Visiting the Canary Islands on your next vacation would be an excellent decision for you and your loved ones. More specifically, as the leading tour of the Canary Islands, Gran Canaria would be a great place to have a relaxing vacation.
But if you plan to explore the entire Gran Canaria, you need to know how big it exactly is. Without knowing this, you will not see the major attractions and places that other tourists recommend.
You might be wondering, how big is Gran Canaria really, and how does its size compare to other places in the world? Well, that is what I am here to tell you.
Gran Canaria is the third-largest island in the Spanish Canary Islands cluster. It is known for many white sand beaches, shopping centers, and beautiful tourist attractions situated there.
Going to visit Gran Canaria? Check out Puerto Rico Gran Canaria – Why You Should Visit.
If you are visiting Gran Canaria, you are going to want to know more than this. In this article, I will talk about all you need to know about Gran Canaria’s size and area, along with comparisons to similar places worldwide for reference. So, without further ado, let us get started.
Gran Canaria Size
Gran Canaria is one of the most popular islands in the Canaries, right in the midst of the Atlantic Ocean. It is known for its black lava and white sand beaches and the capital city, La Palma, the hub for traveling cruise ships.
The island has an area of 1,560 sq. kilometers (602 sq mi), making it the third-largest island in the Canaries. The size of this island is considered relatively moderate or medium-sized compared to other Islands around the world.
Many people tour Gran Canaria every year because of how beautiful the resorts, shopping malls, hotels, restaurants, and natural views in this world region are. And that is why you should visit Gran Canaria as well.
Check out our article on Which Canary Island Is the Hottest?
How Long and Wide is Gran Canaria?
Gran Canaria is somewhat circular in shape if you look from a bird’s eye view or with a map of the island. So that is why instead of measuring the length and the width of the island, we say that Gran Canaria is 29 miles across from one end to the other.
How long does it take to drive around Gran Canaria?
If you are currently in the Gran Canaria region or planning to go there, you will want to know how long it would take for you to drive around Gran Canaria in a vehicle.
Well, if you do not make stops, you will be able to drive around Gran Canaria in less than 4 hours. However, if you are sightseeing with your family and friends, you should add a couple of hours to this sum. So that is how long your outing is going to be.
How big is Gran Canaria compared to the UK?
The United Kingdom is a combined association of several European countries. These countries include England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales, and the total area of the United Kingdom is 242,495 sq. kilometers.
There is no comparison between the area of the United Kingdom and Gran Canaria. One has a place in the hundreds of thousands while the other has only one thousand, but in comparison, the UK is more than 150x the size.
You can say that cities and towns in Scotland and Northern Island might be similar in size to the area of Gran Canaria, but other than that, there is no comparison. Still, Gran Canaria has all the elements of making an epic tourist destination, so millions of tourists make their way to the area every year.
How big is Gran Canaria compared to England?
England is a significant part of the United Kingdom and has an area of over 130,000 sq. kilometers, so, again, there is no comparison if we directly talk about the sizes of England and Gran Canaria (>80x size).
However, if we talk about the capital of England, London, then we can say it is pretty close to Gran Canaria in terms of area. The area of London is 1,572 sq kilometers. This makes London around 12 sq. kilometers bigger than the Island of Gran Canaria, which is not that different if you think about it.
How big is Gran Canaria compared to Ireland?
Ireland has an area of about 84,000 sq. kilometers. So it is much larger than Gran Canaria if we talk about the location of both the regions (>50x size). But Gran Canaria is close to some of the Ireland counties in terms of size.
If we talk about the area of Gran Canaria, we can say that the counties of Kildare, Fermanagh, Leitrim, and Armagh are close to it. But Gran Canaria is still much more visited than Ireland simply because of the fact that Gran Canaria has so much more to offer in terms of tourism options and opportunities.
Which is Bigger: Tenerife or Gran Canaria?
Tenerife is the largest of all the Spanish Canary Islands, with around 2,034 sq. kilometers. It is the capital of the Canary Islands and is known as the best place to visit for tourists in the Canaries.
Many people tend to ask me, which of the Canary Islands is more significant between Tenerife and Gran Canaria? Well, it is pretty simple, the answer. Since Tenerife is the largest of the Canaries and Gran Canaria is the third-largest, we can safely say Tenerife is bigger than Gran Canaria. The margin of the difference is somewhere above 400 sq. kilometers.
Read more about the size of Tenerife here: How Big is Tenerife?
Which is Bigger: Mallorca or Gran Canaria?
Mallorca or Majorca is one of the Spanish Islands in the Balearic regions in the Mediterranean Sea. The area of this island is 3,640 sq. kilometers which is even more significant than Tenerife by quite a long margin.
If we talk about the area and size comparison between Mallorca and Gran Canaria, we can say that the former is more than twice the size of the latter. However, although there is a significant size difference, tourism is booming in both Islands, whether we talk about Mallorca or Gran Canaria.
Read about the size of Mallorca here: How Big is Mallorca?
U.S. Places Similar in Size to Gran Canaria
The United States of America has many states, cities, counties, and areas because of the large land area. So, if you are a citizen of the U.S. thinking of traveling there, you will be able to learn about the location of Gran Canaria well if we provide you comparisons in reference with U.S. areas. So, let us see which U.S. places are similar in size to Gran Canaria.
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City is a city within the state of Oklahoma in the United States of America. It is known for the cowboy culture and the political influence it has had throughout history. The area of Oklahoma City is 1,571 sq. kilometers which are just over 11 sq. kilometers more than Gran Canaria, so it is pretty similarly sized to the island.
Houston
Houston, Texas, is one of the most famous cities in the U.S. It is most popularly known for the Houston Space Center. The area of Houston is around 1,553 sq. kilometers which are a bit smaller than Gran Canaria in comparison. The difference is Gran Canaria is seven sq. kilometers larger in size than Houston.
Los Angeles
Los Angeles is the most popular city in California. It is known for the primary Hollywood and Showbiz industry and celebrities residing there. Los Angeles has an area of 1,214 sq. kilometers. This city is famous, but it is smaller than Gran Canaria by quite a margin. The difference is over 300 sq. kilometers between both these places.
Nashville
Nashville is a city in the Tennessee state of the United States of America. It is known for the fantastic music scene as well as many highly established universities. Nashville, TN, has an area of 1,231 sq. kilometers. Therefore, the difference between Nashville and Gran Canaria is quite a bit, with Gran Canaria being bigger.
Phoenix
The Arizona state of the United States of America is known to house the city of Phoenix. It is a large metropolitan area known for technology as well as business. The size of Phoenix is bigger than Nashville, being 1,338 sq. kilometers. However, in comparison to Gran Canaria, the area of Phoenix is still smaller. Gran Canaria is about 200 or so sq. kilometers bigger than Phoenix and many other cities in the U.S.
Conclusion
Gran Canaria is quite an epic tourist destination. It is not the largest island in the Canaries, so you can easily travel from one end to the other and explore everything in less than a day if you want to. In this article, we compared Gran Canaria with other places around the world so that you can get an idea of its exact size and how long it will take to see all the popular attractions.
Are you worried about swimming? Check out our article: Are there sharks in the Canary Islands?
So, what you should be doing next is packing your bags and heading to Gran Canaria Island with your friends, family, and loved ones. I assure you that you are going to have an incredible time there. I hope you learned a lot from this article. Have a great day ahead of you!
