El Cotillo Fuerteventura (which is pronounced “El Cotiyo”) is located on the north-west coast, facing the Atlantic Ocean.
It was once a small fishing village and, although it has grown, El Cotillo town fortunately still manages to retain its village feel. El Cotillo is described by many as the jewel of Fuerteventura.
Why do people come to El Cotillo?
Its beaches
There are some of the nicest beaches on the island either side of the village.
To the south are the beaches that attract many surfers, wind surfers and kite surfers.
To the north are the lovely lagoon beaches which extend all the way to the lighthouse and beyond. See the Beaches page for more details.
Its charm
The village has two harbours. The old harbour, which is only used once a year now during the fiesta and the new harbour which is still used by the local fishermen and a dive school.
A fish market has been built on the quay in the new harbour but it is yet to open. Well this is Fuerteventura and very little happens quickly. Once it does then finally fresh fish, straight off the boats, should be available to purchase, which will be nice.
People often stay elsewhere in Fuerteventura on their first visit to the island, often in Corralejo or Caleta de Fuste. Then they find El Cotillo on a day trip by bus from Corralejo, on a coach or buggy trip or while touring in a hire car and quickly become smitten.
It is certainly a place that it is very easy to fall in love with. Many people come back year after year, and often more than once a year.
Some even make it their home as there is a thriving expat community which comprises British, Irish, German, Dutch, Italian and many other nationalities. This makes it Spanish but also quite cosmopolitan.
That was certainly true for my wife and I. We came across one day from Corralejo on a drive in our hire car. We liked it, so for our next trip to Fuerteventura we booked an apartment to stay in here and never looked back. We even came to El Cotillo on our honeymoon and ended up buying an apartment while we were here.
It is the ideal laid-back place to stay
That is particularly true if you want to get away from the hen and stag nights, football shirts and the behaviour that goes with it in some other places.
There are lots of lovely apartments to rent in the village where you can just chill out and do your own thing. You can choose to eat in, buying food at the supermarket, or visit one of the lovely restaurants around the village. Afterwards have a quiet drink with a view at one of the bars.
For a selection of these visit our page – Selected Apartments To Rent page.
There are only two hotels in El Cotillo, one of which offers all-inclusive deals.
It is perhaps the most chilled place on the island
For those that like to lie around in the sun and relax, it is an ideal place to be, with so many wonderful beaches. But there is also plenty of things for those more active people to do. These range from water-sports such as surfing, wind surfing and kite-surfing to cycling or even Segway tours. Visit my 12 things to do in El Cotillo page to find out more.
Cotillo is ideally suited for watching the wonderful sunsets that occur here due to it facing west across the Atlantic Ocean. What can be nicer than sitting outside a bar or restaurant with your favourite drink while watching the sun go down? There are plenty of places to choose from to do just that in the old harbour and elsewhere.
Its nightlife?
People definitely do not come to El Cotillo for the nightlife.
You won’t find any nightclubs, nor too much in the way of noisy night-life, so if that is your thing then I suggest you go to Corralejo or Caleta de Fuste. However, there are some really good bars and lovely restaurants in El Cotillo with plenty to choose from to eat at during a few weeks’ stay.
El Cotillo Fuerteventura Video Tour
If you want to see what the village is like in greater detail please browse the rest of the site. You can also watch my video:
