Anfi del Mar Beach, Gran Canaria: Sand and Access Guide

Where Anfi del Mar sits on the coast

The beach lies on Gran Canaria's south-west coast at Barranco de la Verga, the ravine that drops down to the resort, a short drive from Arguineguín and within easy reach of the island's main southern resorts. The sand curves around a sheltered bay in front of four resort clubs, with the marina and its heart-shaped island on the western side.

Because it faces the bay rather than the open Atlantic, the setting feels enclosed. You can walk from the sand to the shopping centre in a couple of minutes, which is the practical difference between this beach and the longer, dune-backed strands further east. Treat the resort front as part of the beach day rather than an add-on.

Getting there

Anfi del Mar is reached by road from the southern motorway, and most visitors arrive by car, taxi or resort transfer rather than on foot. The resort publishes airport transfers among its guest services, which is the simplest option if you are staying on site and do not want to hire a car for a single beach day. The Anfi del Mar services page sets out the full list for guests.

If you are staying elsewhere on the south coast, plan your day around a taxi or a hire car, and ask the tourist office in Arguineguín or your accommodation about local bus connections before you set out. Parking around a resort complex fills quickly in July and August, so arriving before late morning makes the day easier. The wider Gran Canaria beaches guide is a useful place to compare how other southern beaches handle access.

The sand and the water

The beach is fine white sand, soft underfoot and kept in good order, with clear turquoise water beyond it. The bay is shallow enough at the edge for paddling and deepens gradually, so weaker swimmers have room without heading straight into depth.

That calmness is a feature of the bay's shelter, not a guarantee for every hour of every day. Watch the flags and follow the instructions of beach staff, and keep an eye on children near the water's edge when a swell or boat wake comes through. For swimmers who like a longer line, the bay gives you a safe loop between the sand and the marina.

Shelter, space and crowds

The bay opens towards the sea with the resort buildings and gardens behind you, so the beach catches sun for most of the day and offers shade mainly at the edges, near the palms and the terraces. Bring your own shade if you plan to stay through the afternoon, as the best spots under the trees go early.

In high summer the sand in front of the clubs fills with loungers and families, and the promenade gets busy from mid-morning. Spring and autumn are noticeably quieter, with the same water and easier space on the sand. If you want the bay close to yourself, aim for a weekday in late September or October rather than a weekend in August.

Facilities on the beachfront

The shopping centre at Anfi del Mar puts a Spar supermarket, a pharmacy, clothing shops and a car hire desk within a short walk of the sand. The supermarket's gourmet section is handy for picnic supplies, and the pharmacy covers the small emergencies that come with sun and salt. A multilingual health clinic also operates on the resort, which is reassuring for families.

Watersports and boat trips are booked through operators on the front, and the dive centre runs lessons and equipment hire for beginners as well as dives for certified divers. That range of facilities is why this beach suits mixed groups: some can swim, some can shop, and everyone can meet for lunch.

Eating and drinking around the beach

Lunch is the easy part. La Posada Tex-Mex sits a stone's throw from the sand and serves burritos, tacos and charcoal-grilled dishes from 10am to 10.30pm, while Mar de Tapas covers local and national tapas from 11am to 10.30pm. Both keep beach-day hours rather than restaurant hours, so you can eat late or early.

For coffee and breakfast, the Anfitrion Coffee Corner by the Puerto Anfi reception opens at 8am on weekdays, 9am on Saturday and 9am on Sunday, and the Gelateria Helamore scoops handmade ice cream until midnight. Havana Café Bar on the Anfi Plaza opens in the late afternoon for sport on big screens, and Nube serves grilled meat and local dishes from noon to 11pm with views over the marina. These published hours come direct from the resort, and they shift with the season, so the resort's restaurant page is the place to look before a special evening.

Sunbeds and the beach club

The seafront is set up for lounging. Maroa Club de Mar runs a terrace over the sea with sunbeds, a chill-out area and creative cooking, open from 8.30am to 11pm according to the resort. Monte Vista serves snacks and drinks to your sunbed from 10am to 5.45pm, with a happy hour from 4pm to 5pm.

Anfi Beach Club, one of the four resort clubs, is built around the white sand beach and tropical gardens, and its guests have direct access to the sand. Day visitors should ask at the beach club or the Maroa terrace about sunbed availability; the resort's page on the clubs explains what each one includes. A lounger with an umbrella is the difference between a comfortable afternoon and a hasty retreat from the sun.

Families and children

The resort runs a miniclub for children aged 4 to 10, with arts and crafts, games, films and kids' Zumba, closing for an hour at lunchtime. Canoeing, aqua spinning and archery appear on the activity programme, and details are available at reception. For a beach day, the shallow entry and the short walk to toilets and cafés do more for parents than any organised activity.

Bring buckets, rash vests and plenty of water, and set a meeting point near the main access to the sand in case anyone wanders. The bay is compact enough that children stay in sight from most loungers, which is the real reason families return here.

Beyond the sunbed

Luis Molina Activities on the resort books wakeboarding, jet-skis, pedal boats, sailing and boat hire, and the Benito cruise boat runs from the marina for a view of the coast from the water. Scuba Sur Dive Center offers lessons and equipment for beginners and dives for experienced swimmers. A morning on the water followed by lunch on the terrace makes a fuller day than the beach alone.

The marina and its heart-shaped island are the focal point for an evening stroll, with a chill-out café open into the night. Pick a boat trip that returns before the afternoon wind picks up if you have children aboard. The operators on the front can tell you what the conditions are doing on the day.

Best time to go

The resort describes water you can swim in all year round, and the south of Gran Canaria is warm enough for sunbathing in winter, though the sea is at its most comfortable from late spring through early autumn. July and August are the busiest months, when the beach and the promenade fill and parking is tight. Late September and October give you warm water with far more space, and spring is similarly pleasant.

There is no entry fee or restriction to reach the sand, so you can turn up and find a spot. For the widest choice of sunbeds and shade, arrive in the morning during peak season. For a quieter swim and a table without a wait, aim for a weekday outside the school holidays.

Nearby beaches to combine

Anfi del Mar works well as half of a day out. Amadores beach, a short drive towards Puerto Rico, is another sheltered bay with a curved strand, and Puerto Rico itself has a busy beach and marina. Further east, the Maspalomas dunes and Playa del Inglés offer long, open sand and a very different atmosphere, with the big resort strip behind them.

If you are touring the island's beaches, the Gran Canaria beaches guide covers the main strands from Las Canteras in the north to the southern resorts, and it helps to group Anfi with Amadores and Puerto Rico on one loop. The Playa del Inglés guide is the place to look if you want nightlife and a longer beach. Build the day around one swim stop and one lunch stop rather than trying to tick off four beaches.

What to bring

Pack reef-safe sunscreen, a hat, towels and cash or a card for cafés and sunbeds. The supermarket at the shopping centre covers water, fruit and snacks, so you do not need to carry a full picnic from your hotel. Water shoes are useful for children on the pebbly patches near the marina edge.

Beach etiquette here is straightforward: keep music low, take litter to the bins, and leave the sand clear around access paths. Smoking is best kept away from families with small children. If you visit in high season, claim your spot early and keep the shade umbrella angled rather than spreading towels into the walkway.

Visiting Anfi del Mar with a dog

For dog owners, the useful detail about Anfi del Mar is that the resort is not solely a beach and a sunbed operation: it is a gated resort complex built around four clubs, Anfi Beach Club, Club Puerto Anfi, Club Monte Anfi and Club Gran Anfi, whose apartments come with private terraces, and it also contains a shopping centre with a variety of shops, restaurants and cafés, a sports marina with a chill-out café on the heart-shaped island, and a Clínica Roca health centre offering customised multi-language medical assistance. If you are staying in the area with a dog, that cluster of shops, eateries and the marina gives you a walkable circuit away from the open sand.

Several of the restaurants and bars around Anfi Plaza and the beachfront keep hours that suit an early or late stroll rather than a long midday stop. Tiki Bar opens 9.00 a.m. to 9 p.m., Mar de Tapas 11 a.m. to 10.30 p.m., Bella Pasta from 12 noon to 11 p.m. and La Posada Tex-Mex 10 a.m. to 10.30 p.m., while Anfitrion Coffee Corner runs 08.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. Monday to Friday, 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. on Saturday and 9.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m. on Sunday, Gelateria Helamore 9.30 a.m. to 00.00 a.m. and Maroa Beach-Poke & More 10 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. For a cooler evening walk, Havana Café Bar opens 5.00/6.00 p.m. to 1 a.m./2 a.m. Monday to Friday and 12 noon to 1.45 a.m. at weekends, and Nube serves from 12 noon to 11 p.m. with views of the island and marina.

The beach itself is fine, white sand with water described as so calm it has barely a ripple, and reviews note it feels safe, clean and very relaxing with soft, well-kept sand and clear, calm sea that is ideal for swimming. Those qualities make it a genuinely easy family beach, but they also mean the shoreline is the busy, sunbed-focused part of the resort rather than a quiet corner for a dog. Plan your dog's exercise around the gardens, the plaza and the marina side, and treat the white sand and the beach club terrace, where sunbeds face the sea, as places to pass by rather than settle.

One practical point if the dog needs attention: the Clínica Roca on site provides multi-language medical assistance and apartment visits can be arranged if required, so the resort's own services extend to the accommodation rather than stopping at the sand. Beyond that, the four clubs' private terraces, the tropical gardens full of palm trees, cacti, waterfalls and flowers at Anfi Beach Club, and the calm, sheltered setting all make the resort a place where a dog can accompany a slow day of shops, coffee and short walks rather than a beach-focused one.

Plan Your Beach Day

Anfi del Mar gives you a white-sand bay, calm turquoise water and a full resort front of cafés, shops and restaurants within a two-minute walk. It is the beach to choose for a family day with small children or a mixed group where not everyone wants to swim all afternoon. If you are comparing black-sand alternatives for another island in the region, the guide to La Palma beaches makes a useful contrast.

Base yourself in the south of the island, arrive early in July and August, and check the resort's own restaurant and activity pages for current hours before you go. Pair the beach with Amadores or Puerto Rico for a varied day, and leave the wilder coves for another trip.