If you are planning a holiday to San Sebastian de La Gomera, the following information may help by giving you an overview on the resort and surrounding area and also help you in selecting from our range of accommodation in the resort.
San Sebastian de La Gomera is the capital and main port town on the island of La Gomera. It has a charming centre and there is lots to see on your holiday to San Sebastian de La Gomera; old mansions with attractively decorated balconies, to see the city from a height, its black sand beach and small yacht harbour, go up to the Mirador de la Hilda.
The resort has many historical buildings which give a clue to its experiences in the past, such as the San Sebastian Hermitage, La Asuncion Church (which has interesting artistic treasures) and the Casa de Colon Museum (which houses ancient artefacts from Peru).
San Sebastian de La Gomera, is a little seafaring town with a population of about 8,000. It was Columbus’ last port of call before heading across the Atlantic. You can visit his house [Casa de Colon], a small museum in the simply-built Torre del Conde [Count’s Tower, built by Felipe II] – a 400 year old fortress, and the Church of the Assumption where he attended mass before setting off on his historic journey to the New World.
Today, San Sebastian de La Gomera is home to La Gomera’s main ferry port with regular ferries from Los Cristianos in Tenerife and connections to the neighbouring Canary Islands of El Hierro and La Palma. Although not a tourist centre it has a good variety of shops, bars and restaurants, a yacht marina, beach and large public lido.
Beside San Sebastian is Abalo Beach. It is very tranquil, nestled in a cove surrounded by Palm trees. If you carry on up the coast you will also reach Cangrejo beach.
From San Sebastian de La Gomera you can partake in activities such as diving or Catamaran trips. It also holds a small market on Wednesdays and Saturdays in the main square so you may be able to buy a souvenir of your San Sebastian de La Gomera holiday.
Why did Columbus choose Gomera to set sail from? Some say because it was the most westerly staging point known at that time, other point to a certain Beatriz de Bobadilla. Columbus certainly know this Spanish beauty, and history indicates that she was quite free with her favours. You can ponder on this while contemplating the Torre del Conde [Tower of the Count] a little further away from the main square. The Count in question, Hernán Peraza, the husband of Beatriz, was murdered one night at a mountain pass subsequently known as the Degollada de Praza [the slaughter of Paraza]. It seems that the had been leaving a native love nest and angry Guanches had ambushed him. Fearing an uprising by the local people, Beatriz retreated to the Tower and may well have entertained Columbus there. The building has not changed very much in 500 years.
For festivals and events on your San Sebastian de La Gomera holiday, there is singing and dancing to celebrate the town’s patron saint on the 20 January [Fiesta de San Sebastian]. On the 6 September is the Fiesta de Cristobal Colón which celebrates the anniversary of the departure of Columbus [Colón] from San Sebastian on his first voyage to the Americas.
Getting to San Sebastian de La Gomera
You will need to fly to Tenerife Sur – TFS and then by boat to La Gomera with taxi from the port to San Sebastian de La Gomera. Flight time from the UK : Approximately 4 hours.
SAN SEBASTIAN DE LA GOMERA – MAP
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Disclaimer
By its very nature much of the information in our travel guides is subject to change at short notice and travellers are urged to verify information on which they are relying with the relevant authorities. Corona Holidays [UK] Limited cannot accept any responsibility for any loss or inconvenience to any person as a result of information contained above.