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Personally recommend Papagayo from 4 years ago, but it's at the end of 7km of dirt track. I wrote the following account of getting there shortly after returning - bear in mind things could have changed in 4 years. Steve's web site may have something more up to date, but a quick surf didn't reveal it.
"Playa de Papagayo" is easy to see on a map of the island, about three miles (as the crow flies) east-north-east of Playa Blanca near the south-east corner of the island. This is not to be confused with the Playa Blanca in Puerto del Carmen which is one of the main island holiday conurbations best avoided. However, the ease of finding Papagayo on a map is matched by the difficulty of getting there in a car.
My first attempt to get through failed because I thought it would be possible by approaching it along tarmaced road heading out from the centre of Playa Blanca town. There are several miles of road that were clearly built as infrastructure for holiday developments that have never happened. These peter out in a confusing series of loops and intersections with no clear way forward to drive. I was one of several drivers trying to find a way through. It looked like it should be possible to walk from there for perhaps a mile or so and arrive at the beaches, but my family and I were in no mood to try it in the blazing afternoon heat of early June.
A few days later a second attempt was successful. This time I turned off the surfaced road from the roundabout at the end of the new island highway to Playa Blanca, following the signpost to Papagayo on a wide dirt track. It was possible to drive my ordinary hire car at up to 30 mph on much of this track, but a jeep or similar would obviously have been much better. There were a few un-signposted turns to make, but even a poor sense of direction like mine was good enough to make the right choices. The track got progressively worse and considerable care was needed at the end, but sticking with it was worth it. However, the six kilometres or so on the clock since leaving the tarmac seemed a lot further. There was a car park at the end where a small semi-mobile taverna was serving refreshments. An area just off the beach was covered with tents, although I saw no other signs of camping facilities.
Heading back, I made the mistake of turning off the track I'd come along to try to get to the surfaced road north-east of Playa Blanca. Eventually I got through, but not without driving over a few bumps which I was seriously worried would bottom out the car; it would have been easy in a jeep, though.
If you have any comments about this report or wish to add further information
please email them to:
neffupdate @ ada-augusta . demon . co . uk
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