Are you looking for an expert guide to Gran Canaria’s Taurito? Allow us to show your around. Right, let’s get ready to zoom into one of the island’s smaller resorts.
Ssh, Taurito, sandwiched by swish Puerto de Mogán and flash Puerto Rico in the south west of the island, feels like a secret with its small number of hotels that keeps visitor numbers down. Although Gran Canaria locals enjoy it as much as tourists.
- Holiday in Taurito
- Get wet and go wild in Taurito
- Wine and dine in Taurito
1. Holiday in Taurito
This is a primarily an all-inclusive resort. Two hotel groups dominate here: Paradise Hotels & Resorts and Princess Hotels & Resorts. Although there are some accommodation options which are not attached to either, as you’ll discover if you keep scrolling.
The Gran Canaria Local family’s favourite hotel is the four-star Paradise Valle Taurito which is expertly blended into a cliff face. You can draw a diagonal line between this and the two other Paradise hotels, the three-star Paradise Lago Taurito which is closer to the beach and the four-star Costa Taurito which is nearer to the GC-500 above, aka the Carretera Vieja, the old main road.
The three four-star Princess hotels are located higher up than the Paradise ones. And the Mogán Princess, Suite Princess and Taurito Princess do probably feel a little more exclusive because they’re loftier. Especially the aloof Suite Princess which is an adults-only hotel.
Which leaves the Cala Blanca apartments. Complete with gym, sauna, and tennis courts. It really depends if you’re after an all-inclusive or self-catering holiday.
Lago Taurito
Taurito water feature
Taurito beach
Balmy, palmy Taurito
Taurito mini golf
Golf crazy in Taurito
Paradise Valle Taurito
A little slice of Paradise in paradise
2. Get wet and go wild in Taurito
Lago Taurito is one of Gran Canaria’s most popular water parks, attracting foreigners and natives alike. The former tend to visit if they’re staying at one of the Paradise Hotels. As this belongs to the group, along with the mini golf course, which means you can get in for free.
A more natural water feature is the Atlantic ocean. Access it from an artifical beach which is as sandy as the original playa was stony. The Atlantic is as its most pacific here, although at just 190 metres long there’s not much towel space.
Because the waters are so calm, it makes the resort a great place to make that virgin dive. Pop your cherry at Blue Explorers Gran Canaria or Delphinus Diving School. Both centres offer snorkelling packages as well as scuba-diving ones.
3. Wine and dine in Taurito
Because of the focus on attracting all-inclusive visitors, independent eating and drinking establishments are rather thin on the ground here. But they do exist. And are not exactly hard to spot, given how small a resort this is.
If fast food’s your thing, Lola Ville Burger & Chillout offers the chance to bite into the US of A with a menu which goes super size on burgers, nachos with cheese, and brownies with walnuts. Unlike the later-night joints in livelier Playa del Inglés, Lola Ville opens from 10:00am to 8.00pm Monday to Sunday in summer. Enabling you to enjoy Europe’s latest sunsets on their terrace. In winter, they close at 6:00pm.
Heading away from the beach, you can drop into Mistral Restaurant on Calle Albaicin for breakfast, bunch, lunch, or dinner. Whilst the brekkies are of the full-English variety, pizza and pasta dominates the menu available for the later meals. There’s also an on-site mini market which might well prove handy for self-catering holidaymakers.