Hi Mel. We enjoyed Corraljeo. It's not a 'man made' resort; so we found there were some good bars/restaurants for the locals/tourists. We were there over Christmas last year and had a great time. To be honest, I've never heard anyone rave about Fuerteventura so I was wary about taking a holiday there but I thought it was brilliant and will definitely return.

Hi Mel
We visited Corralejo for the first time in March and it will not be the last.
We are a 50 year old couple but had our 20something daughters and sons-in-law with us. I think the resort has something for everyone. It's not an 18-30s resort but there are a lot of bars with young people outside touting for you to go in and offering free shots etc. There is karaoke and pub quizzes. There are sports bars, Irish bars, music bars but there is also the old town which has some super spanish restaurants and bars. There is a waterfront area with bars and restaurants, some english, some spanish.
The beaches are great, especially out of town. If you are too young to get a hire car I believe the local bus service is quite good and cheap. there are plenty of taxis.
There are loads of sports to try. Look at http://www.fuerteventura.com for more info.

Cheers, Jean

Hi Guys,

We're looking at perhaps holiday to furteventura for a couple in theit 20's and a couple n their 50's to go together.

I know all about tenerife and gran canaria (especially puerto rico) but nothing about furteventura.

Aside from the brochure descriptions of resorts we cant find any first hand reports f what a resort is truly like. I'm not meaning an opinion of whether its good or not but details such as whether a resort is purpous built for tourism, is it quiant, is it authenticly canarian to any degree..

Can anyone tell me about their experiences as well as a recommendation?

Heres what we like:
Anything thats authentic.
Great food, good wine
A bustling atmosphere but not in an 18 - 30 type way.
Good weather
Plenty of things to see and do.
Quaint towns with narrow streets with a cosmopoliton vibe

Perhaps asking a lot but what we dont want to to is end up in somehwere like puerto rico (horrible horrible place) or a purpose built resort with no charicter. I liked the sound of the upmarket resort but then put off with the naturists.... i really dont see their point.

I look forward to your replies.

Hi,
The only way I can describe the places here is from experience both as a holiday maker and someone who lives here.
1) Caleta de Fuste is a man made purpose built resort. It has a couple of 5 star hotels because there are 2 championship golf courses . It has a nice harbour area with an aquarium and there is plenty to do, especially for families. The promenade is a nice walk and the beach is clean and tidy, but again man made. I struggle to find decent food in the resort at the prices I pay in Correlejo.
2) Jandia and Costa Calma. Lovely beaches but distinctly lacking in soul. Not many places to sit nd have a coffee and watch the world go by. Great if you like good quality all-inclusive hotels and surfing, but not much more besides. They are closer to the La Latija zoo and botanical gardens, but over an hour and a half from the airport. I personally find nothing great about either and certainly wouldn't stay there unless I wanted to go AI for 2 weeks and not move from my hotel.
3)Correlejo in my opinion is the most Spanish of the major resorts because Spanish families live and work here. If you ignore the main street into the resort and walk down to the harbour area, you will find nice restaurants serving good quality inexpensive food. We have one or 2 quaint streets, but the old town area is a little bit scruffy for some. It's usual for Spain to find holes in the pavement and patches of ground that seem to serve no purpose. The council spends the money on keeping the main tourist areas looking nice and this is what they do. You can walk right along the harbour, stopping for a coffee, overlooking the town beach and wander on a bit further, watch the ferry arriving from Lanzarote every hour etc. We have the waterpark here, you can find nightlife in the Atlantico Centre if you want it and a quiet bar in a back street if you don't.
We also have 6km of gorgeous sand dunes just outside of town, where you might spot the odd nudist (they won't hurt you if you ignore them)

The most authentic town here is Betancuria, which is nice for a visit, but not enough to keep you occupied for any length of time. Puerto Del Rosario, our capital, has a nice harbour and a few decent shops, but is a working town and not really a tourist place.
The weather is normally very good, saying that we have just had a dodgy spell which is most unusual for this time of year. The food and wine on the island is excellent, fish and shellfish are especially good as are the local goats cheeses. You really need to get out and about, so try to hire a car or go on one of the excursions I have detailed above in the "What is there to do?" thread. There is a market in all of the major resorts at least once a week, this is a craft market and not a food market, most of the stall holders are African. This means that you rarely get hassled in restaurants at night by looky looky men. There are at least 10 museums here on the island and you can get information on them by looking at the free tourist guides you can pick up in most resorts. People complain that there is very little to do here, you can do as little or as much as you want, but you need to go out of the resorts for a lot of it.

Fuerteventura resort reports HERE.

Pippy

ThePeacockRocks,

Thats a fantastic rundown and exactly what I was hoping for.

We was intending to hire a car and get about a bit so thats a great help to us.

When you describe a resort as the most spanish, can you tell me what you mean? My interpretation of spanish would be charicteristic buildings, whitewashed houses and tapas bars. Perhaps I'm a little to stereotypical with that description but its difficult to gauge any realistic idea.

Is there anywhere I might be able to see real pictures rather than the usual best bits from brochures?

You wont find many cultural attractions in Ferte and there are no large historical towns Its an Island you will either love or hate there is no in between. Brrief reviews

Corralejo
The most lively resort has an old part of town but has grown enormously over the last few years some great beaches just out of town and handy to nip across to Lanzarote. Fairly Cosmopolitan would recommend here for a first time visit.

Calleta
Purpose built resort very much Brits abroad ideal for young families.

Costa Calma
Very quiet purpose built resort mainly hotel based and predominantly German direct on to some of the finest beaches in Europe also a World Class water sports centre.

Jandia
The resort area is purpose built and fronts another magnificent beach also mostly German it does run into the Port of Morro Jable that does have quite a few authentic Canarian Bars.

For further info check out my website below there is further Island info plus links to photos

nick