They say Fuerteventura is an island you hate or love. There is nothing in between. I don’t want to contradict that. But before you make your final decision, you should see the island in all its facets. That’s why I would like to introduce you to my personal favourite spots on the island in a three-part series of articles. I have put together a series of car rental tours for you. Each one is dedicated to a different topic.
Table of contents
This tour takes you from the south to the north of Fuerteventura. Take a whole day so that you can enjoy it to the full and without time pressure.
These highlights and sights in Fuerteventura await you on this tour:
The most beautiful beaches in Fuerteventura in the west of this Canary Island.
- Start and finish: The TUI BLUE RIU Calypso (S)
- The lighthouse at Punta de Jandia in the far south (1)
- An adventurous slope ride over the mountains
- Cofete with its fantastic beaches (2)
- La Pared and its black beach (3)
- The sleepy Los Molinos (4)
- The lava sand beach and the caves of Ajuy (5)
- The surfer’s paradise of El Cotillo with its fine sandy beaches (6)
- The El Toston lighthouse in the far north (7)
- A fantastic dinner in Corralejo (8)
Before we start our joint tour of the Canary Island, I would like to give you a few pieces of advice
5 tips for your car hire tour in Fuerteventura:
- Suitable rental car:
Rent a car that is allowed to drive off the paved roads of Fuerteventura. These are more like a track than a road. This way, you will not only be safe on the road, but you will also not get into trouble with the rental company. - Sun protection:
Many beaches away from the hotels do not have sunbeds and umbrellas. So if you plan to stay there for a longer time, think about effective sun protection. You can get simple umbrellas for little money in many places. - Towels:
A beach is beautiful, and even more beautiful when seen from the sea. So pack towels, to dry off or to sit on. - Drinks:
Don’t underestimate the temperatures and the sun. The wind can be deceptive. Make sure you have enough drinks. Stopping at a supermarket on the way is not a bad idea to replenish your stock. - Photo camera or smartphone:
You will visit the most beautiful places and sights on Fuerteventura, so photos, selfies and posts on Facebook, Instagram and the like are a must. But don’t forget #tuiblue ?
What are we waiting for now, really. Let’s go. Let’s discover some of the most beautiful places in Fuerteventura together.
Our driving route in Fuerteventura
1st stage from Morro Jable to Punta de Jandia in the very south of Fuerteventura
Distance approx. 25 km, driving time approx. 40 minutes
We start our tour directly at the TUI BLUE RIU Calypso. We take the main road towards the port of Morro Jable and then follow the Carretera Punta de Jandia from there. The road drags and doesn’t necessarily get better as you drive. So please remember to take a rental car that is also allowed to drive on dirt roads. We drive through the nature reserve Parque Natural de Jandia. The landscape there is characterised by a rustic barrenness and by the highest mountain range in Fuerteventura. At the turnoff towards Cofete, we first keep to the left. We drive to Cofete later during the second stage. After 25 kilometres and about 40 minutes of driving, we reach the really small village of Puerto de la Cruz, but we pass it by. A little later we reach our destination: the lighthouse of Punta de Jandia and thus the lower “tip” of Fuerteventura.
Looking west from here, Gran Canaria can at best be guessed at. Even towards the south, you won’t see much except passing ships. Only a few hundred kilometres away you would meet Africa. Despite the fact that the sea is really wild here, you can still see some surfers from time to time. Impressive, but also very dangerous.
On the way back from the lighthouse, Puerto de la Cruz offers the possibility of stopping for those who might want to enjoy a snack or coffee or take a short break.
2nd stage from Puerto de la Cruz to Cofete and the largest beach on the west coast of Fuerteventura
Distance approx. 18 km, journey time approx. 40 minutes
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On we go and now comes the most adventurous part of our drive. You will have understood in Cofete why I keep referring to the slope permit for the rental car. We leave Puerto de la Cruz and follow the route of our outward journey to the turn-off to Cofete, which we should have reached after 10 kilometres and a quarter of an hour. Why we need a comparatively long time for the rest of the route will be answered by the road, the serpentines and the other vehicles. After this route you will never complain about bad roads in Germany again, but: it is really fun to drive there.
After 10 minutes and about 2 kilometres, we have reached the top of the Degollada de Cofete pass. It is worth a short stop here, there are some parking facilities and the view of Cofete beach and the mountains around Cofete is breathtakingly beautiful. All this is accompanied by a few free-roaming goats. So always be careful when driving.
Paying attention while driving is now the key word. The road down to Cofete has a very – let’s say – rustic character, is narrow and you better drive slowly and carefully. On the way there, you drive on the side of the mountain, which is quite relaxed. As beautiful as the landscape is, please concentrate on driving and oncoming traffic. Our next destination is – don’t worry – the cemetery of Cofete. There is a large car park there, which we reach after about 25 minutes. Before that, however, we drive through Cofete, which feels even smaller than Puerto de la Cruz, but still has a restaurant.
We park the car and off we go. Take towels, sunscreen and everything else out of the boot and off we go to one of the most beautiful beaches of Fuerteventura: Playa de Cofete. Nevertheless, caution is advised, because we are on the west coast. Here the Atlantic hits the island almost unchecked, and the waves, currents and wind are correspondingly strong.
Swimming here is life-threatening, but you can definitely cool your feet.
The brute force of the waves is impressive. A place to linger, enjoy and relax. Of course, if you want, you can also walk along the beach to the north to Playa de Barlovento, which begins after just under 2 kilometres behind a point that juts into the sea. The single white building you see on the hillside is, by the way, Villa Winter, which was built by a German in the 1930s.
Unfortunately, we have to move on at some point, even if it is difficult. Just imagine what it would be like here at sunset… but then you have to stay until morning, because nobody wants to drive the road back in the dark.
3rd stage from Cofete to La Pared
Distance approx. 52 km, driving time approx. 70 minutes
Our next stage now takes us to La Pared. To do this, we first drive back to Morro Jable, take the pass road we came in on and then enjoy the visibly better roads. If you have forgotten something at the TUI BLUE RIU Calypso, now is your chance, because we are passing our starting point. We take the main road north, leaving Morro Jable and Jandia. We follow the FV-2 motorway until shortly after Costa Calma and from there take the road to La Pared. There we find a car park close to the lava sand beach of La Pared.
The view from there to the beaches of Barlovento and Cofete is gigantic. We look at the place we were allowed to see from a different perspective less than an hour ago and gain a feeling for the size of the beach and the mountains there. Yes, the landscape of Fuerteventura is barren, but that’s what makes it so distinctive, in my opinion. In the barrenness, you gain an eye for the essentials, develop a sense of grandeur and significance, because your thoughts are not distracted by a multitude of details, no matter how small.
Even though this is only a photo stop, you can still cool your feet and La Pared also has one or two cafés to offer. But we don’t have much time to lose, so let’s move on.
4th stage from La Pared to Ajuy – Fuerteventura also has lava beaches
Distance approx. 30 km, driving time approx. 30 minutes
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We leave La Pared and follow the FV-605 through the mountains towards Pajara. We pass the Mirador Astronomico, which we will visit on another tour. Shortly before Pajara, we take the road to Ajuy in a hairpin bend. There is a large car park right at the entrance to the village.
From there we walk towards the beautiful black lava beach of Ajuy. Ajuy is also only a small town, but it still has a few shops and bars to offer. We can make ourselves comfortable with our towels directly on the beach or sit down in one of the cafes to relax and recharge our batteries.
Ajuy not only has a great beach to offer, but also the caves of Ajuy. These can be reached via the northern end of the beach, i.e. on the right when looking out to sea. We first go up the cliffs and there we find a well-maintained path that leads us to the caves. A walk that is definitely worthwhile. You can look at the caves from the cliffs, but there is also a path leading down so that you can also venture into the caves. Great fun, especially for the young and old kids.
5th stage from Ajuy via Los Molinos to El Cotillo
Distance approx. 90km, driving time approx. 80 minutes ( or 75 km and 60 minutes)
We first drive back towards Pajara and then take the road to Tuineje. There we change to the FV-20 towards Antigua, pass Tiscamanita and Agua de Bueyes before we reach Antigua itself. On the way, there are a few supermarkets and cafes right on the road, which can satisfy one or the other need. Shortly before Casillas del Ángel we turn left, take the FV-30 and after just under 3km change to the FV-207.
Depending on how late it is, we now have to decide whether to make a stopover in sleepy Los Molinos on our way to El Cotillo. The turn-off onto the FV-221 follows after just under 4 km. For this detour we have to plan a 15 km drive and 20 minutes driving time. Los Molinos itself is not only small, it is really small. But it offers a car park right at the entrance to the village and a small restaurant with a great view that is very popular with the locals.
To get to El Cotillo, we drive back to the FV-207, follow it north and then head towards La Oliva. This motorway then leads us directly to El Cotillo. There we keep to the left and drive to a large car park on the beach.
El Cotillo itself is a steadily growing and also the largest town on the west coast. The infrastructure is correspondingly good and you can actually find everything you need there. But we need the beach. The golden-yellow fine sand and the turquoise-blue sea are worth every photo. If you like, you can also swim here.
6th stage from El Cotillo via El Toston to Corralejo
Distance approx. 30 km, journey time approx. 35 minutes
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Our last stage takes us first to the northernmost lighthouse El Toston of the island, where – depending on the time of day – we already get an impression of the beautiful sunsets on the west coast of Fuerteventura. This is not far away north of El Cotillo.
And now we have really made it. We have driven from the southernmost lighthouse to the northernmost, seen the most beautiful beaches of Fuerteventura on the west coast and can end the day comfortably.
The only thing missing now is a nice dinner, and for that you now get my ultimate insider tip for a great dinner: The Avenida Restaurant in Corralejo.
So first we drive back to El Cotillo, follow the road to Lajares, then the FV-109 and FV-1 to the centre of Corralejo. We look for a parking space there, either on the main road or on the western edge of town, which is usually much easier. If we stroll along the main street towards the north, there are many different shops. But we save the shopping for our sightseeing and shopping tour. So we go straight to the Avenida restaurant and hope we won’t have to wait too long for a seat. But even if we have to wait, it’s definitely worth it. Enjoy it, because after our tour of the island you really deserve it.
7th stage: Off home to the TUI BLUE RIU Calypso
Distance approx. 120km, driving time 1:45 hour
After a great dinner, we make our way home. Thanks to the well-developed north-south connection, we also get back to the south quickly. We pass the dune beaches of the east coast and Puerto del Rosario. By the way, the lights in the sky there are not UFOs, but planes approaching the airport. Via Costa Calma we return to Morro Jable and the TUI BLUE RIU Calypso.
An exhausting but very beautiful day is coming to an end and your photo gallery will have been enriched by many beautiful photos.
And? Have you chosen your favourite place on the west coast of Fuerteventura? Have we visited it or even forgotten it? We look forward to your comments below this post.