Discover the Best of Fuerteventura in 8 Days: A Complete Guide to Adventure and Relaxation on the Golden Island
Every person enjoy to have some disconnection days in places with good beaches and gastronomy. For us, Fuerteventura is that and more, so in this post we want to explain you which is for us the best itinerary of 8 days in Fuerteventura.
Fuerteventura is the second largest island in the Canary Islands. It is mainly known for the incredible white sand beaches and the surf. But Fuerteventura has lots of corners that are completely worth it and that we are going to present you in this post.
The truth is that we could stay in the island for 8 days, so we were able to enjoy it completely, relax and know lots of small villages and places that we are going to specify below. In our case, we rented a car for the 8 days, something that is essential to fully enjoy the island. With the car, we could split the visit in zones, dedicating one day to each part of the island.
Another important aspect of the island is the gastronomy, that we found it is incredible with a mix of sea and land food super interesting.
With that being said, we leave you the best itinerary of 8 days in Fuerteventura. Let’s go!
First day in Fuerteventura: Betancuria, FV-30 and Ajuy Caves
The first day of this itinerary of 8 days in Fuerteventura was very intense. We landed in the island early in the morning and we went to pick our car for the next 8 days. Once we took it, we went to our hotel in Caleta de Fuste. Our accommodation was the complex Castillo Playa. We think it is a very good area to sleep as it’s in the middle of the island and you stay the same distance to the north and to the south.
Next to that, we wanted to visit the first zone of the island, the west zone. We started the visit by the picturesque village of Betancuria, and we had our lunch there. This village is considered one of the most beautiful villages of Spain, specially because of the main village square and the Santa Maria de Betancuria church. After taking some photos, we went to a restaurant in the same square, the restaurant Casa Santa Maria, that was a really good one and where we could taste the famous “cabrito majorero”.
After lunch, we visited some viewpoints near the village, from where we could see a perfect panoramic view of 360º of the island. The first one (and the best one for us) we visited was the Mirador de Guise y Ayose. Remark that you will find a very special friends around the whole island but specially in this viewpoint, that are squirrels. The second viewpoint that is very close to the first one is Morro de la Cruz.
After visiting this viewpoints, we went to the amazing FV-30 road, that goes from Betancuria to Pájara. This is a very recommended route, as it is a road that runs between the peculiar mountains of Fuerteventura and it has some interesting viewpoints from which you can observe the whole landscape. We would stand out the viewpoint Risco de las Peñas. The copilot and the rest of passengers were very lucky as the views were stunishing.
Our first day ended visiting Ajuy and the famous caves. This village is a must visit of the island, not just due to the caves, also for the curious black sand beach and also for the local food and fresh fish restaurants. The Ajuy caves have an easy access through a road and some stairs prepared to guide you there.
Tips
- The first tip applies to all your stay on the island and it is to rent a car. Fuerteventura is a big island and without a car you won’t reach all the places. There are some bus that drive you to the main places, but you will loose lots of time and freedom.
- Enjoy FV-30 with patience and quietly. It is a unique landscape, that deserves to take some photos. In our opinion, a good moment to go is in the sunset.
Second day in Fuerteventura: Isla de Lobos and Corralejo dunes
We dedicated the second day of this itinerary of 8 days in Fuerteventura to visit Isla de Lobos. In order to make this visit, we took a ferry that departed from the Corralejo port. The journey is just 20 minutes and then you can visit the island on your own. Isla de Lobos is a natural protected space, so it’s needed to ask for a visa in order to access and there are two turns of visit. In the link we left you, you can find all the information.
Once in the island, we dedicated the morning to do a circular visit in the island. The route began 7 minutes from the pier and it has an approximate duration of 2 hours and a half. Once you reach the beginning of the route, on the left you can find Playa de la Concha and on the right you will see “El Puertito” an old fishermen village.
We started the route turning left visiting la Caldera, a viewpoint on the top of a hill. To reach the top, you will have to climb many stairs, but it is completely worth it to see the isla de Lobos, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote views.
Lately, we headed to Punta Martiño lighthouse, the north part of the small island and the place where you can have better views of Lanzarote the closest of the Canary islands.
To finish the excursion, we wanted to have some lunch and enjoy the sea. We headed to el Puertito, that has a small beach with crystalline waters that forced you to swim. We ate a sandwich that we bought in Corralejo, but in this village you have 2 restaurants where you can find good food (book you table in advance ;)).
After bathing and enjoy this precious summer day, we went to the port to go back to Corralejo, where we had a well deserved snack after the walk.
As we were in Corralejo area, we decided to go to the famous Corralejo Dunes. We got surprised for the aspect, that is very similar to a desert and from where you have a perfect view of the sunset. That is a must visit place in Fuerteventura.
To finish our day, we had dinner in the restaurante los Pinchitos in Lajares, a small town that is 10 minutes away from Corralejo.
Tips
- Take something to cover your head and water in your visit to Isla de Lobos. There are neither shadow places nor shops to buy water, and if you are lucky and the day is sunny, it will be helpful.
- If you want to lunch in a restaurant of Isla de Lobos, book with time. They use to be very requested as it is a touristic place specially during summer periods. If not, the picnic option is always a good choice in beach days!
Third day in Fuerteventura: Cotillo area and beaches
Our third day of this itinerary of 8 days in Fuerteventura was dedicated to spend a day on the beach. As we already mentioned, this island is famous due to the incredible beaches, so it’s necessary to dedicate some days to them.
We went to the north west area of the island. Our first stop was Cotillo, a small fisherman village that is one of the most charming of the island. We spend the whole morning walking and discovering the town, taking some photos and we book a table in the restaurant Olivo Corso, one of the best we tasted in Fuerteventura.
After our lunch time, we went to Playa del Castillo. This beach is 15 min in car from Cotillo, in a dirt road that was uncomfortable to drive. It has a park area in the access. You can access the beach going down some stairs in a cliff, until you reach the sand. We stayed there for two hours and it was reaaally good, as we were surrounded by cliffs, quiet waters and sun.
Our next objective was Playa del Esquinzo, one of our favorites. This beach has a very difficult access as you have to go down though a cliff without well designed stairs. This is a small beach with lots of people doing surf. We enjoyed an amazing sunset there as the sun goes down in this part of the island and there were no clouds.
After sunset, we went to the hotel to have some rest and we had dinner in Caleta de Fuste area.
Tips
- As the name in spanish indicates, Fuerteventura has strong winds. Be careful if you buy a beach umbrella, it can be useless :).
- We recommend to use sneakers to access the beaches, specially El Esquinzo. It’s not an easy access place and you can slip.
- Bear in mind that there’s no food shops in the beach, so you might want to take some things in the supermarket before going.
Fourth day in Fuerteventura: Jandía and Cofete
The fourth day of our itinerary, was dedicated to the south area of the island, one of the more known and famous, the Jandía Peninsula. To reach this area, you will have to drive for a long time in an unpaved area once you cross Morro Jable, but don’t worry, it is completely worth it.
We first went to the southernmost point of the island. There we visited the Punta Jandía lighthouse and la Playa del Puertito, that has a curious camp area in front of the sea. Next to that, we stopped in Playa de los Ojos, a small beach very quiet and perfect to relax. We had our lunch there.
After the lunch, we turned to Cofete beach, one of the most incredible landscapes we have ever seen. It is a 13km beach in front of a mountain range. This beach seemed endless and mysterious. We were lucky as we visited it and it was not crowded, so we walked calmly and then we lied down and we took some photos. We spend the whole afternoon there. Our recommendation is that you go with enough time as the journey is very long and it is worth a leisurely visit.
Later, we had dinner in a small fishermen town called Tarajalejo, in the restaurante La Barraca, another recommended local and seafood restaurant in front of the sea.
Tips
- Go to Cofete with time given that the road is not easy, there are many curves and it’s not comfortable.
- Buy some food and drink before going, as there’s no restaurants and places to buy anything.
- There is a place we didn’t visit in Cofete as we runned out of time called Winter’s house, and it has an interesting history related with nazis and Hitler. You can see the history there.
Fifth day in Fuerteventura: Jandia beaches and Playa de la Pared
Our fifth day of this itinerary of 8 days in Fuerteventura, was dedicated again to the southern part of the island, but this time to the Sotavento, Mal Nombre, Esquinzo and Esmeralda beaches.
The first one, Sotavento, is fully dedicated to windsurf. Curiously, there were long sand tongues between the water that make this place a must visit and a very beautiful place.
The second one, el Mal Nombre, had calm waters and it’s connected to other beaches around. We went from there to the playa del Esquinzo by food. This area is much more quiet and you can enjoy them in a different way where you will find lots of surfers and waves.
We headed to another beach to have our lunch, Playa Esmeralda, a quiet beach with calm water, perfect to have a break and bathing.
In order to finish the day, we went to playa la Pared, one of the best sunsets in Fuerteventura. We really enjoyed this small beach, perfect to see the sun falling and take a quiet bath.
Given that we were in playa de la Pared and the night was coming, we though it was a great idea to go to an astronomical viewpoint called Sicascumbe, on the top of a mountain and place where you can see the stars. In our case, unfortunately, clouds came and didn’t let us see the stars clearly 🙁
Tips
- If you like to do water sports, Sotavento beach is a great opportunity to try windsurf or kitesurf. In our case, the 6th day was dedicated to Surf, so it worked.
- We strongly recommend Playa de la Pared to see the sunset. It’s not one of the most touristic ones and it is really worth it to see the sun falling.
Sixth day in Fuerteventura: Surf classes
In the 6th day of this itinerary of 8 days in Fuerteventura we took surf classes for the first time on our life. This island is very famous due to this sport, as you will see in almost all the beaches and villages, so we thought it could be a great idea to start this sport here.
In this case, we booked this activity with Free Surfers School. The activity takes 4 hours and we did it from 4-8 in the afternoon for 90€ both. Our rate is positive. The school had a very good behavior with us, they had lots of patience and it was very funny. The only problems we see are:
- The beach where we did the activity was full of people and it was very difficult to find your place to surf.
- If you really want to enjoy surfing, do a surf camp. It is really difficult and if you do one day classes, when you start to improve, it finishes. Anyway, we have an excuse to come back 😉
Seventh day in Fuerteventura: Molinos excursion, Calderón Hondo and Pop Corn
In the 8th day, we did some interesting excursions to towns and special places that we haven’t seen yet, placed in the central part of the island.
The first stop was on Barranco de los Enamorados, an easy route that takes you to some dry sand dunes that are full of sea fossils. Honestly, it isn’t worth it as it has a difficult access and there’s no much thing to see.
After that. we observed the area near to Tindaya, the holy mountain of Fuerteventura. We observed and took photos from the distance as you can’t access there. Near to this place, you can find two interesting villages, Oliva and Villaverde and we stopped to see the windmills. Those villages are a very good option to lunch, as there are lots of restaurants. You will have to book before going, as it is very crowded in summer. After several options, we ate in Locanda Il Gato Rosso, a very good italian restaurant.
After a good lunch, we went to Calderón Hondo volcano, whose parking is found after Lajares village. It is a 45 minutes excursion in which you will reach the top of the volcano and you will be able to see the crater and good views of the island.
Last but not least, we went to the famous Pop Corn Beach. This beach has been famous due to social media as instead of sand, there are some curious calcareous algae that look like pop corn. This place is recommended to see this singularity as it’s very very curious.
After this day, we were exhausted, so we had dinner in our apartment.
Tips
- More than a tip it is a request (or a common sense act). Lots of tourists in the last years are taking some of the “pop corn” from the beach, so we strongly request not to do that. This is a nature creation and we don’t win anything taking this pieces out. The only thing that can happen is that this curiosities that the planet has, disappear.
Eigth day in Fuerteventura: Arco de las Peñitas and villages
Sadly, we reached the last day of our itinerary of 8 days in Fuerteventura. This day was a relaxed one for us and we visited some things we still had pending.
The first excursion was to Mirador de Arco de las Peñitas. It is a difficult ascent to the mountain through a poorly signposted road. You have to be careful as you should be in a good shape to do it. We enjoyed it as it was a different place from the other visits of the island.
After this, we repeated the visit to Ajuy to lunch, as it’s near Arco de las Peñitas. This time, we had lunch in Café del Mar Ajuy. It is a really nice place to eat some seafood for a very good price, with fished from the same town.
With a full belly, we wanted to repeat the FV-30 road, but this time to Betancuria, to end in a very small town called Puertito de los Molinos. If you want to relax in a quiet place with a small beach, this is a great place.
To close our trip, we decided to have dinner in a very good place in the capital, Puerto del Rosario, in a typical Canary islands food restaurant. This restaurant is called Jaira de Dermian, place that we strongly recommend if you want to taste some elaborated dishes.
Map
Here you have a detailed map of this itinerary of 8 days in Fuerteventura with all the places we mentioned in the post, divided by days. Save it if you liked the route!
We hope you enjoyed this post and that this complete itinerary of 8 days in Fuerteventura can be useful for you. As you might notices, we could visit almost all the main attractive places of the island, and we were really delighted for all it can offer. We will be back for sure!!
