El Matorral in Fuerteventura: Beach and history

El Matorral in Fuerteventura can be understood through three distinct points of reference: the airport, Playa de las Caletillas and the Rosa de Abajo archaeological site. The Fiestas de San Juan add a community celebration. If you are looking for a hotel in El Matorral, you can consider the area in terms of arrival, beach and culture.

Getting there and location

Fuerteventura Airport is located in El Matorral; Puerto del Rosario, the island’s capital, is five kilometres away. El Matorral and the capital are therefore separate points of reference for understanding the area’s geography. The airport officially opened on 14 September 1969. For bus travel, Route 3 Exprés is relevant: according to a notice published on 30 June 2026, it has made an additional stop in El Matorral since 1 July 2026 and runs between Puerto del Rosario and Caleta de Fuste. Check the route’s current operating details before travelling.

Playa de las Caletillas

Playa de las Caletillas is also in El Matorral, near Fuerteventura Airport. It is considered a semi-wild, or natural, cove and was restored to make it suitable for swimming and visitors. During the work, boulders were removed from the tidal zone; a sandy area approximately 50 metres wide and 170 metres long was also created. These measurements refer to the developed sandy area and are approximate. On 17 March 2022, the municipality reported the installation of a OneUp emergency and water-rescue totem at the beach. The totem had a direct connection to the 1-1-2 emergency service and quickly inflatable rescue buoys.

Rosa de Abajo: early history

Rosa de Abajo is an archaeological site in El Matorral. The site is associated with Fuerteventura’s early Indigenous settlement, dating to the 7th and 8th centuries AD. Investigations identified burials outdoors or on the surface. Rosa de Abajo is considered the site of the only dated outdoor burial found to date and the earliest funerary remains known to date on Fuerteventura. A mandible and some upper-limb bones were recovered and handed over to the Fuerteventura Archaeological Museum. This early settlement therefore dates back many centuries before the airport officially opened in 1969.

Fiestas de San Juan

The Fiestas de San Juan add a community cultural dimension to the description of the area. They bring together tradition, culture and entertainment for all age groups. The activities, which take place over several days, include romerías, verbenas with live music, workshops, traditional games, sports competitions, children’s shows and religious celebrations. If you would like to plan your trip around the festivities, check the exact dates in advance. The combination of religious celebrations, live music, workshops and games makes the fiestas a different reason to plan a trip than the beach or archaeological history.

Discover more destinations: Tetir

For the overview of the wider area: Puerto Del Rosario.