Esquinzo, Butihondo: a laid-back beach on Fuerteventura (and you can swim)

The beach at Esquinzo, Butihondo holds a good few kilometres of sand, and you can swim there. That sounds obvious for a beach, but on Fuerteventura it is far from true everywhere.

Esquinzo and Butihondo

• For a proper beach holiday, Esquinzo is exactly right. Here you find long sandy beaches, blue ocean water and lava rocks, calm and space. And, all right, top tropical resorts at ‘Butihondo’ as well.
• Butihondo is an ‘urbanised’ part of Esquinzo, although it is still fairly quiet there. It is a collective name for the resorts that follow one after another. Beyond that there is not much going on.

Whether that is a good thing or not depends on your own preferences. The true sun lover does not much miss a real town. And every resort has some form of entertainment and activities.

Slightly more ordinary civilisation is a few minutes' drive away by car. Morro Jable, for instance, or Jandia. There you can shop and see a bit more than the holiday resort of Esquinzo.

A laid-back beach

Meanwhile Esquinzo is a little paradise in its own right. Apart from the resorts at Butihondo it is all pure nature. So ‘natural’ that here and there in the rocky corners you can come across naturists.

In the middle of the beach the majority wear clothes. At most it is pleasantly busy, and there is literally an ocean of space. The length of the beach often makes it feel very laid-back.

The occasional crowd is nothing compared with the other Canary Islands anyway. Fuerteventura stands out as both the largest and the quietest island. If that is your thing: pure pleasure.

Oh yes, Esquinzo, Butihondo: the beach is perfect for fine walks along the sand in the sun.

Beaches and swimming on Fuerteventura

Regular readers know it: Fuerteventura means ‘strong wind’. On the side of Costa Calma – calm coast – and Esquinzo, Butihondo it is happily calmer. Not always in the wind, but certainly in the waves.

Of course, the waves can still be dangerous. But generally the swimming is perfectly good at the near end. A big difference from the beaches at Ajuy, Cofete en Roque del Moro.

Every one of those is life-threatening to swim at, for the treacherous currents alone. Consider yourself warned.