Things to Do in Playa del Inglés: Sights, Beaches and Days Out

If you only pick a handful of outings, start with Maspalomas Lighthouse, roughly 2 miles from the resort and the best-known landmark on this stretch of coast. Pair it with a slow walk along the shore towards Meloneras, the neighbouring area of Maspalomas with its own beaches.

For something greener, Maspalomas Botanical Garden is the closest sight of all, about half a mile from Playa del Inglés. Further out, Mundo Aborigen, an open-air museum about 4 miles away, gives a change of pace from the beach, and Palmitos Park, a zoo some 5.5 miles out, fills a morning easily.

Right on the doorstep, Maspalomas begins about half a mile from Playa del Inglés, and its botanical garden is the nearest thing to a cultural stop you can reach on foot. The lighthouse, around 2 miles away, marks the point where the coast turns west.

Around the lighthouse and Meloneras, the beaches come thick and fast: Playa de las Mujeres at about 2 miles, then Playa del Hornillo and Playa de Meloneras at around 2.5 miles. Aqualand Maspalomas sits at a similar distance, about 2.5 miles away, so a beach morning and a waterpark afternoon combine neatly.

Further out, Mundo Aborigen is about 4 miles away, Playa de las Carpinteras around 4.5 miles and Palmitos Park roughly 5.5 miles. These are the outings where a taxi, a tour transfer or car hire makes the day simpler.

Families have three obvious anchors. Aqualand Maspalomas is a waterpark about 2.5 miles from the resort, Palmitos Park is a zoo around 5.5 miles away, and Mundo Aborigen, an open-air museum about 4 miles out, works well for curious older children.

Timing matters more than distance. July and August bring highs of 31 to 32°C, so plan the waterpark for the heat of the day and keep zoo and museum visits for the morning. In winter, with highs of 22 to 23°C, the whole list is comfortable at any hour, and the botanical garden half a mile away is a gentle option for small legs.

You can see tours and tickets for the area directly on this page, which is the simplest way to line up entry to the waterpark, the zoo or a guided outing before you fly. There are well over a hundred activity categories listed for Maspalomas, so filter by what your group actually wants rather than booking everything.

If you would rather explore under your own steam, compare car hire here too; Gran Canaria airport is about 24 minutes by road, and the port at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is around 29 miles away. Most British travellers come on a package with flights, hotel and transfers, and you can compare package deals and hotel prices on this page as well. Expect school holidays to cost more than term-time weeks.