Playa de Tauro: The Complete Guide to the Beach, the Blowhole and the Cave

What Playa de Tauro is really like in 2026

If you have seen old photos of Tauro covered in shingle and recent ones with golden sand, you are not looking at two different beaches: Tauro has changed a lot. It used to be a beach of shingle and volcanic stone, but in 2016 it was profoundly transformed with a major sand replenishment. Today it combines wide zones of golden sand with gravel and volcanic pebbles, especially in certain parts of the beach.

It is wide and long, with room to spare even on busy days, and noticeably less built-up than Amadores or Anfi. As it is not closed off by big breakwaters, it is more exposed: on calm days the swim is very pleasant, with little surf and a gentle slope, but it can get moderate swell, so it is worth checking the forecast on windy days or when there is a running sea.

A useful note: in the gravel and pebble zones the ground is uncomfortable to walk on barefoot, especially with the hot stones at midday. If you land on that part of the beach, water shoes or flip-flops are welcome.

Why does Tauro have golden sand if it used to be shingle?

The answer lies in 2016. That year a major regeneration took place: around 70,000 tonnes of sand brought from the Sahara were added to transform the old shingle beach into the golden-sand beach you see today. Later research from the ULPGC documents that transformation. That is why Tauro does not quite fit the old “natural stone beach” label: it is a heavily modified beach, though still more open and less equipped than the artificial bays closed off by breakwaters like Amadores or Anfi.

Tauro Cave and Blowhole: what it really is

It is what most people look up about Tauro. On the side of the beach, up on the rocks, there is a volcanic rock formation that combines a blowhole (a hole through which the sea, coming in with force, spits water and foam upwards, with a snort you hear before you see it) and a cave connected to the sea that forms a kind of natural pool. They are not two separate attractions: they are expressions of the same formation.

The key, and it is the difference between enjoying it and getting a fright, is that what you want to do decides when to go:

Put another way: to see the show the blowhole needs a moving sea, but then the area is dangerous and you must watch from afar. To enter the cave or the natural pool, the opposite: calm sea and low tide. The two do not happen at once, so decide what you are going to do before you go and check the sea and tide forecast.

Where to eat near Tauro

Tauro is an open beach, not a hub with lots of restaurants on the sand, and the situation of the venues on the beach itself changes over time, so here we prefer not to recommend blindly. What is certain is that Arguineguín, a quarter of an hour away, is where you eat best in the whole municipality, with fresh fish off the quay, and Puerto Rico and Puerto de Mogán are just as close. For a full beach day, many locals spend the morning at Tauro and head down to Arguineguín to eat.

Best time to go and water temperature

The advantage of this coast is that it has no bad season: southern Mogán is the sunniest, driest part of Gran Canaria, and at Tauro you can swim all twelve months of the year. The only thing that really changes is the sea temperature and how many people there are.

For anyone planning a trip, the summary is simple: the water is cooler from February to April and milder from August to November, but never truly cold. And if you want the beach to yourself, you know the southern rule: before ten or after five.

Who it is for and who it is not

What to do nearby: the south-west sea

Tauro is right in the heart of Mogán’s bookable coast, so a beach day rounds off easily with a trip out to sea. From Puerto Rico, six minutes away, almost every boat trip in the area sets off, and many pass right in front of Tauro.

Dolphin and whale watching is one of the most rewarding: the south-west of Gran Canaria is among the best places in Europe to see them, and the trip runs along this whole coast, Tauro included. For anyone after something more leisurely, the fast ferry linking the southern harbours is a great plan that doubles as transport.

Tauro compared with the beaches next door

Southern Mogán is one beach after another, and each has its own character. This table helps you choose by what you are after that day:

The honest conclusion: Tauro is the choice for anyone who wants a wide, open beach, with its Cave and its Blowhole, and does not mind it being less equipped than the sheltered bays next door. If you want the protected turquoise water with all the services, Amadores is three kilometres away.

In short

Playa de Tauro is the beach you pick when you want something wide and open, without giving up being ten minutes from everything. It has changed a lot, from shingle to golden sand after the 2016 regeneration, it is still less equipped than the sheltered bays next door, and in exchange it gives you room to spare even on busy days and two corners, the Cave and the Blowhole, you will not find on the imported-sand beaches.

If you take one idea from this guide: decide what you are going to do at the blowhole before you go. Watching it blow is from afar and with a moving sea; entering the cave is with a calm sea and low tide. And in summer, arrive early for the parking.