Lanzarote is one of the Canary Islands, and it is fascinating and intriguing with its volcanic landscape. It’s the ideal location all year round; the average temperature is 21 degrees because of the desert climate. Lanzarote isn’t big, with only 60 km from north to south and 25 km from east to west. However, it has a few great areas for you to stay during a holiday, and we have listed them for you.
Visit PUERTO DEL CARMEN FOR A TOURISTIC BUT VIBRANT TOWN
I think the most touristic location in Lanzarote is Puerto del Carmen.However, it is charming and entertaining; you won’t have to be bored because there is plenty to do over here. The whole boulevard is packed full of shops, restaurants, and bars, and Puerto del Carmen is the ideal location if you’re looking for a place with real nightlife. However, we thought this place really stood out because of its beautiful beach Playa Chica, and its volcanic black sand beach Playa Quemada.
Playa Chica And Playa Quemada, Two Beautiful And Volcanic Beaches
At the border of Puerto del Carmen, you can find the beautiful beach, Playa Chica. Playa Grande in Puerto del Carmen is one of the famous and touristic beaches full of sunbeds, but Playa Chica is small and magical. Therefore, we preferred this beach. With the waves crashing into the rocks, this beach gives you a good example of the rough volcanic landscape of Lanzarote.Here, you take the most beautiful beach photos.
It’s a small tour you have to make, for which you need a car or a motorbike, but then you can visit Playa Quemada. This beach is known for its dark black sand, which contrasts with most of the other beaches on Lanzarote, which are not really black. The sand is really dark, but we think that’s the only reason you should visit this place. It does not look very cozy, and it’s not busy.
There Are Many Restaurants And Bars, The Choice Is Enormous
We don’t think it really matters where you go for a drink because almost every restaurant has a happy hour (we believe the entire day practically). Then you can get a beer for €1,50 or a glass of wine for €2-. However, we can give you a good option for dinner.
It looks like it will cost you a fortune to eat at Stars Cafe restaurant, but that’s not the case at all. The prices are really friendly, and the service is excellent! The food is good; however, not exceptional. But what can you expect for that price? We enjoyed our evening here, and the price to quality ratio was very good.
Excursions In Puerto Del Carmen
When you are looking for something else to do other than chilling at the beach, eating, and drinking, there are also many excursions to choose from in Puerto del Carmen. We gave you a few of our favorite options to do on your free days.
Drive through the rough volcanic landscape with this buggy experience. You are accompanied by an experienced guide while you’re driving in on the best off-road dust tracks of the island. This tour is a real adrenaline rush! You can combine being active and enjoying the mysterious landscape of Lanzarote.
Done with the adrenaline activities? Then it might be time to watch the sunset during a relaxing boat trip. Sit back and enjoy a mojito while sailing along the coast of Puerto del Carmen. And if you’re lucky, you might even spot some dolphins!
Accommodation In Puerto Del Carmen
Because Puerto del Carmen is so touristic, there are many hotels, of course. Therefore, we will give you some good options for your stay here.
The name already gives it away, here you can have the most comfortable stay in Puerto del Carmen. It is located a 4-minute walk from the beach, and it has nice modern apartments.
$ Apartamentos HG Lomo Blanco.
A bit better priced, but still very comfortable apartments. It is also close to the beach, and it has two pools. The apartments are a bit more dated, but it’s kept very clean.
Playa Blanca The best home base for activities
Lanzarote is one of the windiest islands of the Canary Islands, and they say that Playa Blanca is the least windy area, but we disagree. However, it is a nice place to stay and an excellent home base for some great attractions and day trips to make.
The Best Day Trips In Lanzarote
Even while it can be so relaxing to spend all your days on the beach, it might be worthwhile exploring the island as well. Playa Blanca is the ideal location for this, and we gave you our favorite activities on the island. If you want to have an overview of all the activities you can do in Lanzarote, you can read about all the best activities on Lanzarote.
Wine in La Geria
Although it is hard to imagine, the nutrient-rich volcanic soil was ideal for farming and growing grapes to make wine. You can find the vineyards in and around La Geria, and these vineyards look pretty extraordinary. They used to put the plants in holes in the ground and built walls around them to protect the plants from the wind. Nowadays, they have another technique: placing the plants in straight lines to maximize space.
There is a museum about these unique wines where you can see how these wines were made, already since 1775. The museum shows the wine presses, pumps, crushers, and more. After you have seen the vineyards, you can, of course, taste the wines. They were all delicious; however, my favorite was the El Grifo Vijariego :).
Besides this famous museum, there are also a few smaller wine farmers in the surrounding. We visited one of them, Vega Vulcan, a small but beautiful winery. The owners show you around in the cellar and explain something about their wines. Then you can, of course, also taste their wine in the beautiful garden.
The Timanfaya National Park and Los Volcanoes park
You can’t visit Lanzarote without exploring the real volcanic and natural area. You can either visit the Timanfaya National Park by yourself or with a tour, or you can go to the Parque Natural de Los Volcanos to climb the volcano, Caldera Blanca.
You are not allowed to visit the entire Timanfaya National Park without a guide to protect the landscape. However, there is one hiking route that you can do by yourself, El Ruta del Litoral. The starting point is nearby el Golfo, but the whole hiking trail is 12km long, one way, but you can also walk a part of it, of course. Notice that you need good shoes because of the sharp volcanic rocks. If you want more in-depth information about this hike, read about the best hikes in Lanzarote.
Daytour Timanfaya National Park
You can also choose to visit the Timanfaya National Park with a tour. This allows you to really visit the park itself and see the geothermal demonstrations from the heat still present in the ground after the latest eruptions. Admire the sea of lava during a drive along the famous Volcanoes Route.
Another option to admire the volcanic area is, obviously, by climbing one volcano! On the border of the volcanic area, you can find the Caldera Blanca volcano, which you can visit by yourself. From a parking lot near Mancha Blanca, you can follow a path around the volcano which brings you to the summit. We visited the Caldera Blanca volcano before sunrise, then it can be hard to find this small path, so we thought we had to climb it randomly… This can be dangerous, especially when it is windy, so be sure to find the trail. If you want to read more about our adventure on this volcano, check out this blog about hikes in Lanzarote.
The Best Beaches To Visit
If you need to recharge after all the activities, there are also some beautiful beaches in this area. The 5 lagoons of Playa Papagayo are definitely worth a visit. You do need a good car to reach the beach, or you have to hike for quite a while over the dirt roads. The first beach we visited was Playa Mujeres, the largest one. We reached only 3 other lagoons: Playa del Pozo, Playa de la Cera, and Playa del Papagayo. All were beautiful, but it was really windy, and the weather wasn’t perfect, but this gave the beaches a mysterious look so beautiful for the pictures 🙂
Even closer to the city center is Playa Flamingo. This beach is probably the best one for sunbathing and swimming. It’s a manmade lagoon, so waves are not that high, and it is not really rocky. You can also find many bars and restaurants on the beachfront.
Eat At Restaurant Brisa Del Mar
There are many different restaurants at Playa Blanca, but we recommend visiting Brisa del Mar. We ordered pasta, and it was delicious. It was not a really big portion, but for us, it was perfect. You can have a table outside from where you have views over the sea. There are windshields that protect you from the wind, so this is the ideal location even when it is colder.
Accommodation In Playa Blanca
Does this all sound interesting? Then you should stay in Playa Blanca. There are many options to choose from, and we give you a few of our favorites.
One great accommodation, which is also nicely priced, is Bungalows Playa Limones. The rooms are a little bit dated but clean, and it is located a 3-minutes walk from the beach.
$$ Dreams Lanzarote Playa Dorada Resort & Spa
Another option when you are looking for a bit more luxury is Dreams Lanzarote Playa Dorada Resort & Spa. This hotel has a great location, and it offers everything you need.
The beautiful and vibrant town of Costa Teguise
Costa Teguise is not as touristic as Puerto del Carmen, but still a vibrant and especially more pretty town if you ask me. The environment is really taken care of, and the boulevard is great for just a walk or even for a run.
Stay In Club Santa Rosa
If you want to be pampered during your stay in Costa Teguise, you should book for Club Santa Rosa. The hotel is close to all the shops, restaurants, bars, and beaches. However, if you don’t want to leave the resort, you can also stay here. You can have breakfast, dinner, drinks and there are so many activities here so you won’t have to be bored.
This resort is the best choice, especially when looking for a sportive holiday. They offer many kinds of sports such as padel, bowling, swimming, and they have a fully equipped gym in which they also give many lessons that you can follow. Every year, in October, they organize a bike tour that goes around the island and is 100 km long!
Not only the sporty ones are welcome; also couples, singles, and families can go here. There are plenty of activities for children; a play hall and they organize some activities at the pool. We really enjoyed our stay in Club Santa Rosa!
Eat At Tapas Restaurant La Tabla
How can you stay on a Spanish island without eating Tapas? And for the best tapas on the island, you should be at La Tabla. This unique tapas restaurant is located near the beach Playa de las Cucharas, located on the first floor of a shopping mall. It looks very cozy!
They have much different tapas, varying from fresh vegetables, potatoes, meat, and peppers. So far, the best tapas I’ve ever had, and my absolute favorite was the local cheese, so try that one if you decide to visit La Tabla :-). The staff is also really friendly and helpful, they really try to make the best out of your visit here.
Beaches Of Costa Teguise
Costa Teguise also has some beautiful beaches. The dark sand matches beautifully with the blue-green sea. It is also a bit volcanic and rocky, and the volcanic ground is really sharp, so be careful, but you can enter the sea in some places. There are 4 different beaches here; Playa de los Charcos, Playa de las Cucharas, Playa del Jablillo, and Playa Bastián. In our opinion, the best beach for a relaxing day is Playa de las Cucharas or del Jablillo. The other two beaches don’t have sand to place your towel on or a place to enter the sea.
Trip To Teguise
If you’re staying in Costa Teguise, you should make a day trip to Teguise.Although the name is similar, the experience is totally different. Costa Teguise is a real coastal village; Teguise is an authentic historical town with cobblestone streets and old buildings. It also has a large and famous market on Sundays.
We were there early, and we recommend you to do so as well. We were visiting in winter, a less touristic period. We noticed that this place was crowded with tourists a bit later in the morning, so we can only imagine how busy it is in summer. The market was large, and it was nice to visit; however, besides a few exceptions, most products were one in a dozen.
Still, it was worth visiting this place, especially the old buildings. We walked through the small center for a while, whereafter we took place at one of the many terraces for a cup of coffee. If you are around Teguise on a Sunday,we recommend you visit that day because only on Sunday this market takes place. Despite being very touristic, it really gives ambiance to the town.
If you wonder where to stay in Lanzarote, there are a few good options. Playa Blanca for an active and adventurous holiday, Puerto del Carmen for a vibrant town, or Costa Teguise, which looks a bit more luxurious and is beautiful. Do you think that we forget one? Please leave a comment! 🙂
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