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

What the beach is really like

Here it pays to set expectations, because Tauro is not Amadores or Anfi. It has no imported white sand and no swimming-pool water: it is a natural beach, of dark shingle and coarse sand, exactly as the island’s volcanic geology dictates. Anyone chasing the Caribbean postcard gets a surprise; anyone after a real beach, with space and no crowding, gets a treat.

It is wide and long, with room to spare even on busy days, and the water is usually calm and clean. With no breakwaters closing off the bay, a windy day lets some swell in, but for most of the year the swim is comfortable. There is a lifeguard in season, showers and a couple of beach bars, so it is well served on the basics without being a wall-to-wall sunlounger operation.

A local’s tip: bring water shoes or a pair of flip-flops for getting into the sea. The shingle at the shoreline is awkward to walk on barefoot, especially with the stones baking hot at midday. With water footwear you enjoy the place twice as much.

The Tauro blowhole: what it is and when it erupts

It is what most people look up about Tauro, and rightly so. The blowhole is a natural hole in the rock through which the sea, when it comes in with force, spits a jet of water and foam upwards, with a snort you hear before you see it. Hence the name. It sits on the side of the beach, up on the rocks, a short walk from the sand.

The key, and almost nobody mentions it, is that the blowhole only works when there is groundswell. On a dead-calm day you will not see much: it is a hole in the stone and that is that. The show turns up with high tide and swell, when every wave that rushes in under the rock shoots back out through the hole. If you want to see it in action, check the sea forecast first and go with a running sea.

The cave next to the blowhole

Right beside the blowhole there is a natural cave carved into the same volcanic rock wall, another of the spots people seek out on their own. It is small, you lean in for a look and that is it, but it earns its keep for photos: the frame of dark stone with turquoise sea behind it is one of the most rewarding shots on this coast.

You reach it along the same side as the blowhole, walking carefully over the rocks. It is not a signed or surfaced route, so wear closed shoes and mind the wet ground. Everything said about the blowhole applies here too: with a strong sea, do not even go near.

Where to eat in Tauro

Tauro is not Puerto Rico or Arguineguín, but right on the beach it has a couple of places that do the job and have been there for years. The most veteran is Bar Pío Pío, a lifelong beach shack next to the sand, no pretensions, for a cold drink, some fried potatoes or a simple grilled fish with your feet almost in the water. It is pure beach, no long menu and no tablecloths.

A notch above sits Restaurante Vista Mar, with a terrace and better views, made for sitting down to eat at your own pace looking over the bay. Neither is village-shack cheap, since the view has its price, but for not having to move off the beach they are handy.

The usual advice: if you want to eat well for the money, Arguineguín is a quarter of an hour away and it is where you eat best in the whole municipality, with fresh fish off the quay. For a full beach day, plenty of locals spend the morning at Tauro and head down to Arguineguín for lunch.

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 twelve months of the year. The only things that really change are the sea temperature and the number of people.

For anyone planning the 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 suits and who it does not

What to do nearby: the sea of the south-west

Tauro sits 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 excursion 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 express ferry that links 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 one is its own creature. This table helps you choose according to what you are after that day:

The honest conclusion: Tauro is the pick for anyone who wants a real beach, with its shingle and its blowhole, and does not mind trading postcard sand for space and quiet. If what you are after is the turquoise water from the photos, Amadores is three kilometres away.

In short

Playa de Tauro is the beach you choose when you want something natural and roomy, without giving up being ten minutes from everything. Its dark shingle does not make the postcards, but in exchange it hands you a free lot right by the sand, room to spare even on busy days, and two corners, the blowhole and the cave, that you will not find on the imported-sand beaches next door.

If you take a single idea from this guide, make it two local ones: water shoes for the shingle and the sea forecast for the blowhole. With those, Tauro goes from a beach you pass through to one of the best plans on the Mogán coast.