El Cotillo, Fuerteventura

El Cotillo is a small village at the northern end of Fuerteventura, on the west coast. The village is centred around the small harbour that is mostly used by local fishermen. The harbour where the boats are to be found is actually relatively new. The old harbour is only a short walk to the north over the headland that separates the two. There are several bars and restaurants close to the old harbour and the views from El Toston are particularly pleasing. Thereis also a large supermarket at the edge of the village as you drive into it, on the right.

El Cotillo Beaches

There are miles of beaches to the south of this part of sunny Fuerteventura. The beaches are excellent, and even on a busy day they are too big to be overcrowded. To the north are the lagoon beaches of shallow clear water and white sand contrasting against the black volcanic rock. The biggest of the beaches, La Concha, has a large car park, a beach bar and a lovely beach. It gets very busy with locals and tourists. This is the site for the annual Fuerteventura En Musica concert over the first weekend in July.The smaller lagoon beaches are favourite places for naturists. There are more lagoon beaches to the east of the lighthouse.

El Cotillo Tower

The tower, toston in Spanish, from which the views of the new harbour and the beaches were taken, is open to the public. In the tower you can find a tourist information centre of sorts, and there are also activites and exhbitions held there regularly. Even though the tower was built as a defence against English pirates, some of the information leaflets are in English.

A couple of miles to the north of El Cotillo there is a lighthouse which is also a fishing museum, and a pleasant afternoon can be spent wandering there and back.

Getting to El Cotillo

El Cotillo is easily reached by public transport. It is a short journey from Corralejo, take the number 8 bus. The number 7 route, from Puerto del Rosario to El Cotillo, crosses Fuerteventura and rewards the traveller with some excellent views. Timetables can be found by following the link to the getting about page which has a link directly to bus timetables.

If you are going to El Cotillo by car, then there is a very picturesque drive along the coast, seeCorralejo to El Cotillo for details.