Popcorn Beach Fuerteventura: A Sunset Picnic

Sometimes, Instagram can lead to good things. Now, before you turn away from this blog post, I just want to tell you a quick story about how a single picture led to one of the highlights of our holiday in Fuerteventura.

One morning Jack had woken up early to go scuba-diving which left me at the villa to relax and research things to do on the island. One picture that stood out was of a beach made up of small pebbles that looked like popcorn, hence the name ‘Popcorn Beach Fuerteventura’.

It looked really unique and off the tourist trail so, naturally, I just had to go and see it.

When Jack returned a few hours later, I suggested that we prepare a picnic and head on up to the North Coast for a sunset at Popcorn Beach.

Popcorn Beach Fuerteventura: A Sunset Picnic

What is Popcorn Beach?

Popcorn Beach (Playa del Bajo de la Burra) is not your normal beach. Instead of sand or pebbles, you will find small popcorn-like pieces of white algae fossils.

These algae fossils are called rhodoliths and turn white over time, despite the fact they are originally red in colour!

You will find examples of these popcorn pieces in other destinations too, but Popcorn Beach in Fuerteventura is definitely one of the most impressive examples!

How do I get to Popcorn Beach?

Popcorn Beach is located to the north of Fuerteventura, close to the tourist hub of Corralejo in the La Oliva municipality. You can reach the beach by foot from Corralejo by hiking for approximately 1 hour around the coast.

Alternatively, Popcorn Beach is accessible by road. You simply head west towards El Cotillo and then turn off toward Majanicho, the small fishing village that touches the beach. The roads are also better than expected considering many of the roads leading to the coast are simply dirt tracks.

Our journey to Popcorn Beach was very easy from our base in Villaverde, a twenty minute drive at most.

The Perfect Spot for a Sunset Picnic

Located in around the island’s northern most village, Popcorn Beach is the perfect spot for a sunset picnic. As avid sunset hunters, and hearing that Majanicho was worth visiting, we did not need much convincing to hop in the car to check it out.

On the way we stopped off at Hyperdino, the Canarian answer to Tesco. This place is filled with so many incredible things that I just wished they sold in the UK.

A top-tip is going for chocolate-slab biscuits, which are genuinely the tastiest biscuit I’ve had in quite some time. We also grabbed some Lays, Clippers (Canarian Fanta and friends), and an assortment of cheeses and meats. We also grabbed a linseed bread from the local bakers.

The prices were more than reasonable and you, like us, will leave the Canary Islands asking why on Earth do we pay so much for food in the UK…

After an easy drive, our trusty Hyundai reached Majanicho. The village was quaint and cute, with light blues shining through.

Across the Atlantic, a storm was coming in and the contrast between the sunny sky and the dark grey towering clouds made for an impressive viewing out across the sea.

We were greeted by a plethora of different seabirds which once again highlighted just how much of a twitcher’s paradise this island is (see our blog post on the Black Mountain).

We had a little explore around the village and met a few locals who call this village home. I remember thinking what a quiet, yet peaceful and simple life this must be and, in truth, envied them slightly. They were catching fresh fish from the sea and were preparing their own beach BBQ. They were friendly enough and our broken Spanish at least won us a smile.

We walked around to the North of the beach, where the sand began to grow and turn into popcorn. In reality you definitely wouldn’t want to eat it. We put our blanket down (the popcorn was rather sharp!) and began to tuck into our picnic.

One condiment that the Canarians use a lot is aioli, often as a dip for the delicious linseed bread. We had taken inspiration from them and had brought our own to dunk chunks of bread and crisps into.

The grey sky had lightened and we enjoyed the light pink tinge as the sun slowly descended to meet the sea. I remember thinking this was how a holiday should be spent! It may not have been the warmest day, in fact it wasn’t really that sunny, but it wins the prize for the best evening of the holiday.

I also loved that the shoreline had multiple rock pools. We took the opportunity to explore them and see the fun little invertebrates that lived within them. We saw large black crabs patrolling the boulders and when we got closer, translucent shrimps jumping around the pool.

For the last fifteen minutes of daylight we sat and waited for the last line of orange sun to dip beneath the tide. The sunset at Popcorn Beach had really been something special, even rivalling those that we saw in Thailand.

When it got a bit too cold (even with a jumper and blanket) we made our way back to the car and headed back to the villa where a warm cup of tea was inevitably waiting for us.

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