Jandia

Jandia - Overview:

In Jandia you will find undoubtedly some of the best beaches on Fuerteventura. With over 20km of coast that has long stretches of pure white fine sand, endless lagoons and dunes. Jandia is the peninsular at the southern tip of Fuerteventura. It includes the resorts of Costa Calma and Playas de Jandia, as well as the port of Morro Jable and several smaller resorts.

It is home to the highest point on Fuerteventura, the Pico de Zarza, and many years ago Jandia was separated from the rest of Fuerteventura by the sea. The deposits of sand that linked the two have resulted in some of the best beaches in the world.

Jandia - Beaches:

The people of Pajara are justifiably proud of the beaches in Jandia. The lighthouse at the Playa Del Matorral acts not only as a warning to shipping, but as the point at which the beach is divided into naturist and non naturist sections. The beach in the north attracts more naturists and the one in the south is used more by non naturists.

The Playa de Sotavento (leeward beach) is in the lee of the wind. There is a very long spit here and an enormous "lake" appears at high tide. It is home to the Reni Egli centre and there are always windsurfers and kiteboarders practising their art here.

The Playa De Barlovento (windward beach) and the Playa de Cofete are much less accessible, and the sea conditions here are much wilder. An excellent view of both can be seen from the Pico de Zarza.

Costa Calma's main attraction has to be the long sandy beach of Playa Barca to the southwest. It is always easy to find a quiet, sheltered spot here even during peak season. Windsurfers are particularly fond of this beach because of the strong off shore trade-winds during the summer months.

Morro Jable has some of the most beautiful beaches, being the longest in the Canary Islands stretching 35km. There there is plenty to do for the water sports enthusiast from jet skiing to windsurfing.

Jandia - Activities:

With the trade-winds blowing all year round from the Northwest it is a windsurfing paradise, with the P.W.A. World Windsurfing speed and slalom event taking place here every year in August.

Jandia - Getting there:

All the civilised areas of Jandia can be reached by car in less than an hour from Fuerteventura airport. It used to take a little over an hour to reach Morro Jable, but the opening of a new motorway in has reduced the journey time from the north of Fuerteventura to Morro Jable by around ten minutes.

Jandia - Nightlife and entertainment:

Nightlife in Jandia isn't as lively as other resorts it has a more laid back relaxed atmosphere. Although there are plenty of bar and restaurants around the resort. Jandia is a very popular location with German tourists and this is reflected in the higher percentage of German owned restaurants and bars. There are lots of Spanish owned bars and restaurants and one or two British owned bars too.

Jandia - Exploring:

The untamed areas of Fuerteventura, found beyond Morro Jable are well worth a visit, however we do recommend you hire a 4 wheel drive vehicle or Jeep to reach them.

Morro Jable: Morro Jable was once a small fishing village with only 200 inhabitants. However it has now grown into one of Fuerteventura's largest holiday resorts, attracting mostly German tourists. Until the early eighties you could only reach Morro Jable via rough sand tracks and it wasn't until 1982, when the new main road was completed, that the resort became more accessible to tourism. Nowadays Morro Jable has something for everyone, with miles of golden beaches, clear blue seas, shops, bars and restaurants.

Morro Jable is located 100km from Fuerteventura airport and there are plans to build a new road directly to the resort. Despite all the tourism the old village still retains its Canarian character and charm with a quaint harbour in the west of the town which is used by local fishermen and yachtsmen. Here you can escape the hustle and bustle and take a leisurely stroll along the promenade or enjoy one of the local beaches. It is also possible to take a jet foil from here over to the neighboring island of Gran Canaria.

Cofete: Cofete is located on the Barlovento (windward) coast of Jandia. To get there you have to travel over 20 kilometres of track, that only allows for single file traffic in some places. Some of these places have steep drops to the side and are not for the feint hearted! Having said that some of the views are magnificent, and Cofete beach is about 5km in length, and is also one of the wider beaches on the island. One interesting feature of Cofete is the abundance of cacti growing wild. Like most of Jandia, Cofete is a popular destination for German tourists with many of the bars being German owned.

Places of interest to see in Cofete include Villa Winter, which originally belonged to a mysterious German named Gustav Winter. There are all kinds of rumours about this gentleman. He is rumoured to have had links with General Franco, German World War II leaders and a secret submarine base. The villa is set against a dramatic back drop of Mount Jandia and is the type of location that would have certainly suited Greta Garbo.

One of the reasons why Fuerteventura is drier than its neighbouring Canary Islands is due to the lack of mountains. Only mountains above 800 metres will cause precipitation and Mount Jandia is the only peak above 800 metres on the whole island. The scenery and quality of light contantly appears to alter here with the ever-changing cloud formation surrounding Mount Jandia.

Jandia - Our holiday accommodation and service:

If you travel with secretdestinations.com holidays you can choose from many privileged secluded holiday destinations in Fuerteventura incl. Jandia. Holiday villas, apartments, hotels, lovely coastal and rural locations. Hand picked privately owned villas, apartments, villas with pools. Authentic unspoiled Fuerteventura. Additionally, all of the Canary Islands are ideal for a spot of winter sun. So if you're looking for an activity holiday scuba diving, walking or cycling or simply relaxing on deserted beaches, surfing, enjoying watersports, naturism, a spot of sunbathing or a day trip to neighbouring Lanzarote, call our holiday team today. We can also assist you with flights, ferry travel and island car hire.