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Tufia · Telde, Gran Canaria

Playa de Tufia

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

Last checked: September 2026

Common questions, answered

Does it cost anything?No, freeNo ticket and no gate. Only the fenced ruins need a guided tour.
How do I get there?GC-1, exit 13About 25 min from Las Palmas. The nearest bus stop is 1.4 km away.Where do I park?Free, 80 mCar park at the hamlet entrance. Tight at weekends with dive groups.When is it best?Weekday morningFewest people before 10:00. Come around low tide for more sand.
Playa de Tufia below the white houses of the hamlet, with the headland and its cave houses behind
Photo: Victor R. Ruiz, License: CC BY-SA 2.0

A small cove of black sand facing south, sheltered by the Tufia headland and lined with the white houses of a fishing hamlet. One of the island's favourite shore dives, right next to the airport, with the fenced ruins of a pre-Hispanic settlement on the headland.

Straight talk

What to know before you go.

  • A divers' beach at weekends. In 2025 up to 200 divers came on a weekend, many brought by dive schools from the south. The car park fills and residents complain they can't get out. On weekdays it is much quieter.
  • No official water rating. Tufia is not an EU bathing water, so unlike Melenara or Ojos de Garza it gets no yearly classification. After a fish die-off at the fish farms off Salinetas it was closed from mid-November to 17 December 2025.
  • The ruins stay behind the fence. You see the settlement only from outside. The Cabildo's guided tours are occasional; we found none scheduled for autumn 2026.
  • Planes overhead. The airport is next door and aircraft pass over regularly. A travel guide found the noise slight.

Getting there

Tufia is a fishing hamlet on the east coast of Telde, just north of Gran Canaria airport and below the GC-1 motorway.

By car

From Las Palmas
~25 min
From the airport
~15 min
From Playa del Inglés
~35 min
  1. 01Leave the GC-1 at exit 13, El Goro. It is the same exit from both directions.
  2. 02Follow the small brown signs for Tufia onto the access road to the coast, about 1.5 km.
  3. 03Park in the car park at the entrance to the hamlet, by the viewpoint.
  4. 04Walk about 80 m down through the hamlet to the beach.

Don't drive into the hamlet. The lanes are narrow, partly one-way and have no pavement.

Route to the car park

Public transport

  • From Las Palmas

    Get off at Mi Niño (lines 1, 5, 10, 11 and 329). From there it is about 1.8 km on foot, roughly half an hour.

  • From the airport and the south

    Lines 1, 4, 5, 10, 11 and 329 heading for Las Palmas stop at Plaza de Toros. The walk is about 1.4 km, 20 minutes, mostly along the Tufia access road.

  • Line 1

    Links Las Palmas, the airport and Puerto de Mogán every 20 minutes on weekdays and every 30 at weekends.

Check before you go

When the public health authority advises against bathing, the town of Telde closes the beach at short notice and reopens it only after new water tests. It announces this on its beach news page. During coastal warnings the Canary Islands government says to stay away from the sea.

Parking & arriving

At the hamlet entrance
€0
Open car park by the viewpoint, about 80 m above the beach and between Tufia and Playa de Aguadulce. Free according to OpenStreetMap; the number of spaces is not published.

On site

Black sand below the white houses of the hamlet, with cave dwellings in the cliff of the headland. People swim, snorkel and dive straight from the beach. Up on the headland a fence surrounds the ruins of a pre-Hispanic settlement, explained on an information board.

Time there
~2–3 h
Walk from car park
~80 m from the car park through the hamlet
Food & drink
Nothing in the hamlet. Nearest restaurant in Ojos de Garza, ~1.2 km

When is it worth it?

The beach is open around the clock. Tap a time of day.

00–10Before 10:00★ Recommended

The quietest time. You still find a space in the car park.

10–1710:00–17:00

Busiest from late morning. At weekends dive groups arrive.

17–20Evening

On weekdays it empties. Sundays peak around 17:00.

20–24Night

Only the residents are left.

Crowds from Google's busy-times data and the press, the tide from travel guides. On this small beach the tide matters as much as the clock.

Mid Jul – mid Sep

Lifeguard season. Travel guides find late summer calmest, with less trade wind.

Mid Sep – mid Jul

No lifeguards. The south-facing cove still stays out of the trade wind.

Tide

At high tide the sand almost disappears and towels end up on the path by the houses. Come around low tide.

Forecast

    Open full forecast ↗

    Facts

    Size
    Source: Cabildo, Telde · 09/2026
    40 × 20 m of fine black sand; the town of Telde gives 110 m
    Entry
    Source: OSM · 09/2026
    Free, no gate, open around the clock
    Lifeguards
    Source: Town of Telde · 06/2026
    2026: 15 July to 15 September only, Fri 13:00–19:00, Sat–Sun 11:00–19:00, shared with Aguadulce
    Water quality
    Source: EEA · 09/2026
    Not an EU bathing water, so no yearly rating
    Diving
    Source: Gobierno Canarias · 09/2026
    Shore dive down to ~20 m, beginner level, small cave at 6–7 m
    Ruins
    Source: Turismo Telde · 09/2026
    Pre-Hispanic settlement from the 4th to 9th century, fenced, protected as a cultural site
    Tours
    Source: Cabildo · 09/2026
    Only on the Cabildo's heritage tours, combined with Cuatro Puertas, 150 min, up to 30 people
    Shower
    Source: Canarias7 · 05/2026
    One by the beach, out of order since May 2026, repair announced
    Bus
    Source: Global · 09/2026
    Lines 1, 4, 5, 10, 11 and 329; stops 1.4–1.8 km away
    Emergency
    Source: Gobierno de Canarias · 09/2026
    112

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