soups, 7-9 types ice cream with toppings . . usual European breakfasts - bacon, scrambled eggs, scrambled eggs, wonderful muffin, cold cuts, tea, coffee ... orange juice for extra. fee-1.5 euros a glass (100-150 Ml), there are a couple of bars on the territory that prepare a variety of food during the day. Summarizing, a good choice, for every taste, fresh products - never came across spoiled. I don’t want to drink, I don’t really drink alcohol, but for lunch and dinner in the general restaurant, red and white dry wine, cocktails, sangria and stronger drinks are poured by the bartender right there, well, there are “filling” points on the territory during the day . Juices are quite tolerable - not Yuppies for sure. In a word, the food is good, although after resting, it will probably seem a little monotonous for 10-14 days, but we didn’t get bored in 8 days.
Most of the vacationers are Germans and Spaniards, English, there were 2 couples of Russian-speaking vacationers (with us), most often they are married couples with 2-3 children - all the same, the hotel positions itself as a family hotel, giving different types of rooms, food, animation and of course territory. Alas, I won’t write much about the cultural program, because I’m not very fond of it, what I saw was animation for children, aqua gymnastics, a diving center was popular and a disco (as they say, drinks are available for an additional fee). About the beach: it is sandy, the sand is gray, it is located 500 meters from the hotel, the only thing that confuses many is the stairs that you have to go down and up (someone thought there were like 150 steps).

For us, tourists, aged 30-40 years, there was nothing terrible and hyper difficult to spend time on the beach 2 times a day, for whom it was hard, we sat near the pools, and they are quite large (and are heated in winter) or took a taxi , or went by bus to the nearest towns (Playa del Ingles, Mogan, Pueblo Rico, Maspalomas) and swam there. San Augustin beach is comfortable, equipped, smooth entry into the ocean (I would like to make a reservation that the water was about 19-20 degrees, and the air was 25-27 degrees), umbrellas and sunbeds are paid (about 10 euros per pair) ... we just bought everything is in place (cheaper cost). Some write that windy sand sweeps on the litter and the like (usually these are reviews for the winter months) ... I don’t know, I have never come across such a scourge, but those towns that seem to be closed from the wind, but represent the beach area like a bay, that is, there are no waves ... we do not like, we like small or large waves, the character and strength of the ocean ... and in the "backwaters" we can swim in the Mediterranean.
Near the hotel there is another beach, to the left of the stairs, but more rocky, less sand and nudists also chose it. In general, nudists (naturalists) and sex menshinsta are a separate song of this island))). Having read about the sights of the island, we decided first of all to please ourselves with the landscapes of Dunas Maspalomas, we really wanted to see what had caused there from the Sahara for millennia ... we arrived in Maspalomas, went to the embankment and moved towards the Lighthouse (Farol), passing we got to the beginning of the dunes and beaches that go along the coast one after another - looking at these beaches, I once again praised myself that I chose San Augustin ... firstly, entering the ocean, either it is not there, or there are a lot of stones, it turns out that the authorities protect the reserve from destruction by pouring boulders on the beach (every year the ocean takes several meters of Saharan sand), it is certainly true, but going to stumble or look at your feet all the time is a “cool” activity.
NOOOOOOOOO-on the other hand, when you pass a couple of beaches, which seem to be municipal with ordinary vacationers, and then beaches for nudists and sex minorities begin ... YOU UNDERSTAND that looking under your feet is not such a thankless task))) I thought that I was an adult girl and I saw everything .... BUT NO - views: "Neither in a fairy tale to say, nor to describe with a pen! " If you are with children, I don’t recommend you go there, then you won’t get any questions)))) The dunes themselves are beautiful and seem endless, they are worth a visit. Maspalomas Meloneras themselves are classic resort towns, with hotels for every budget, shops, cafe-restaurants, clubs, etc. - life boils, seethes, sparkles, surprises ... When choosing a hotel on the island, I recommend that you read carefully which contingent they rest there, there are only for adults, there are also for same-sex couples ... well, of course, youth and family ones are available. Just play it safe so you don't get surprised later.
More about the Dunes - be sure to put on sunscreen and more than once ... sand and breeze do their job and you can burn out in a matter of minutes even after 17 hours, you can buy cream on the waterfront, I recommend Loreal Family Pack - there are 1000 ml bottles (everything worked out about 20 euros), sunscreen and cooling milk (the latter is a miracle, it saved us - 100% better than any Panthenol). We also drove along the beaches of the south coast - we were in Puerto Mogan where I remember the white houses, entwined with pink-orange bougainvillea, the town that is indented with canals and Playa de Amadores - a white bulk beach (not fine-grained), a closed bay, which from a high had an unusually turquoise Colour. There are also enough hotels in that zone, but most of them “hang” on the rocks, and in order to get to the ocean, you either have to get around decently, or even drive. We were on the northern part of the island, in the capital, but either the weather was unlucky, or the season was like this - the beaches were almost invisible, because.

there was a strong wind with gusts and the waves completely hid a strip of sand, it was so cold ... that I wanted to be transported back to the South. By the way, such a difference in temperatures between the North and the South is observed on all the islands of the Canary archipelago, therefore, carefully look again where the hotel is, in summer it doesn’t matter, but autumn-winter-spring is sometimes very significant: in the south we sunbathe - we swim, in the North we sit in a jacket in a hotel. I recommend relaxing in the Canary Islands in spring-early summer, or in autumn September-October inclusive (velvet season) - not hot, but warm in summer, especially in the second period and the pricing is different and the number of people is less. Since we have rested in Tenerife more than once and visited Loro Parque and Siam Parque, the Teide nature reserve, Masca, we decided not to go to parks and water attractions in Gran Canaria, everyone has seen a similar view ... although many recommend Parque Palmitos, I think Let's go next time.
I would like to say that the island is compact, greener than Tenerife, for example, indented with mountain ranges and gorges and somewhat reminiscent of Crimea (in a good way). For the first time, we decided to hit natural attractions with a rally - Roque Nublo, Dedo de Dios ...
The first is a rock-stone, which is very high and when you get there, you are like above the clouds, but there is a BUT: height ... it's hard to breathe and an unequipped climb: where there is a path-road, where everything is blurred after the rains and you have to climb on clay, grabbing for everything that comes to hand with the hope not to roll off the booty (maybe they fixed something there in 2 years, I don’t know). To be honest, I expected more ... they said: the views are clouds ... yes, everything is there, but you can’t compare it with Madeira and Pico de Areiro (this is so by the way).
For those who want to see the nearest islands, you can use the ferries that run from the capital. In conclusion: the Canary Islands are worth visiting - each of them will offer a unique zest, atmosphere and soul, delight, soothe, delight ... the climate and the ocean will not leave you indifferent, the natural contrasts will make you wonder, gastronomy and infrastructure will satisfy any request. Visit these places once, and they will make you remember your vacation and come back here more than once. By the way, in 2013 we are going here to the same hotel, but there are already three of us in the Family room, I think we will have a good time. Good luck everyone!