Casa Retamas is situated just a short distance from Maspalomas’ San Agustin beach, a stunning stretch of dark, golden sand that is popular with families thanks to its calm waters and gentle currents. Strolling along the coastal walkway, you’ll discover plenty of outdoor cafes, restaurants and bars, and there are sun loungers and parasols available for hires, as well as services such as lifeguards, showers and free parking. From here, there are excellent transport links to Maspalomas, one of south Gran Canaria’s most celebrated and popular tourist destinations, which meets the equally high-end and exclusive town of Meloneras on the seafront. It’s here that you’ll find the region’s famous dunes, a protected site that covers over a thousand acres. Most of the dunes can be explored on foot, allowing you to take in sights such as the beautiful lagoon and lighthouse, but we recommend taking a camel safari for a truly unique and fun way to experience this incredible landscape. The safari lasts for about 40 minutes (definitely long enough to be on the back of a camel!) and affords you some fantastic photo opportunities.
Maspalomas’ Botanic Garden is an often underrated attraction that, despite not featuring heavily in many of the guides, is always a pleasant surprise to visitors and well worth a visit while you’re here. Entrance is free, and the garden offers keen photographers and horticulturists the chance to see and snap cacti and brightly-coloured flowers indigenous to the area all in one place. The botanic garden is situated just five minutes from the lighthouse and is right next to the island’s famous Salobre Golf Course, where you’ll find restaurants, bars and leisure facilities.
Enjoying good food is one of the best parts of any holiday, and visitors to the area will be pleased to know that there is a huge choice of restaurants along the waterfront of both Maspalomas and Meloneras if you fancy venturing further than San Agustin. Las Rias is one of the most popular with tourists and locals alike and can be found right near the lighthouse on the seafront. Specialising in seafood, this family-run establishment serves up a dish of pulpo and prawns with potato foam and grilled calamari that really have to be tasted to be believed! When it comes to seafood, you’re going to be spoilt for choice here, but for those who consider themselves more ‘turf’ than ‘surf’, there are also some great steak restaurants in the area, such as La Churassco, as well as plenty of places offering Italian cuisine, tapas bars, and eateries with great vegetarian and vegan menus.
After enjoying some of the local cuisines, we recommend taking a waterfront stroll - especially around sunset. Boulevard Faro in Meloneras is 2km long and runs along Playa del Ingles beach and past some of the region’s most upmarket restaurants, hotels and shops. Further along, the route becomes quieter, and you’ll discover some of the most idyllic and romantic sea views in all of Gran Canaria.
Please be aware that the location tab shown on the website is not based on the property's exact location; therefore, all location amenities are an approx of facilities, restaurants, and villages/towns you might find around the property. The property's exact location will be provided to you before arrival and might come along with some recommendations about the area and what to visit.
The Region
Maspalomas is not just known for its enormous expanse of dunes next to the sea or its great climate. It is also known for its old Lighthouse, which saw the first tourists arrive and witnessed the area turn into a holiday resort.
Just a few metres from the promenade, bathers and walkers dive into the sand, which marks the start of the Maspalomas Natural Dune Reserve, made up of three eco-systems: Palmeral, Charca and Dunas (Palms, Pond and Dunes), which run in parallel a few metres from the sea. The whole area is an enormous, exceptionally valuable natural space.
