hya salsababe,

Last year whilst staying at puerto rico we visited Puerto Mogan.It is beautiful, in fact, they call it 'Little Venice' Their are canarian style houses, churches, cafes, a beach and a marina. However it isnt overally commercialized ( hope it stays this way), it just has a handful of hotels and private rentals. The resort is family friendly with plenty of places to eat and drink, but no rowdiness, and also accessable to other resorts via local bus.

Hope this helps x

Thank you, that sounds perfect!

I would agree with Jackie, Puerto Mogan is my fave place in the whole of the canary islands.

If you choose not to go to GC, then for Lanzarote i would recommend Orzola, right at the northern end of the island. Very quiet and very spanish.
If you decide to go to Tenerife, in our experience you would be struggling as I feel this is the most commercialised of all the islands. There is a little village, I think it is called Los Galletta that is very quiet and you may be able to rent a little place there,. There are a few other villages turning off the main motorway that we found when we went exploring..and some lovely villages on the way to Mount Teide..they really are away from the madness of PDLA and Los C!

Wherever you go..I am sure you will fall in love with the Canaries, just as we did the first ever time we went.

Actually, when you get away from the main resorts of PDLA & LC in Tenerife, there is an abundance of typically Canarian towns. The place mentioned above is actually called Las Galletas and is a pleasant traditional harbour town not far from the southern airport. My favourite coastal town in Tenerife - and the Canaries - is Garachico on the north-west of the island. This is a beautiful gem of a place with rock pools formed by lava-flows that destroyed the town in 1706, pleasant gardens and plaza's, plenty of Canarian restaurants and a couple of good quality hotels. The idea that Tenerife is the most commercialised of the islands is largely a myth, it just happens to be the largest. Move away from the south & west coasts and you will find plenty that is traditionally Canarian.

I too loved Galletas when we visited there. We sort of found it by accident as we were just mooching around and decided to have a look.

There are lots of typically canarian places in Lanzarote...Orzola is right up the far north end where the ferry port to La Graciosa sails from. There is El Famara, Yaiza, Le Santa..so many places. Thanks to the input of Ceasar Manrique, Lanza has not been allowed to be spoilt like places in Tenerife that became urban jungles when tourism exploded.

If I couldn't go to Mogan, I would head to Lanzarote and explore every inch of the island.

I'm sorry to labour the point but it really is only a small section of coastline in the south & west of Tenerife that has been over-commercialised. Try visiting places such as Vilaflor, Spain's highest village, or in the far north the totally unspoilt Anaga Mountains with it's laurel forests and remote, Canarian villages of cave houses and spectacular views. In the west you have the Teno Hills and the stunning Maca Valley and village. The Teide National Park is one of Spain's most visited and has recently been declared a Unesco World Heritage site with some of the most amazing scenery you will find in the Canaries, or anywhere else come to that. I have visited all of the main Canary Islands and Tenerife has the greatest diversity of scenery of any of them. The problem is that the vast majority of visitors get to PDLA & LC and think this is where the island starts and finishes.

As has already been stated the everyone seems to think that the canaries are only the resorts.In gran canaria, personally, i find mogan as spanish as egg and chips, about 40 years ago it was a traditional village and now with the "market" on a friday and the upsurge in new hotels i find it as appealing as a slap with a wet fish. Places like San Mateo, Terror and the city of Las Palmas offer much more to the person trying to seek out more from their hols. Especially since Las Palmas has one of the best beaches in Las Canteras (kind of the Bondi Beach of GC!) it has a fantastic range of hotels, restaurants and i wouldnt hesitate to head there for a holiday

NeilTheBeaver wrote:

As has already been stated the everyone seems to think that the canaries are only the resorts.In gran canaria, personally, i find mogan as spanish as egg and chips, about 40 years ago it was a traditional village and now with the "market" on a friday and the upsurge in new hotels i find it as appealing as a slap with a wet fish. Places like San Mateo, Terror and the city of Las Palmas offer much more to the person trying to seek out more from their hols. Especially since Las Palmas has one of the best beaches in Las Canteras (kind of the Bondi Beach of GC!) it has a fantastic range of hotels, restaurants and i wouldnt hesitate to head there for a holiday

I agree with the sentiments expressed in the above post, Puerto Mogan whilst pleasant enough is just another tourist resort, albeit more low-key. Teror is a beautiful place as is Las Palmas. I also particularly love the areas around San Bartolome & the Barranco de Fataga in Gran Canaria and almost anywhere in the central mountains.

Vilaflor is nice in Tenerife..and yes Mogan is turning into just another tourist area..but it is still nicer than most and nowhere near as tacky as places like PDLA/PR.

hi
stayed in puerto mogan a few weeks ago was really great, quiet, nice small beach, good restaurants etc
if you want quiet quality i would recommend it