Weather by month, where to stay, things to do and what it actually costs, everything you need to plan a trip to Fuerteventura, from the surf town of Corralejo in the north to the long white beaches of Costa Calma and Jandia in the south.
Fuerteventura is the one I send clients to when they want the Canary Islands without the crowds. It is the second largest of the islands but one of the quietest, with huge empty beaches, proper pale sand dunes rather than the volcanic black sand you get on Lanzarote, and some of the best and most reliable wind in Europe. The Atlantic trade winds blow across the island for much of the year, which is exactly why Fuerteventura is a genuine world capital for windsurfing and kitesurfing, but it is just as good for anyone who simply wants a sun lounger and a long stretch of gold sand with nobody on it.
The island is really four or five different holidays depending on where you stay. Corralejo in the north is the liveliest base with the most bars and restaurants, Caleta de Fuste in the east is calm, sheltered and genuinely family friendly, Costa Calma and the Jandia peninsula in the south have the longest beaches and the famous Sotavento lagoon, and El Cotillo in the northwest is the laid back, slightly wilder choice for couples and surfers.
Fuerteventura gets noticeably windier the further south and west you go. If a client gets seasick easily or just wants completely calm water for swimming, I point them at Caleta de Fuste. If they want to learn to windsurf or kitesurf, Costa Calma or Corralejo are the better call.
Seven nights is the standard package length, and the flight is similar to the rest of the Canaries at around four to four and a half hours, so short breaks are less common than longer weeks. Ten to fourteen nights works well if you want to combine a lively base with somewhere quieter, for example a few nights in Corralejo followed by a week in Costa Calma.
Families do well in Caleta de Fuste and Costa Calma, both with calmer water and a good choice of pool hotels and kids' clubs. Couples and surfers are drawn to El Cotillo and Corralejo, watersports fans head for Costa Calma and the Sotavento lagoon, and anyone who likes wide open space and proper nature, the Jandia Natural Park, the Corralejo dunes and the island's mountainous interior, will find plenty to explore beyond the resorts.
Fuerteventura has one airport, Fuerteventura Airport (FUE), a short drive south of the capital, Puerto del Rosario, and close to Caleta de Fuste. It is well served from the UK with direct flights on easyJet, Jet2 and TUI among others, and flight time is typically around four to four and a half hours depending on where you fly from.
Caleta de Fuste is the closest resort to the airport, around 10 minutes away. Corralejo in the north and El Cotillo in the northwest both take around 35 to 45 minutes. Costa Calma, further south on the Jandia peninsula, is around 45 to 55 minutes, and Morro Jable right at the southern tip of the island is the longest transfer at around an hour to an hour and a quarter.
If a client is booking a short notice deal and wants to keep travel time to a minimum, Caleta de Fuste is by far the quickest transfer on the island.
Fuerteventura sits closest of all the Canary Islands to the coast of Africa, which gives it a warm, dry, breezy climate that barely changes through the year. These figures are long term climate averages for the island, so treat them as a guide rather than a forecast for your specific dates.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Sea temp | What to expect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 19°C | 13°C | 19°C | Mild winter sun, one of the wetter months of the year on average |
| February | 20°C | 13°C | 18°C | Similar to January, a reliable winter sun pick |
| March | 21°C | 14°C | 18°C | Warming up, a good value shoulder month |
| April | 22°C | 14°C | 18°C | Pleasant and mostly dry, popular for Easter holidays |
| May | 23°C | 15°C | 19°C | Reliable sunshine and strengthening trade winds |
| June | 24°C | 17°C | 20°C | Warm, dry and increasingly windy, peak watersports season begins |
| July | 27°C | 19°C | 21°C | Hot with almost no rain, strong trade winds and busy beaches |
| August | 27°C | 20°C | 22°C | Hottest and busiest month, Spanish school holidays add to the crowds |
| September | 27°C | 20°C | 23°C | Still hot, sea at its warmest, winds start easing |
| October | 25°C | 18°C | 22°C | Warm with slightly more rain, a good value month |
| November | 23°C | 16°C | 21°C | Mild but wetter, especially later in the month |
| December | 20°C | 14°C | 20°C | Mild winter sun, popular over the Christmas holidays |
Figures are long term climate averages for the island, sourced via weather2travel.com.
Like the rest of the Canaries, Fuerteventura works all year round. June to September is hottest, windiest and busiest, with the highest prices around the Spanish summer holidays in August. October, November, April and May are excellent value shoulder months with warm weather and lighter winds, good for anyone who wants sunshine without quite so much wind. December to March is when the island earns its winter sun reputation, with daytime temperatures still in the high teens and low twenties while the rest of Europe is cold, though this is also when the island sees most of its limited rainfall, usually in short bursts.
Fuerteventura's resorts are spread right across the island, and each one gives you quite a different holiday.
The island's liveliest resort, in the north, with the widest choice of bars, restaurants and shops, a proper old harbour and ferries across to the car free island of Lobos. It sits right next to the Corralejo Natural Park's huge sand dunes, and suits first time visitors, groups and anyone who wants plenty to do within walking distance.
A sheltered, purpose built resort on the east coast, closest to the airport and built around a large man made beach with calm, shallow water. A genuinely strong choice for families with younger children, and quieter in the evenings than Corralejo.
One of the island's biggest purpose built resorts, on the narrow Jandia peninsula in the south, with a long sandy beach backing onto the famous Sotavento lagoon. Steady winds make it a magnet for windsurfers and kitesurfers, while the sheltered inner lagoon is calm enough for families too.
The southern tip of the island, a former fishing village turned resort with a long promenade and some of the island's biggest all inclusive hotels. Popular with German and Scandinavian holidaymakers, and the natural base for exploring the wild beaches of the Jandia Natural Park, including Cofete.
A small, traditional fishing village in the northwest, with a laid back, slightly wilder feel than the main resorts. Good seafood, a lighthouse at Faro del Toston, and a string of sheltered lagoons alongside the open surf beaches make this the pick for couples and surfers after something quieter.
First time to Fuerteventura and want the classic mix of beach, bars and an easy walk everywhere? Corralejo. Want the calmest water for young children? Caleta de Fuste. Fuerteventura is also one of the few Canary Islands where I would genuinely consider a two centre trip, Corralejo and Costa Calma for example, since the transfer between them is manageable and the two resorts feel so different.
A local bus network connects the main resorts with Puerto del Rosario, and taxis are metered and easy to find around the resorts, but Fuerteventura is a big island and the distances between resorts are genuinely large, so hiring a car for at least a few days is worth it if you want to see much beyond your base. The Corralejo dunes, Betancuria in the island's mountainous interior, and the wild beaches of the Jandia Natural Park all sit well outside the main resorts.
Fuerteventura drives on the right, and the main roads linking the resorts are in good condition. The road down to Cofete beach in the far south is unsurfaced and best suited to a 4x4 or an organised jeep safari rather than a standard hire car.
A shortlist of the bookable tours and activities around Fuerteventura worth having on the radar.
Four real, bookable picks across budgets and areas of the island.
A 4★ hotel in Corralejo, about 500 metres from the beach and 150 metres from the town centre, with three outdoor pools including a freshwater children's pool, five bars and a choice of junior suites that sleep one to four. Half board or all inclusive. Bookable through Jet2holidays.
A 4★ all inclusive hotel in Costa Calma with two heatable outdoor pools, a shallow children's pool with a slide, a kids' club for ages 4 to 12, a mini disco, a teen club in July and August, and four tennis courts. A genuinely well equipped family base on the Jandia peninsula. Bookable through TUI.
A large beachfront family resort in Caleta de Fuste with direct beach access, four outdoor pools including a children's pool, a whirlpool, a thalasso spa, a gym and two restaurants including an a la carte Mexican option. Half board or all inclusive, with guest access to the neighbouring Barcelo Fuerteventura Castillo's facilities. Bookable through Jet2holidays.
A 5★ beachfront hotel on Jandia beach in the south, with four outdoor pools plus an indoor pool, a full spa with a water circuit, and three restaurants covering Japanese, international and Spanish menus. The Star Prestige room category has its own adults only (15+) terrace and pool. Half board or all inclusive. Bookable through easyJet holidays and Jet2holidays.
Hotel availability, board basis and pricing change regularly, always confirm the live details with Jake before booking.
A few of the highlights worth building a day around, beyond just the resort.
A protected stretch of towering golden sand dunes running along the coast just south of Corralejo, with a huge beach that barely gets crowded even in summer. Boats also leave Corralejo's harbour for Isla de Lobos, a small, mostly uninhabited island with its own beaches and snorkelling spots, a popular half day trip.
The island's first capital, founded in 1404 and tucked into a sheltered valley in the mountainous interior, deliberately inland to avoid pirate raids. A pretty, whitewashed village with the ruins of its old Franciscan convent and a small archaeological museum, and a genuinely scenic drive to get there.
A vast, wild, almost always empty beach inside the Jandia Natural Park, reached by an unsurfaced road that needs a 4x4 or an organised jeep safari. The sea here is too rough for swimming, but the scenery is spectacular, and the mysterious Villa Winter, a house built in the 1940s by a German engineer, adds a genuine bit of local folklore to the trip.
A shallow, warm tidal lagoon running behind the beach near Costa Calma, sheltered enough for beginners but consistently windy enough to host international windsurfing and kitesurfing competitions. Even if you have no interest in watersports yourself, it is worth a visit just to watch.
Fuerteventura uses the Euro, so prices below are shown in pounds with the Euro equivalent alongside, based on a rate of roughly £1 to €1.20. These are crowd-sourced averages for the island, and prices in resort areas geared towards tourists can run a little higher than this.
| Item | Typical price |
|---|---|
| Meal at an inexpensive restaurant | £10.00 (about €12.00) |
| Draft beer, half litre, bar or restaurant | £2.35 (about €2.80) |
| Cappuccino | £1.90 (about €2.30) |
| Soft drink, canned | £1.60 (about €1.90) |
| Bottled water, restaurant | £1.25 (about €1.50) |
| Taxi, starting fare | £2.50 (about €3.00) |
Source: crowd-sourced averages via combien-coute.net for Fuerteventura, checked at time of writing. Euro to pound conversion is approximate and will move around.
Most all inclusive resorts cover food and local drinks on site, so your spending money is mostly for excursions like a Lobos boat trip or a Cofete jeep safari, car hire, and the odd meal out in Corralejo or Costa Calma.
The essentials, at a glance.
| Currency | Euro (€) |
| Plug type | Type C and F, two round pins, same as most of mainland Europe. UK plugs need an adapter, not a voltage converter |
| Language | Spanish, with English widely spoken in resort areas |
| Flight time from the UK | About 4 to 4.5 hours direct |
| Time difference | None, Fuerteventura is on the same time as the UK year round |
| Driving | Right hand side, opposite to the UK |
Photos: Sam Williams, Axel Antas-Bergkvist, Paul Treubrodt, Juan Carlos Otero, Anastasia Trofimova, Maria Bobrova, Santiago Lacarta, Star, Michael Da Conceicao, Shahid Mahmud, Vivu Vietnam and Viesturs Broliss via Unsplash.
I can build a trip to this exact part of Spain, or somewhere else entirely, around what you're after.
