Fuerteventura cruise port, Spain
The oldest of the Canaries and the flattest, a hundred kilometres off Africa and made mostly of wind, sand and goats. The capital was called Puerto de Cabras, goat port, until it was renamed Puerto del Rosario in 1956. The dunes and the long beaches are both a drive from the quay.
Worth knowing. The wind is the island's living now. It takes a windsurfing world cup every summer, and the same wind built the dune field at the north end, where the sand is walking slowly down the island.
What to do in Fuerteventura for free
Puerto del Rosario starts at the quay, and a sculpture trail runs along the seafront in both directions from it: about a hundred pieces, set in the street rather than behind a fence. Playa Chica is a small town beach five minutes from the ship. That is the honest sum of what is walkable, and the island's famous sand is a drive.
What costs money
The ship's own excursions usually cost more than booking the same trip yourself. Two things come with the price. The ship waits for its own excursions and does not wait for you. And if the port is missed, P&O refunds its own without you asking. A trip you booked yourself is a claim on your travel insurance, so check what your policy covers. The ship sells its own trips to all of these, and the desk is open on board if you would rather do it that way.
The Corralejo dunes. Forty minutes north to a sand desert running into the sea, protected as a natural park and big enough to lose the coaches in. The water there is turquoise and colder than it looks.
Betancuria. The old capital, inland in the hills, built where pirates could not see it from the sea. It is a small stone village with the island's oldest church in it, and the drive over the ridge is half the point.
Which ship calls at Fuerteventura, and when
Every call here between 15 August and 28 November 2026, with the hours ashore P&O published. These times are a guide, not a promise: the captain gives the real ones the day before.
| Ship | Sails | Day | Ashore |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iona | 19 December 2026, 16 nights | Day 8 | 08:00 to 17:00 |
How long you get ashore in Fuerteventura
The published times give you about 9 hours alongside, depending on the sailing. Take off the time it takes a few thousand people to get off, and the time you need to be back on board before the ship leaves, and that is your day. P&O give the real hours the day before, and the all-aboard time is earlier than the departure time.
The other stops on these cruises
Every one of these is on at least one of the sailings that calls at Fuerteventura.
- Arrecife de LanzaroteBetween 1730 and 1736 the ground opened and buried a quarter of the island under lava; the Timanfaya field is still hot enough a metre down to cook on.
- Cadiz (tours to Seville)Probably the oldest continuously lived-in city in western Europe: the Phoenicians founded Gadir here around 1100 BC.
- Gran CanariaColumbus put in at Las Palmas in 1492 to mend a rudder on his way west, and the house he is said to have stayed in is now a museum about him.
- La CorunaThe Spanish Armada sailed from this harbour in 1588, and it is still guarded by the Tower of Hercules, a Roman lighthouse from about the year 100 which has never stopped working: the oldest one on earth still doing its job.
- LisbonOn All Saints' Day 1755 an earthquake, then a tsunami up the Tagus, then three days of fire destroyed most of the city and shook Europe's confidence in a benign universe.
- MadeiraPortuguese sailors found it uninhabited in 1419 and set the forest alight to clear it; the fire is said to have burned for years, and the island is named for the wood.
- TenerifeMount Teide stands 3,715 metres over the island, the highest point in Spain and, measured from its base on the sea floor, the third largest volcano on earth.
Money and language in Spain
Euro (EUR, €). Cards are normal, though a small market stall or a taxi may want coins. The Canary Islands are Spain and use the euro too. Onboard is always charged in sterling, so this only matters ashore.
English is common in the ports and thinner a street back.
| English | Spanish | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| Hello | Hola | OH-la |
| Goodbye | Adiós | ah-DYOSS |
| How much? | ¿Cuánto cuesta? | KWAN-toh KWESS-ta |
| Thank you | Gracias | GRA-syass, and GRA-thyass on the mainland if you want to blend in |
| Please | Por favor | por fa-VOR |
Free, and it works with no internet. Give it the dates you sail and it works out your own stops and saves the street map for each one. It shows you round the ship too.
All the ports written up so far, the things to do before you sail, or the ship pages for Iona and Arvia.