Guía: The Gran Canaria Town Most Famous For Cheese

Guía town in north Gran Canaria: The Plaza and Church Guía town in north Gran Canaria: The Plaza and Church

Sleepy Guía in north Gran Canaria is a spot that most people simply drive past. However, we've scoured its sleepy old quarter and found a few quality spots that make it worth parking up in town and wandering about. Oh, and you have to try the cheese.

Guia town street scene: Gran CanariaGuía was founded in the early 16th Century and the historical quarter on the hill just behind the church and plaza hasn't changed much for centuries. The town (technically it's a city and it's called Santa María de Guía) had a prosperous start thanks to sugar cane but it's glory days are now well in the past. However, it's worth wandering up and down a few streets just to take in the atmosphere and the elegant facades.

What to do in Guía: Culture and history

Stop at the Museo Nestor Álamo for a quick blast of history. Set in the house where Guía's most famous inhabitant, a famous writer and chronicler of Canarian history and culture. He's also the man who turned the Casa de Colón into a tourist attraction back in the 1950s and has a commemorative full-sized bronze in Vegueta just behind the cathedral. However, Guía's eponymous museum is dedicated to the area's pre-hispanic culture.

What to do in Guía: Coffee in the Casino

Guia town guide: Coffee overlooking the PlazaRecover from the steep slopes of the old town with a coffee at the Casino de Instrucción y Recreo cafe overlooking the Plaza. It's opposite the church above the Bankia bank and has a superb balcony terrace. There's no gambling here as a Casino in Gran Canaria towns is a sort of social club and neighbourhood association. 

What to do in Guía: Taste the cheese

Once you've had a cortado and maybe a local Donut, walk down the hill to the modern part of Guía for a sample of the town's most famous product: Flor de Guía cheese is made with local goat and sheep milk curdled with artichoke or cardoon sap rather than animal rennet. 

It's a seasonal product as the curdling process using plant sap is inefficient and doesn't work in the heat. So, you'll only find the small wheels of pure Flor de Guía cheese from about February to May. The rest of the year, ask for Media Flor, which is cheese made with some plant sap and some vegetarian rennet. It is firmer than the full Flor but still has an intense herbal flavour. 

Alex Says: Flor de Guía tastes of hay and slightly old socks. It's a protected food with its own Designation of Origin and can only be made by hand with local milk. 

The place to go in Guía to try the best artisan local cheese is the Tienda de Arturo at the bottom the modern Guía high street. It's a fabulous cornucopia of a shop containing everything from a vintage Vespa in a glass box to framed old adverts on the wall, local hardware and basketry, and a stack of the best cheese in Gran Canaria. 

Buying cheese in Gran Canaria is a try-before-you-buy experience so feel free to ask for a few samples before you choose one that you like; artisan local cheese costs about 20 euros per kilo and is worth every cent. Don't put it in the fridge as the cold damages its flavour and texture.

After Guía, move on to Galdar next door, a town built on a volcano, or head west to the lovely Agaete Valley.

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  • How To Choose A Legal Gran Canaria Airport Transfer
    How To Choose A Legal Gran Canaria Airport Transfer

    Gran Canaria's hotels have to be licensed and offer a quality level of service as well as having insurance and complying with fire regulations. The same goes for the boats that take people out to watch dolphins, the companies offering jeep safaris, and even the holiday let apartments. 

    However, not everybody in Gran Canaria follows the rules. For example, there is a significant industry running illegal and uninsured transfers between Gran Canaria airport and the island's resorts. These cars, driven by locals and foreign-residents, are just private vehicles and the drivers are unregulated and uninsured. They don't pay tax and there is no way to hold them responsible if something goes wrong. 

     At Gran Canaria Info we believe that all people and all companies offering services to tourists should legal and above board.

    So, how do you know that your airport transfer service is legal and registered with the Gran Canaria authorities?

     Using legal Gran Canaria airport transfers

    It is quite easy to know if your airport transfer service is operating in a legal way because all registered transfers have the following...

     A blue license plate: Taxis and other public service vehicles in Gran Canaria all have blue plates.

    A VTC sticker in the window: This stands for Vehículo de Transporte con Conductor, the official designation for licensed transfer drivers ans chauffeurs.

    An SP sticker on the car: This indicates that the car offer a Servicio Publico or public service and is therefore allowed to pick up and transfer members of the public. 

    Parked in the transport zone: Official airport transfer vehicles don't park in the public car park of the airport. Instead they have their own parking zone right by the arrivals gates at the airport (next to the taxis and package tour buses). Your transfer driver therefore should not have to pay a parking fee before leaving the aiport. 

    How to spot an unlicensed transfer service

    Unlicensed drivers get away with offerring their service because they claim that they are just members of the public picking up a friend. They are allowed to stand at arrivals with a sign (just like any member of the public can).

    However, they also have to park their car in the public car park and will walk you there with your luggage, stopping to pay the parking fee at the meter. A licensed transfer driver does not need to do this because they have their own parking zone right by arrivals.

    Some unlicensed drivers don't even wait at the arrival gate because the official drivers recognise them and get annoyed. Instead they have to stand further away (often by the Spar supermarket or the car rental desks). 

    When an unlicensed driver drops you at the airport they will not want to be paid in a public area because this proves that they are charging rather than "transporting a friend" for free. 

    An unlicensed car will not have a blue license plate, or a SP or VTC sticker, and will often look like a private car (because it is a private car). 

    What's the problem with unlicensed airport transfers?

    Some people use unlicensed cars because they are the cheapest option and don't realise that they are unlicensed. 

    There are several problems with unlicensed services. The most obvious is that they are uninsured so if something goes wrong or there is an accident, you are not protected. The price that unlicensed drivers offer is only low because they cut corners (hopefully not literally). You have no way of even knowing if your unlicensed driver has a Spanish driving license, insurance and a good driving record. Licensed drivers are vetted regularly and must be fully insured and licensed to work.

    Another problem is that unlicensed transfers undermine the legitimate transfer drivers and businesses in Gran Canaria. Local drivers make a living from transfers and offer a legal, regulated service with minimum standards. Every time an unlicensed service undercuts them, it is effectively stealing from local people and the island economy.

    We believe that everybody in Gran Canaria deserves better!

    Gran Canaria Airport Transfer Services

    To find out more about the Gran Canaria airport transfer, see our Gran Canaria airport transfer article which explains the three different models; man/woman from pub with car, online transfer websites, and local transfer services.

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    Alex Says: Using our service also helps the Gran Canaria Info team to keep providing quality local information here and in our Facebook Group

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