by “Corralejo is not a resort, more like an island to the world,” suggested Isabella, owner of Vrebac, one of the quartet of Italian craftsmen in this Canarian town. As I decompressed in the warm winter sun with a scoop of Sicilian pistachios, I looked like a fit and elegant woman with a surfboard strapped under my arm, waving at a man on a bike with a fishing rod in tow.
Around us, a British themed bar lay empty and a hole-in-the-wall sushi joint buzzed with life. It was a typical day in Corralejo, the Canarian resort that quietly caters to people who don’t really like resorts – and attracts visitors from around the world in the process.
I’ve spent years exploring the Canary Islands, trying to escape the high-rise resorts that plague Tenerife and Gran Canaria. Still, I only recently discovered Corralejo: a breath of fresh, salt-scented Atlantic air on Fuerteventura. It was love at first sight. The magic of Corralejo is instant and intoxicating.
On the edge of the northern and eastern cobalt ocean, an empty desert Malpas (bad lands) going west from the town and there is a huge natural park kissed by the dunes on the south side. This corner of Fuerteventura is represented in natural drama and bold colors. Not a lot of color, mind: soaring blue skies and ocean, binary against low whitewashed buildings that reflect queues of stunning white beach.
I walked past the necklace of strips of sand hugging the fishermen’s cottages in the old town of Corralejo and entered the Mojito Beach Bar, where I met Iris. Originally from Marseille, she gave me a glass of the bone-dry Malvasía Volcánica wine that Fuerteventura has just started producing, along with a platter of local hams and delicious Fuerteventura. master goat cheese.
Throwing her hand over our view of the bay, she summed up Corralejo’s natural appeal. “I enjoyed living by the Mediterranean, but why settle for the Mediterranean when you can have the big skies and wild waters of the Atlantic?” she asked.
The other Canary Islands have become a little tired of tourism. In Tenerife, after a recent kickback the British have become a target in an ongoing campaign “tourists go home”. Not on Fuerteventura.
This small island of precious water, not to mention bankable natural resources, sees its visitors as an escape from the brink of poverty. My tour guide, Iván, who was born and raised in Corralejo, told me: “We managed to restore many of the old buildings, build proper roads and upgrade all the facilities. Everyone here welcomes tourists.”
Ivan’s words were not a selfish call for more business. In Corralejo, the positivity is real and infectious, shared by residents and visitors of many nationalities. I met people from all over Europe, ticked off most South American countries and even met tourists from mainland Spain (a rarity in Tenerife these days).
Elena from Madrid visited Corralejo for the second time with her cousin. “I wanted to show her that there are resorts in Spain that are for everyone and don’t feel like the horrible ones she usually hears about,” she told me.
Even the oldest rivalries are put aside in Corralejo’s international atmosphere – the Scottish Castle bar stands right next to the English bar, with the flags of both nations blowing together in the perpetual Atlantic breeze. Meanwhile, the ultimate melting pot is known locally as “Music Square”.
Plaza Félix Estévez sits cheerfully during the day but explodes into life when the sun shines in the Atlantic. Every night of the year, a band takes to its small stage: I took a ringside seat at the square’s cocktail bar and waited for the action.
Early on, the music was just a background to eating and conversation, but, like before honey (Canarian rum) and Tropical (the local fake beer) eased inhibitions and stimulated muscle memory, the square was filled with an international team of dancers and hedonists. Singing and new friendships began. It was basically Corralejo.
The town is becoming more cosmopolitan. Since my last visit, in February 2023, a dozen new businesses have apparently opened, all independently run and the chains apparently in stasis. The keyless Buena Suerte was founded by Giorgia and her boyfriend last summer and is one of a new wave of esoteric restaurants.
“We couldn’t afford to set up a restaurant serving great food and wine back in Milan,” she said as she ate garlic prawns and seafood spaghetti. “After Covid, we wanted a fresh start, and Corralejo gave us that. It’s such a relaxed place that doesn’t really feel like a resort.”
The seafood can be exceptional at home, but it’s even better 20 minutes away on the west coast at the fishing village of El Cotillo. That’s the beauty of Corralejo’s location in the wilderness of northern Fuerteventura, where there are many unvisited sites. It’s another quick drive to great sweets and spot-on coffee at the row of surf bakeries in Lajares (better yet, walk past the volcanoes on the waymarked paths and get a taxi back).
Then there is the Parque Natural de Corralejo to the south of town. With its 6,500 acres of sand dunes sliding towards a dramatic dip with the Atlantic, this is the closest most people will get to the sands of the Sahara.
In fact, the Sahara is less than 60 miles from here; Madrid is a comparative world, more than 900 miles away. Off the coast, the small uninhabited island of Lobos also battles, just minutes from Corralejo by boat. Lobos make Corralejo look like Manhattan.
Although there is a lot of fun on boats around Corralejo, the fresh inflatables you might find elsewhere in the Canary Islands are not possible due to the trade winds. And I didn’t see a floundering pedalo knocking around either.
In their place are excellent water sports. Surfers are joined by windsurfers and a small army of aviators. There’s also scuba diving, stand-up paddleboarding and kayaking, as well as the emerging craze of e-foils, watercraft that combine surfing, hydrofoiling and electric propulsion. Corralejo welcomes newcomers with a fleet of small businesses and schools, so it’s easy to learn the ropes.
As for Corralejo’s plus points, its number one attraction is outside of town, if TikTok and Instagram are to be believed. Playa el Hierro, or “Popcorn Beach”, is so nicknamed because of its doppelganger popcorn roses (a form of calcareous algae), and when Iván and I approached it, I saw an abundance of tourists jostling to take selfies on the sand.
Ivan nodded. “I don’t like this kind of tourism,” he said. “We have a dozen other beaches just like this one, where you have the same popcorn and no one else is there. Not everyone who comes here is fighting for space and the best spot in the very Corralejo herd.” Then again, Corralejo is not like any other Canarian resort.
Basics
EasyJet flies direct to Fuerteventura from six UK airports and returns start at £113. Barceló has two hotels in Corralejo, including the adults-only Barceló Corralejo Bay (020 3727 0251), which has doubles from £126.
