The nightlife in Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain is similar no matter what part of the island you´re visiting. Very lively, noisy, great atmosphere and of course tons of fun!

The nightlife here is typical of any party island - noisy, lively and lots and lots of fun. It starts late and goes on all night. Most bars stay open till 02.00am and the discos stay open till at least 06.00am or more.

Things normally kick off around midnight. It´s fairly quite up to this point, so don´t start drinking too early or you´ll be in a terrible state!!

It´s impossible to get bored here. Head off to Playa del Ingles and Maspalomas and you´ll see hundreds of bars, clubs and discos for all different tastes.

Most of the action is happening in and around the big shopping centres. The variety is enormous. You´ll be spoilt for choice. If you don´t like one, move on to the other.

There are free entrance fliers everywhere! As you approach the main nightlife areas people (usually pretty girls) will come up to you and give you flyers offering concessions into their bar, disco or nightclub. Normally the first drink is free.

Playa del Ingles has a lively gay scene. Check out the Yumbo Centre; it´s one of the most popular and well-known gay areas on the island. They play some great tunes here too. The Kasbah Centre is more for young people and the Plaza Shopping Centre is where you go to hear the latest international music.

If you are staying in Las Palmas, there are a number of places that are well worth checking out, Plaza de España, in particular. It´s located in the Mesa y Lopez district. It´s a very lively square and stays busy well into the early hours.

Most people start off their evening in the old Heineken bar. It’s a very friendly hang out and a good to place to chill out and have a chat. Other bars worth a mention include; the Cuasquias, the El Coto and La Ronería where they serve every type of rum based drink on the planet!

If all this music and dancing is a bit too much and you want to just take it easy with a few quite drinks and a friendly game of poker you should head off to one of the two casinos on the island.

In Las Palmas, there´s the Casino Las Palmas in Hotel Santa Catalina. In San Agustin, there´s the Gran Canaria Casino, which you´ll find in Hotel Meliá Tamarindos.