Fuerteventura, Spain

About Fuerteventura

Fuerteventura is the oldest and the emptiest of the Canaries — a hundred kilometres of lava, dune and pale beach, with almost no vegetation to soften it. The trade winds have made it a wind-sports island for forty years, and the north-easterly Alisios blow strongest between May and August, with temperatures above 20°C year-round.

The island's range is unusually wide. In the north, around Corralejo, El Burro and Flag Beach give protected, well-serviced water with schools, rental and rescue, and a designated learning zone. El Cotillo on the north-west coast is gustier and suits confident riders. In the south, Sotavento's famous lagoon fills at high tide. And on the exposed west coast, La Pared is a genuinely serious wave spot backed by cliffs — the sources are blunt that a dropped kite there can mean being carried out with no prospect of rescue.

Tide governs more here than people expect: at Flag Beach high water is the safer state, while low water uncovers reef. Elsewhere the reverse holds. It is an island for people who like the landscape bare and the wind honest, with Lanzarote a short ferry away.

When to go

Best months: March, April, May, June, July, August.

Kite areas

3 distinct riding areas documented within this destination.

• El Burro

  Best months: March, April, May, June, July, August.

• El Cotillo

  Best months: March, April, May, June, July, August.

• La Pared

  Best months: March, April, May, June, July, August.