The production of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) from carbohydrates is scientifically valuable but technologically challenging. In the present work, with the aim of developing an efficient and less harmful alternative to the Cr/ionic liquid system for 5-HMF production, SAPO-34 was prepared and used as the sole catalyst for the conversion of hexoses to 5-HMF in gamma-valerolactone (GVL). This novel catalytic approach was quite selective for 5-HMF, affording 93.6% HMF yield from glucose at 443 K. Peculiarly, contrary to results obtained with conventional systems, the presence of water in this reaction system exhibited a positive effect on the 5-HMF yield. Moreover, SAPO-34 proved to be a robust heterogeneous catalyst that can be recycled and reused for at least five runs without significant loss of catalytic activity. The catalytic route proposed in this paper shows great potential for optimizing the catalytic process for 5-HMF production. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.