Gran Canaria

Currency budget Spain

Euros, and the Canaries sit outside the EU VAT area, so alcohol, tobacco and electronics cost less than on the mainland. Cards are taken everywhere that matters.

ATMs & cards

Bank machines are everywhere in Las Palmas and in the southern resorts. The standalone machines along the resort strips in Playa del Inglés push conversion; a bank branch nearby is the better choice.

Decline the machine's offer to convert into your own currency and take the euro amount.

Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.

Safety all of Spain

Safe. Pickpocketing in the resort centres and on Las Canteras is the main nuisance. The real risks are the sea on the north and west coasts, where currents drown people at unguarded beaches, and the mountains, where it is ten degrees colder and the weather turns in an hour. The winter is mild rather than hot — warm in the sun, cool after dark, and the sea is around 19 degrees.

Our own assessment, not a sourced index.

Entry & visa Spain visa rules

Health & emergencies all of Spain

Required to enter

No vaccinations are required for entry from Europe or North America.

Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.

Food tip

Papas arrugadas with red and green mojo are on every table. Queso de flor from Guía is set with thistle flowers instead of rennet and worth asking for by name. Ron miel, honey rum, comes from Arucas in the north and is offered at the end of meals.

Nightlife

Two separate scenes: Las Palmas has the bars of a real city, and Playa del Inglés has resort centres that run until dawn, including one of Europe's largest gay scenes.

• Yumbo Centre — the gay scene, several floors of bars and clubs
• Playa del Inglés — the resort centres, open late
• Vegueta — bars and terraces in the old quarter of Las Palmas, busiest on Thursday and Friday
• Santa Catalina — the port end of the city, near Las Canteras

Closing: Las Palmas around 03:00 at weekends; the southern resort centres later.

Carnival in Las Palmas runs for weeks around the turn of winter into spring, and Maspalomas Pride fills the south for a week in spring.

Getting around

• Bus — the Global buses cross the island from the airport, Las Palmas and the south, cheaply and often
• City bus — the yellow guaguas inside Las Palmas, which is a real city of nearly four hundred thousand and needs them
• Hire car — the only practical way into the mountains at Tejeda and Roque Nublo, and on roads that are slow
• Ferry — Agaete to Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and from Las Palmas to Fuerteventura and Lanzarote
• Airport: Gran Canaria (LPA), 25 minutes from Las Palmas and 35 from Maspalomas

eSIM

A data eSIM for Spain, installed before you fly and working the moment you land:Works hereWorks hereRevolutIn the app

Must-see

Nearby day trips

Say a few words

Spanish

• HelloHolaOH-la
• PleasePor favorpor fa-VOR
• Thank youGraciasGRA-thyas
• Yes / NoSí / Nosee / no

Religion

Catholic

Nominally Catholic and deeply secular in practice. Churches are working buildings as well as sights, and Semana Santa is taken seriously even by people who never attend Mass.

Do's and don'ts

Do

• Eat late — lunch from 14:00, dinner rarely before 21:00
• Greet with two cheek kisses, right cheek first, between women or a man and a woman
• Stand at the bar to drink; it is cheaper than sitting and more sociable
• Say buenos días on entering a small shop, and adiós on leaving

Don't

• Do not expect anything to be open between 14:00 and 17:00 outside the big cities
• Do not order sangria in a serious restaurant — it is a tourist drink; ask for tinto de verano
• Do not tip heavily; rounding up or a euro or two is normal
• In Barcelona, do not assume Catalan and Spanish are interchangeable — the distinction matters to people