Fuerteventura is the oldest of the Canary Islands and the closest to the African coast, just 100 kilometres from Morocco. It is also the least developed, the least crowded, and the one with the best beaches. If you want turquoise water and white sand without fighting for a towel spot, this is your island.
The landscape is stark and beautiful — volcanic hills, stone walls, and vast stretches of near-desert broken by the occasional palm-fringed oasis village. Fuerteventura gets less rain than any other Canary Island, and most of the interior looks more like the Sahara than Spain. The wind is constant, which is why the island has become one of the world's top destinations for windsurfing and kitesurfing.
Most visitors head to the Jandia peninsula in the south, a nature reserve bordered by a continuous strip of white sand stretching over 20 kilometres. Costa Calma sits near the famous Playa de Sotavento, while Morro Jable at the peninsula's tip has a working port with ferries to Gran Canaria. The western beaches of Barlovento are wilder and more exposed — beautiful but not always safe for swimming.
In the north, Corralejo has the liveliest atmosphere on the island. Its old fishing harbour still serves fresh fish, and the enormous dune beach south of town is protected as a nature reserve. From here you can take a short boat ride to the tiny volcanic island of Lobos, or catch a ferry to Lanzarote. The capital, Puerto del Rosario, sits mid-island near the airport and is functional rather than charming. Nearby Caleta de Fuste is a low-key resort with a sheltered beach.
The interior rewards a drive. Betancuria, the old capital tucked into a valley, has a quiet colonial centre and a surprisingly good museum. The village of La Oliva in the north has a fine colonial church and the Casa de los Coroneles, a restored 18th-century military mansion. Fuerteventura is not an island of monuments or nightlife — it is an island of space, light, and sea.