Puerto del Carmen

The island’s major holiday resort on the south coast, Puerto del Carmen, is ideally located for starting off this exploration tour of central Lanzarote.

What once used to be an idyllic, tiny fishing village, known as Tiñosa, on a long sandy beach grew in recent years into a top tourist resort stretching in a narrow strip about 5 km (3 miles) along the coast, blessed with three fabulous sandy beaches. Puerto del Carmen boasts many attractive hotels, surrounded by beautiful subtropical gardens, but it has unfortunately also some less appealing hotel buildings and monotonous apartment blocks. Although there are no high-rise structures and all buildings, if old or new, are conceived in white and a rather unostentatious style, the influence of César Manrique’s aesthetic guidelines is not so evident here as in many other places of the island.

The most original part of Puerto del Carmen is the old harbour area, which has still working fishing boats, joined by all kinds of crafts offering various leisure trips, including a submarine to discover the underwater world close to the coast as well as boats especially equipped for diving excursions and sports fishing. In the square next to the port, you can watch the locals playing their version of ‘boccia’ and in the immediate vicinity you will find many nice seafood restaurants as well as an adventure playground.

Along the Avenida de las Playas, a busy, several kilometres long seaside promenade east of the harbour, the picture is completely different. One side of the Avenida is a pleasant walkway fringed with palm trees and bright subtropical plants, while on the other side line up hundreds of restaurants, bars and cafés, competing to please the tastes and likes of all visiting nationalities, as well as amusement arcades, ice cream parlours and numerous shops. During the week the night ends here around midnight but nightlife continues in a few nightclubs and discos located in the various shopping centres, the best known of which is the Centro Comercial Atlántico.

During the day, all the action takes place on the beaches along the Avenida de las Playas. The most famous – by many considered as some of the island’s most beautiful – are the golden sand beaches Playa Grande, confusingly also known as Playa Blanca like the southern tourist resort, and Playa de los Pocillos, both over one kilometre (0.5 mile) long. At the eastern end of the town is Playa de Matagorda, with fewer attractions and less frequented, as the noise from the nearby airport keeps off the crowds.

Puerto del Carmen’s beaches are family-friendly and generally safe for swimming. They offer a wide range of water sports, good water quality and boast all necessary facilities for a fun-filled day on the beach.