Before I visited Gran Canaria, the only things I knew about it were that it is famous for its sand dunes, golf courses and over 300 days of sunshine per year. As someone who can only handle a couple of days on a sunlounger and has no interest in golf (unless it’s the crazy variety), what is there to do in Gran Canaria?
We weren’t keen on going on a coach trip with a bunch of other tourists. But equally if we hired a car we were unsure where to drive to. That’s where a convertible beetle island tour comes in!
Convertible Beetle Island Tour in Gran Canaria
The island tour is hosted by a company called Buggy Pirates who also offer dune buggy experiences. You are given your own VW Beetle and in a small group you follow your guide around the island in convoy.
We booked the tour online and were picked up from our hotel in Meloneras by minibus which then took us to Buggy Pirates HQ. My husband Nick was the driver for our car. After the license checking and paperwork we were shown our cars and on our way.
Our tour group consisted of us, two German couples and our guide, Bodo. Only 4 cars in total, but Buggy Pirates will take out no more than 10 cars at a time.
My dream car before I learnt to drive was always a VW Beetle. Plus there’s something so fun about riding in a convertible. The car stereos come with a pre-loaded playlist of HUNDREDS of songs. So my job was to play DJ for our car while we were cruising around the mountains.
At each stop Bodo would regale us all with information about the island and the sites. He would also inform us of our next stop. All of which was spoken in both English and German. I was impressed that someone can concentrate on the road, not losing the tour group and remembering to speak in 3 different languages (Spanish too!). My brain wouldn’t be able to cope with that much! Haha!
The experience lasted for around 6 hours with plenty of stops to stretch our legs and admire the scenery. Although when you’re driving up into the mountains the scenery is all around you. One of my favourite stops was at Santa Lucía de Tirajana – a pretty town with a small church at the top of the steps.
We also had an early lunch stop at a small cafe in the hills where we had sandwiches and coffees. Plus a stop at an aloe vera plantation where we were shown the powers of the aloe vera plant and given the opportunity to purchase gifts if we wished.
All in all I would highly recommend this convertible Beetle island tour in Gran Canaria. It’s fun and a little bit different to the norm!
