The original beach along the east coast of Las Palmas city was kilometres long but gradually got eaten up by the city's roads and harbours. At 550m, Alcaraveneras is long enough for a good stroll and the views of yachts, ferries and giant cargo ships make it a great picnic spot right by the Mesa y Lopez shopping street.

Some people find it odd to swim in one of Europe's biggest ports but the water is tested regularly and always comes out clean. We've seen a huge range of fish off the rocks at Alcaraveneras and have no problem swimming here.

While Alcaravaneras beach doesn't have the epic scale of Las Canteras, it's almost always flat calm and has a great local vibe with beach sports on the sand a a little chiringuito bar at the north end by the kid's play park.