If you are like we once were & are currently trying to plan your upcoming road trip in Fuerteventura, you may be struggling to find solid information or facts on what to expect. Including the logistics around vanlife in the Canary Islands.
Don’t worry, you have landed exactly where you’re supposed to be. We recently spent 10 days road tripping around Fuerteventura & now want to help you have the best trip you possibly can. In this guide we hope to minimise the every day stresses that come with renting a camper van. So let’s get right into it.
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Where to rent a van from?
There are a few camper van rental companies that operate in Fuerteventura & the Canaries for that matter. It only takes a quick Google search to pull up the handful of companies that do.
We chose to rent through Camplify EU who offer private van rental within the UK & across Spain. Full disclosure, we reached out to Camplify to collaborate with them during this trip. Which meant we had complimentary van rental in exchange for content creation services.
What we love about them is that when you rent through their platform you are renting a van from a private owner. Who will know the van well & may have built it themselves. This gives the vans available a certain charm & assurance that what you are renting is kitted out for your vanlife journey by fellow vanlifers.
Hot tip: If you can, consider visiting Fuerteventura during shoulder season (January-March or September-November). Not only is the weather great all year round, but you’ll likely get a better deal on your van hire during these months.
Where to camp/park up overnight?
After endless internet searches & sifting through other blogs prior to our trip, we couldn’t find any information on where to camp on the island. But for good reason, there are NO OFFICIAL CAMPSITES. Therefore, there is no other choice other than to wild camp during your stay, just the way it should be!
Although wild camping is technically against the law in the Canary Islands there is no other choice for those travelling in a van. Therefore the local authorities do not enforce fines. So you’ll be pleased to know that you can pull up to whichever beach, mountain, street or car park you deem fit. What’s more, you wont have to worry about getting a knock on the door early in the morning asking you to move on. With that being said, we absolutely do not want to encourage anyone to camp carelessly, pick your spots wisely, keep noise to a minimum, respect the locals & always leave no trace.
The general rule of thumb we used on our trip was to camp where we saw others doing so. There is a big vanlife community in Fuerteventura, a mix of those on holiday & others who live in their vans. We saw a lot of vans with registration plates from all over Europe. This not only made us feel more safe but it assured us that it was a good place to park, security in numbers right? We didn’t feel unsafe our entire trip.
Where to fill up fresh water/gas & empty grey/black water?
This was the one aspect of vanlife we struggled with in Fuerteventura, so we want to minimise your struggles as best we can.
Let’s start with fresh water, this one is pretty simple as most petrol/gas stations offer water fill ups. Usually located next to the air pump. You will most likely pay around 2 Euro’s for a full tank fill up. At the petrol stations you will also be able to fill up your gas bottle, used for cooking if you have a gas hob in your camper van.
Grey/black water is another matter, there aren’t many official dump points on the island & are mainly located along the East Coast. if you’re heading west bare this in mind. We have listed the coordinates for black water disposal below:
Corralejo – GPS Co-Ordinates N 28 degrees 42.728′ W013 degrees 52.465′
Near the airport – N 28 degrees25.289′ W013 degrees51.917′
Tarajalejo – N 28 degrees 11.535′ W014 degrees 07.079′
The only official dump point for your grey water is the Corralejo coordinates mentioned. So what to do with your grey water if you can’t get to the dump point? After speaking with other vanlifers on the island & observing others, the only other option is dump the dirty water into waste land. Which sounds terrible & we felt awful doing it, but there really is no other option.
Side note: Toilets/showers are also quite hard to come by unless you are parked at a beach with facilities, which do exist! Most camper van rentals will provide you with a portable toilet, but if you don’t fancy emptying it like we didn’t, then hold on until you can find a toilet, or do your business the old fashioned way, digging a hole in the bush.
Our recommendations for great camping
Gran Tarajal – We spent our first night here, parked by the ocean, near the marina navigate to here to find the exact spot.
Playa de Sotavento de Jandia – Another great ocean park up, this beach is a natural lagoon that appears with the tides & a big sand dune to climb, navigate to here.
Cofete Beach – Fuerteventura’s most dramatic & beautiful beach, it’s an adventure to get here down a 20km dirt track but its worth it to spend a night on this remote beach, find it here.
Ajuy – A tiny fishing village on the west coast known for it’s caves & black sand. We parked right on the beach in a car park & had the best nights sleep here as it was really flat, find it here.
Piedra Playa – Located right next to El Cotillo, on the edge of a cliff. The views here are what every vanlifer dreams of waking up to as you swing your back doors open, find it here.
Corralejo Sand Dunes – Once you hit the national park you will see vehicles parked along the side of the road. Whilst you could park here for the night it may be noisy with the passing traffic, so we recommend parking here. If you pull onto the cliffs you should be away from the traffic & sleep well.
We hope this blog has helped you plan your trip. Read our blog ’13 must visit spots in Fuerteventura: the ultimate guide‘ to find out all the best things to do on the island. As always if you have any questions or think we’ve missed something, feel free to comment below & we will get back to you. Happy exploring 🙂
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