By day, the places for cruising are the various beaches around the island. The biggest and busiest by far is obviously the dunes on the way to Maspalomas beach. After the beach there's the sauna, then there's a break for dinner and then the bars fill up or there are other places by night to visit for cruising as you'll see ...

Beaches

Maspalomas beach - walking from the Riu Hotel in Playa del Ingles towards bar number 7 (gay beach) - stop in the dunes along the way!
Cruising by daylight only.

Did you read the beach page? Then I'm sure you've already guessed where the cruising is. Yes of course, it's in the dunes behind the gay beach. See the beach page for instructions to get there.

Playa Las Salinas (between Las Palmas & Arucas)
200m long stony beach at the foot of a cliff.
Cruising by day on the beach and night on and by the beach.

Cruising by night

Playa del Ingles
Obviously the saunas mentioned below plus many of the bars around town with dark-rooms.

The park next to the Yumbo (where the tourist office is) from around midnight until dawn.

There's also some cruising near the pharmacy in the Yumbo center.

Most of the cruising is done in the bars: Hummel Hummel, Construction , The block, Cruising, Cellar, Prison Bar, Mantrix, Heaven, Mykonos. See the Yumbo Centre and the Bars Around the town pages.

Las Palmeras (Maspalomas) - near the camels / dunes Drive passing the golf course on your left and keep driving straight ahead to the dead end. Park and follow everyone else parking there!

Las Palmas - Doramas Park

The Dunes Maspalomas

The dunes are an important nature reserve, and they're a popular place for tourists and locals alike to go walking. However, you'd be forgiven for thinking that the dunes are just a gay playground, as some areas can be very cruisy.

There are three main ways to get into the dunes - it's the Maspalomas side rather than the Playa del Inglés side which is popular with gay men. You can walk into them from the beach at Maspalomas, or from the walkway near the camel safari, just inland from the charca (lake) by the Palm Beach hotel.

If you are coming from the centre of Playa del Inglés, the easiest way is by walking down into them at the back of the Riu Palace (at the end of the Avenida de Tirajana); head to the right and in the direction of the beach and you'll walk through some of the busiest areas.

There's real concern about the impact of people on a such a sensitive environment, where much of the plant and insect life is unique to the Canary Islands (and in some cases, to the dunes themselves). Please take your rubbish home with you, or at least ensure that it's left in the big plastic bin liners you'll see tied to trees.

If you decide to sunbathe in the dunes, remember to make sure that you have both water and sun protection: it can get very hot, and the sun is stronger than you think.

Unfortunately, people sunbathing in the dunes are a prime target for petty thieves. In the peak season between October and April, you may well see the police patrolling on quad bikes. They're doing this for your protection. The thieves are skilled, but many tourists make things easy for them, leaving bags unattended while they go cruising. If you are planning to spend the day in the dunes, bring the minimum with you; leave large amounts of money, credit cards and passports in the hotel safe, your address book or personal organiser in your room, and think seriously about whether you really need your mobile phone with you.

Darkrooms

The darkrooms and sex parties in the Yumbo and elsewhere are a big attraction - and after a couple of drinks it's easy to forget about the risks of unsafe sex. Sadly, there are too many men who've ended up HIV-positive as result.

The Spanish Health Ministry are warning of a worrying rise in the number of gay men becoming infected with HIV, particularly in the 18-25 age group, simply because they're not taking appropriate precautions.

In recent months, several visitors to darkrooms and sex clubs have commented that fewer people seem to be bothering to use condoms. Make sure you don't put yourself or others at risk.

Information Provider - gaymengc.com - Gay Men's Gran Canaria Guide,
Images - Chris Geary