If you are going to be spending Christmas in Gran Canaria, you might be wondering what’s on. Of course, lying on the beach and sunbathing makes a nice change on Christmas day but what about Christmas Eve in Gran Canaria or Boxing day – what’s on and what’s going to be open?
Photo by Pcesarperez
Traditional Christmas Dinner
First of all, if you want a traditional Christmas dinner you should book places as soon as possible after you arrive. There are various restaurants around Puerto Rico, Playa del Ingles and the other resorts in Gran Canaria offering Christmas fare but these places do fill up!
If you’re in Playa del Ingles, a lot of people recommend The Red Cow for Christmas dinner. Alternatively the Barcelo Las Margaritas does good food. If you’re in Puerto Rico there are only two main shopping centres so you can stroll around those and see what takes your fancy.
Photo by BigDani
Churchill’s and Murphy’s Kitchen in the main shopping centre might be worth a visit and the Red Rose Cafe near the harbour is also good. El Brasero in the Europa Centre is really good as well, especially if you like meat! The Scandinavians will be enjoying their Christmas dinner on December 24th so the Brits and Irish will have the restaurants on the 25th to themselves.
Because Christmas week is one of the busiest weeks in the Canaries, nearly everything is open and that includes dolphin trip excursions, glass bottom boat excurions, Gran Canaria ferries to Puerto Rico, Mogan and Arguineguin, fishing trips and more 🙂 These book up quickly too. You can email me if you want more information about the fishing. I can also hold places for you on the dolphin trip or glass bottom boat trip. You’ll be fine with the ferries because these run hourly.
There are usually a couple of small supermarkets open over Christmas if you want to buy supplies. December 24th in the evening is when the Canarians eat their traditional Christmas dinner in Gran Canaria.
Evening Entertainment
The bars and discos will be open as usual over the festive period. You might want to stay close to your own resort though because taxis can triple or quadruple their prices over Christmas and New Year! 😮
Weather in Gran Canaria at Christmas
Today it has been a pleasant 26ºC and it’s usually fairly warm over the Christmas week. So how how is Gran Canaria over Xmas? Well it does vary and you ought to bring something with long sleeves. It might not be sunny everyday but it’s likely to be warm, probably between 20 and 25ºC so you should get some colour! 😎
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hi there
planning on coming to puerto rico on the 26th dec until the 29th does the the public transport service still run from the airport to puerto rico on boxing day
thanks for your help
Hi Andy,
The bus from the airport to the south runs at 20 past every hour, from 7.20am until 10.20pm.
You will need to get the no.66 to Maspalomas, then change.
The buses between Maspalomas and Puerto Rico also run frequently. Boxing day is not a public holiday in GC, so you’ll be fine. The Canarians have their celebratory dinner on Dec 24th, relax on Dec 25th, then Dec 26th is business as usual.
Have fun in Gran Canaria!
Victoria
Hi,
Myself, my boyfriend & 3 kids are heading to Melonera’s for christmas 20th-27th. I was wondering could you suggest some nice restaurants that we could book a traditional christmas dinner in? Also do you know if they cook fresh turkeys or would it be like processed meat? Want to get close to what I would at home. Thanks. 😉
Try the Red Cow or Barcelo los Margaritas, or wander around Meloneras when you arrive and check out the local places. I’m not as familiar with Meloneras as Puerto Rico since I’ve never lived in Meloneras but the Xmas dinner is very similar to what you would get back home because you’re not alone in wanting a traditional dinner. But you might not get the Brussels sprouts since they don’t grow or import them and you don’t get fresh parsnips either for the same reason. The turkey tends to be nice and if you go to a British-style place you should also get stuffing, roast potatoes and veg etc.
hi me and my husband want to go either puerto rico or playa de ingles for christmas which one would you reccomend for couples and what is a luxery hotel to stay in. last year we went to barcelo in fuerture ventura and that was nice. x x
Hi we are going to Gran Canaria on Xmas Eve and my birthday is on Boxing Day and really want to go swimming with Dolphins for my bday present to me! can you book us in and give us prices please. thanks x
Hello! Another one for busses. My girlfriend and myself are spending Xmas over in GC. We are looking to travel south from Palmas to Maspalomas on the 24th or 25th. Do you know if the busses will be running on those days? Cheers!
Hi, My Girlfriend and I just spent Christmas (21-28 Dec) 2013 in Playa del Ingles so I thought I would post some information about spending Christmas in Gran Canaria for those thinking of going at this time. First of all the weather, we had sunshine every day with the daily temps around 24-26 degrees and night temps around 15-19 degrees so we could walk around in shorts during the day and wear a light jacket when out at night. For transport and things to do on Christmas day, there are Busses and Taxis running so getting around the town is not a problem and the average Taxi fare we paid was about 3euros even on Christmas day so there are no rip offs. You can even book excursions/trips for Christmas day so it is very much business as usual in Playa del Ingles. For Christmas dinner there are several options. Some of the Hotels serve a Christmas Gala Buffet on the 24th or 25th and you can go along even if you are not staying at the Hotel, just book a few days in advance and pay for the Dinner. These range in price from 40 euros to 110 euros at the 5* Hotels for a zillion Menu choices. In the end we went to a bar/restaurant called the Red Cow because we wanted to be with other english speaking people and they served a lovely traditional turkey’n’all the trimmings dinner for 30 euros which was great. A few of the bars have live music on Christmas night so you can sit and relax off the xmas lunch. So we really enjoyed our Christmas in Gran Canaria and I would highly recommend to anyone thinking of going at that time of year you wont be disappointed.
Going 23rd Dec ten days what’s pools like in hotels in gran canaria have 2 boys with me they love to swim
Hi can you tell me if the kiosks on playa del ingles beach are open on xmas day. We usually walk along to kiosk 8 in the nudist zone but have never been at xmas.
Hello
Currently staying in Maspalomas, could you please advise what restaurants will be open Christmas Day 2020
Hi we are coming for Christmas and want to know if buses run on Christmas day between Las Palmas and Firgas? Can you point me in thw direction of a comprehensive bus timetable?
Thanks
hi we r going to puerto rico 24thdec we want to book christmas dinner for 3 adults and cant get details to contact scrurry murphys in shopping centre can u help us wit booking and prices tradtional dinner r other places u reccomend look forward to hear from u
HI – we are staying at LaBranda Costa Mogan from 23-30 December.
We have our 18 and 20 year old daughters with us – is there any good nightlife around or should we travel into Puerto Rico or Playa del Ingles?
Thank you!