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Gran Canaria is an island of contrasts, often described as a continent in miniature. If you spend the whole of your holiday in the tourist resorts of the south, you'll be missing out. It's well worth taking a trip inland to towns like Santa Lucia (pictured on the right), Teror, Arucas, Agüimes, Guayadeque, Fataga or to the central mountains.

The easiest way to travel is to rent a car - but all the major towns are accessible by bus, and services to most main destinations are frequent and cheap.

It's worth taking the bus or driving along the southern coast of the island, through Arguineguin and on to Puerto de Mogan.

The tourist resorts on the way there have little or nothing to offer in the way of gay life, but some do have nice beaches - such as Playa de Amadores (which also has a very good spa at the Gloria Palace Hotel).

The dunes at Maspalomas and the gay beach in front of them are a star attraction for gay visitors, and justifiably so.

You can get to the beach either through the dunes from the entrance at the Riu Palace - bearing right, towards the lighthouse in the distance - or by walking along the beach from the Maspalomas end until you come to kiosk 7. You'll also find that many people sunbathe in the dunes, particularly in and around the bushy areas en route to the Riu Palace. On the way back, have coffee and cake at Cafe Wien and browse the books in C.Code next door, or check your email at Punto Net.

Gran Canaria's capital, Las Palmas has a population of around 400,000 people and has all the bustle, facilities and culture you'd expect from one of Spain's largest cities.

There's great shopping with markets, designer boutiques and department stores like El Corte Inglés, museums, concert halls and historic buildings. And the port is one of the Europe's largest.

But that's not all - it also has a popular beach, the Playa de las Canteras where you can take a stroll along around 3km of promenade lined with cafés and restaurants, or swim, surf or sunbathe all year round.

The north of the island has a wild and mountainous coastline, and is much greener than the south.

If you are planning to drive round the island, you need to be confident about driving on narrow mountain roads. Take water and a mobile phone with you, and make sure you have a full tank of petrol.