El Puertillo, Bañaderos · Arucas, Gran Canaria

Los Charcones de Bañaderos

Everything you need to know before you go: Getting there, parking, prices, best time.

Last checked: September 2026

Does it cost anything?No, freeNo ticket, no booking. There is no gate and no closing time.

How do I get there?GC-2 or bus 105About 25 min from Las Palmas. Bus 105 hourly to El Puertillo, 430 m.Where do I park?Seafront, 150 mSmall car park above the pool. Free one in El Puertillo, 390 m.When is it best?Mid tideLifeguards 11:00–19:00. At high tide waves come over the wall.

The large pool behind the stone wall, with the rock shelf and its puddles in front — Photo: Karmelo26, License: CC0

Large sea-water pools and a shallow children's pool, shut off from the Atlantic by a stone wall and a wide belt of rock. The sea refreshes the water over the wall. Free to enter, Blue Flag 2026, lifeguards in summer.

Straight talk

What to know before you go.

The water can turn. In July 2026 E. coli went above the limit and the town advised against swimming for two days. It blamed busy weekends, weak tides and a blocked outlet. Over the years the rating is still excellent.
Sheltered is not flat calm. The wall keeps the surf out, but at high tide and in a swell the sea comes over it. The open cove between the pools and El Puertillo is a surfers' spot, not a place to swim.
Water shoes help. Everything around the pools is rock, partly sharp and slippery. There is hardly any sand to lie on.
A locals' place. On summer weekends it is packed, almost all with locals. For quiet, come on a weekday or after the summer.
Don't mix them up. The 2025 accident reports about "Los Charcones" are about the rocky coast at Playa Blanca on Lanzarote. We found no such report for the pools in Arucas.

Getting there

The pools sit at the west end of the El Puertillo promenade, in the Bañaderos area on the north coast of Arucas. From the GC-2 it is only a few minutes down to the coast.

By car

From Las Palmas

~25 min

From the airport

~40 min

From Maspalomas

~1 h

01Take the GC-2 from Las Palmas towards Gáldar and Agaete.
02Leave at Arucas/Bañaderos and follow the signs to El Puertillo.
03Drive to the Paseo Marítimo Los Charcones at the west end of El Puertillo and park there.
04Take the steps with a handrail down to the pool, a minute or two.

Almost all the streets along the coast in El Puertillo are one-way. Don't drive in to hunt for a space; head straight for one of the car parks.

Route to the car park

Public transport

From Las Palmas
Line 105 to Gáldar leaves San Telmo every hour at half past, from 06:30 until late evening. Get off at El Puertillo and walk about 500 m west along the promenade and over the footbridge.
Line 206 via Bañaderos
Hourly on weekdays between Las Palmas and Arucas, every two hours on Saturdays and holidays. It stops at El Puertillo and Iglesia de Bañaderos, both about 450 m away.
Lines 116 and 117
Towards Moya, roughly every two hours from San Telmo, stopping at El Puertillo. Handy when you have just missed the 105.

Check before you go

Lifeguards fly green (guarded, calm), yellow (caution) or red (dangerous, not guarded). After bad water samples the town can advise against swimming at short notice, as it did in July 2026, and puts up signs on the promenade. During coastal warnings the Canary Islands government says to stay away from the sea, even if it seems to calm down for a moment.

Parking & arriving

Paseo Marítimo Los Charcones

Small car park right above the pool, about 150 m. Fee and number of spaces are not published.

By Playa Bocabarranco

Car park on the promenade between El Puertillo and the pools, about 240 m. Fee not published.

El Puertillo

€0

Open car park at the east end of the village, about 390 m along the promenade.

On site

Steps take you down from the promenade to the pools, which lie calm behind the wall while the surf breaks outside. People come to swim, snorkel and cool off; for food, there is the promenade.

Time there: ~2–4 h
Walk from car park: ~150 m from the car park on the promenade, steps with a handrail
Toilets: Public toilet on the El Puertillo promenade, ~280 m. Showers and foot showers are closer
Food & drink: Restaurant Los Charcones on the promenade, bars in El Puertillo, supermarket ~350 m
Wheelchair: Ramp and steps to the pools, non-slip slabs. The rock around them is uneven
Dogs: Banned on the beach and in the water, allowed on a lead on the promenade

When is it worth it?

The pools are open around the clock. Tap a time of day.

00–11Before 11:00

No lifeguards yet. If you swim now, you are on your own.

11–1911:00–19:00★ Recommended

Lifeguards on duty; the flag on the mast shows the state of the sea.

19–24Evening

Unguarded. The promenade is lit.

Lifeguard hours for 2025 from the press, given for El Puertillo. Tide and swell matter more than the clock.

Jun – mid Oct

Official bathing season with regular water samples.

Nov – May

Outside the bathing season. The town does not publish whether lifeguards are on duty then.

Tide

The Canary Islands tourism site recommends mid tide. At high tide the waves come over the wall; with weak tides the water hardly changes.

Forecast

Open full forecast ↗

Facts

Pools: Source: grancanaria.com · 09/2026; Large sea-water pools behind a wall and a belt of rock, plus a shallow children's pool with a sandy bottom
Entry: Source: OSM · 09/2026; Free, no gate and no opening hours
Blue Flag: Source: Canarias7 · 05/2026; 2026, together with El Puertillo
Water quality: Source: EEA · 09/2026; EU rating excellent every season 2019–2024
Bathing season: Source: EEA · 09/2026; 1 June to 15 October (official, 2024)
Lifeguards: Source: Canarias7 · 08/2025; 2025 daily 11:00–19:00; ten staff for El Puertillo, Quintanilla, Los Charcones and San Andrés
Bus: Source: Global · 09/2026; Lines 105, 116, 117 and 206 to El Puertillo, ~430 m; 206 also Iglesia de Bañaderos
Rules: Source: Town of Arucas · 09/2026; No animals on the beach, no soap in the showers, walls and promenade not for sunbathing, no fires
Fines: Source: Town of Arucas · 09/2026; Minor offences €50–300, such as a dog on the beach
Emergency: Source: Gobierno de Canarias · 09/2026; 112