Fuerteventura is a Canary Island that’s very unlike the others. Large, barren and covered in sand dunes, mountains and volcanic landscapes, it has a raw natural beauty that’s hard to beat. Its beaches are some of the best in Europe, and in our opinion, are very underrated. s
After spending 10 days exploring the island, from north to south, we’ve assembled a guide on the best places to visit in Fuerteventura. From the rolling sand dunes of Corralejo to the laid-back surf towns of the west coast, the traditional mountain towns and beautiful beaches in the south, we’ll cover the must-see attractions. We’ll also share some hidden gems that you won’t find in a guidebook.
Fuerteventura offers a little bit of everything, from adventure to relaxation, just without the crowds of the more popular Canary Islands. Is there much to do on the island? Read our guide to find out.
Google Map of all locations in our guide
Ajuy Caves
Located on Fuerteventura’s remote west coast, Ajuy Caves and the small village of Ajuy is home to one of the island’s most impressive coastlines. Black sand beaches, crashing waves and a long coastal walk to the cave make this place a must see during your time in Fuerteventura.
Of course, we can’t forgot about the main attraction, the Ajuy Caves themselves. These large, echoing caverns are tucked away under the side of a cliff, and to reach them, you need to walk down a winding staircase. The caves feature some amazing scenery and several small tunnels. After you’ve explored the caves, you can grab a drink in a small café in the village of Ajuy. The town centre has a nice view of the volcanic beach.
Betancuria Rural Park
Betancuria Rural Park is the sprawling mountain range to the west of the island. Rolling hills, winding roads and some epic viewpoints make it the perfect place to visit in Fuerteventura for those that enjoy a road trip. Unlike the vibrant green hills of the other Canary Islands, this national park is sandy, barren and desolate, feeling much like the Sahara Dessert, or the surface of Mars.
We spent the day driving around Betacuria Rural Park and found it to be the most scenic drive of our trip. The park is less visited than other areas of Fuerteventura – it’s just you and nature. Top things to see here include a towering statue of two kings, several mountain-top viewpoints and a hiking trail to Arco de las Peñitas.
Betancuria Town
Betancuria is the main town in the national park we’ve just mentioned. It has a traditional, white-washed Canarian appearance, featuring a small church, a main square and several charming shops, cafes and restaurants. The town has a history dating back to 1404 and was Fuerteventura’s capital until 1834.
Visit Betancuria for a wander around town, a walking tour of the church and museum and to enjoy a drink or snack in one of the flower-covered cafes. We personally enjoyed strolling around town looking at the viewpoints and soaking in the atmosphere. It’s one of the most beautiful places to visit in Fuerteventura, especially on a sunny day.
Calderon Hondo
Next up on our list is Calderon Hondo, one of Fuerteventura’s most impressive natural attractions. This accessible volcano crater is part of a group of Canary Island volcanoes that was formed 50,000 to 130,000 years ago. It’s one of the best-preserved volcanic landscapes on the island, featuring a crater that’s 278 metres high and 70 metres deep. We’ve been to several volcanoes and not many of them are as preserved and accessible as Calderon Hondo. The scenery at this place is out of this world!
To visit Calderon Hondo you’ll need to drive down a dirt road for 10 minutes or so to a small car park. You can visit the volcano crater as part of a 1.5 hour circular hike, taking you across volcanic landscapes and to the main viewpoint.
Caleta de Fuste
Caleta de Fuste is a popular place to stay in Fuerteventura, featuring several hotel chains and an upbeat tourist atmosphere. It’s also a nice place to visit for the day. It has a long, sandy beach with transparent water and plenty of sun loungers. Sure, the island has more natural, impressive beaches. However, the beach at Caleta de Fuste is still incredibly beautiful and has all the facilities you need for a beach day.
Other things to do in Caleta de Fuste include its marina, where you can head out on a boat trip, its long seaside promenade, and a town centre that’s full of shops, bars and restaurants. Just around the cove from town you’ll find a series of natural pools. These small, salt water pools are a great place to relax and cool down on a hot day.
Corralejo Town
Corralejo Town is Fuerteventura’s main tourist hub. Located to the far north of the island and a quick ferry ride away from Lanzarote, Corralejo is a surfer’s paradise. Surfers flock here from all over Europe to enjoy its challenging waves and remote beaches. The town is built around two beautiful coves, with a seaside promenade, an endless collection of bars and restaurants, and abundance of surf shops.
On an island as quiet and peaceful as Fuerteventura, Corralejo is one of the livelier places to stay. Daytimes here are good for shopping, eating out and beach relaxation. Evenings are a much more upbeat affair. When the sun goes down, the bars and nightclubs of Corralejo come alive.
We thought Corralejo would be overly touristic and crowded. However, we were pleasantly surprised. The town has a beautiful, traditional design, some excellent places to eat and lots of things to see and do.
Las Palmeras Shopping Centre
If you like to do some shopping on holiday, Las Palmeras Shopping Centre is the place to go. Located in the heart of Corralejo town, this modern shopping complex has all of the Spanish high street stores you’ll recognise, including Koala Bay, Mango and Stradivarius. It also hosts dozens of international brands, and fitting with the Corralejo vibe, surf shops such as Quicksilver and Billabong.
The Las Palmeras Shopping Centre area is a nice place to shop and enjoy a drink on an evening.
Popcorn Beach
Popcorn Beach is a place to visit in Fuerteventura that has become popular on social media, solely because of the unique, fossilized algae on its shores. Playa del Bajo de la Burra on the island’s north coast is a little difficult to get to, as you’ll need to drive across an unpaved road for around 15-minutes. Nevertheless, the drive is well worth the scenery you’ll see along the way.
Once you arrive at Popcorn Beach you’ll be greeted by an abundance of white fossils on the shoreline. They have a bright-white appearance and feel and look a lot like popcorn. It’s a cool site to see and is worth a quick detour when visiting the town of Corralejo.
Jandia
If you’ve seen Fuerteventura on a map, you’ll see that it’s a very long island. The north is where you find the airport, capitol and the main tourist centres. However, in our opinion, the Jandia region in the south is where the true beauty of the island lies. Jandia has some of Fuerteventura’s most stunning landscapes, especially if you like beaches.
Add the Jandia peninsula to your itinerary and spend the day exploring its beautiful beaches, towns and natural landscapes. The area is quiet and remote, feeling much more like the Caribbean over the Canary Islands.
Costa Calma
Costa Calma is one of the top places to stay in the Jandia area. This small, picturesque beach town is the perfect spot for those that want a traditional beach holiday with lots of time on the sand. We visited a lot of beach towns in Fuerteventura and found Costa Calma to be the best option for a relaxing beach day.
All of the amenities of town are only a short distance away, and the bay is sheltered, making it a good place to swim. It’s also well located for some of Jandia’s other beaches. Hop between them for completely different vibes and varying scenery.
Playa Matorral
Playa Matorral is another beach in the Jandia area. Home to a lighthouse and one of the longest stretches of sand in the south, it’s a nice place to visit in Fuerteventura for a long walk, or if you enjoy beaches with fewer crowds. As Matorral is so large, it never feels too busy. It’s right next to a preserved nature park, which is full of amazing birds and other local wildlife.
Even though Playa Matorral feels remote and untouched, there’s a boardwalk of shops, cafes and restaurant adjacent to the nature park. It’s a good place to grab lunch, shop or enjoy an ice cream and a break from the sun.
Playa de Sotavento
Another beach in the Jandia area that’s worth checking out in Playa de Sotavento. In fact, if you only visit one beach during your time in Fuerteventura, it has to be this one. During low tide, a series of shallow lagoons form inland from the shore, creating unique sand bars and natural swimming pools.
Playa de Sotavento, like many beaches in Jandia, feels remote, untouched and vast. It has very few amenities and zero buildings in sight. It’s just hundreds of metres of gorgeous white sand and vibrant blue water.
El Cotillo
El Cotillo is another one of Fuerteventura’s surf towns. Unlike its busy, popular neighbour, Corralejo, El Cotillo is a sleepy fishing village with a quaint harbour area and traditional white-washed buildings. It swaps large hotel chains and international brands for small guesthouses and independent shops and cafes, giving you an authentic experience of the Canary Islands.
El Cotillo and the wider north-west coast are well worth visiting for a day-trip. The harbourside, beach and old town centre provide lots to see and do. There are also some good café and restaurant options for lunch. We personally recommend visiting El Cotillo on the afternoon and staying until after dinner. It has a fun nightlife scene and some excellent places to enjoy a sunset drink.
Faro de Tostón Lighthouse
Perfectly paired with a visit to El Cotillo is Faro de Tostón Lighthouse. Located only a 10-minute drive or a mini hike from the town centre, the lighthouse is known to be one of the most picturesque points on the island. The jagged cliffs, crashing waves and late-1800’s lighthouse set the scene for some nice holiday photos.
Playa de los Charcos
Alongside Faro de Tostón Lighthouse there are several rock pools that have formed near the edge of the sea, creating natural swimming pools. The Playa de los Charcos Pools are a nice place to cool down on a hot day, especially if you’ve walked all the way to the area from town. Even if you don’t fancy a swim, the pools are worth visiting for the impressive coastal scenery.
Corralejo Natural Park sand dunes
Corralejo Natural Park is the vast collection of sand dunes just outside of Corralejo Town. This preserved nature reserve feels like a dessert, with rolling hills of dunes that seem to go on forever. You can reach the edge of the park from town. However, the best way to explore its endless beauty is to hire a car and drive the scenic coastal road.
You have pristine beaches on one side and sand dunes on the other. We enjoyed the scenery of Corralejo Natural Park so much, we visited twice; once during the day and another time for sunset. The orange glow of the sun setting against the dunes is like a scene from a Star Wars movie.
Corralejo Nature Park beaches
In addition to the dunes of Corralejo park, there are some excellent beaches, some of them less crowded than others. In our opinion, the beaches on this corner of the island are amongst the best in the Canary Islands. The sea is a vibrant shade of turquoise and the sand is a bright shade of white. They’re a peaceful place to relax and swim.
Playa Alzada and Playa de Moro are the top choices for a quiet beach day. Grandes Playas Corralejo is a top spot for wind and kite surfing. You can watch the seasoned professionals surf in the bay or sign up for a surf lesson yourself.
Entallada Lighthouse
The next recommendation in our guide is a lesser-known, harder to reach attraction, but it’s well worth the trip. Faro de la Entallada is a lighthouse with distinct Moorish architecture. It sits on the east coast of Fuerteventura, a short drive from the beach town of Las Playitas.
To get there, you’ll need to brave the steep, winding road up the top of the cliffside, or you can do what we did and park the car at the bottom of the hill, hiking the rest of the way up. The mountain scenery and sea views of the area is breath-taking, especially at sunset. We recommend pairing Entallada Lighthouse with a visit to Las Playitas town and a road trip down the east coast.
Mercadillo Farmer’s Market – Oasis Wildlife
Local markets can be found throughout Fuerteventura, from Corralejo to Caleta da Fuste and down to Morro Jable in the south. Our personal favourite is the Mercadillo Farmer’s Market, which is located on-site at Oasis Wildlife Zoo. It takes place every Sunday, and you don’t need a ticket for the zoo to visit the market.
Live music, craft stalls and grocery stalls set the scene for this bustling collection of stalls. The market is surrounded by beautiful plants and the mix of locals and tourists creates an excellent atmosphere. The market sells everything from olive oils, aloe vera products and Canarian sweets, to handmade gifts and homeware.
Morro Jable
Last but not least is Morro Jable, our favourite town in Fuerteventura. Surrounded by some amazing white-sand beaches and with a coastal promenade that’s great for a scenic walk, it’s an undoubtedly beautiful place to visit. Morro Jable town centre is compact and quiet. It has some good restaurant and bar options, a handful of shops and a marina. However, the main attraction here is the beach.
Rows of palm trees, turquoise water and miles of sandy shores make it feel like an island in the Caribbean. We’ve been to many beaches in Europe and not many are as beautiful as those that surround Morro Jable. Browse the shops, enjoy a drink on the promenade or hire a lounger for a few hours.
That brings us to the end of our guide on the top places to visit in Fuerteventura, the second largest Canary Island. In our opinion, Fuerteventura has the best beaches in the Canary Islands. Its landscapes are remote, picturesque and perfectly fitting for anyone that enjoys a scenic road trip. It’s the perfect destination for relaxation.
If you have any questions about any of the places we’ve featured, be sure to post a comment.
By Ricky
Author bio:An adventurer at heart that loves anything outdoors. Beaches, mountains and amazing scenery is everything I love about travel! I also enjoy home comforts and need a nice place to relax and re-charge after every trip.