The inside track on Lanzarote
You might say we are lucky: my parents live at one end of the island and my sister and her family live at the other – for a holiday it couldn’t be better – childcare for a full week!
Since my family has lived in Lanzarote for many years, we have travelled as much of the Island as we can bear! By that, I mean how much volcanic landscape can one person take in? Having said that we continue to go year after year and alway enjoy great days out.
Beaches…. our favorite pastime; not just because we love the sun and find the beach one of the few places you can take the kids and not get too stressed at the constant chatter, but because we love the sea; our whole family enjoy snorkling and, when we can, a little diving too. Lanzarote has a real diverse choice of beaches from long stretches great for surfing such as Playa De Famara in the North of the Island to great little secluded beaches that often don’t even have names! The island is so small it is easy to jump in the hire car and stumble across several in a day without hardly trying. We have two regular beaches (for those who have young children in particular, they are great) – they are both close to shops and places to eat, have sandy beaches and good places for safe snorkeling (our youngest is 6 so we like to be in sheltered areas). Playa Dorada beach is found in Playa Blanca – this has a long stretch of soft sand but if you head for the area to the far right you will come across a little ‘man made stone built jut’ which is a fab place to snorkel and the boys love to climb across the rocks looking for crabs and the occasional octopus!
The other beach we love is tiny and always full of sea life really close to the waters edge; it is extremely calm as there are rocks to both sides of the beach. It can be found near the ‘Old Town’ of Puerto Del Carmen – a great place to learn to scuba dive if its your first time; we once saw an angel shark just off the pier where the boats are moored.
I could go on and on about beaches but you are best going and seeing for yourself; there is definitely something for everyone and it’s never too far to go to find an alternative!
We often like to split our days; a morning somewhere sightseeing and the afternoon and early evening back at the beach (6pm is the best time of the day if the winds are low). A year rarely goes by where we don’t take a trip to the Sunday market in Teguise; great day out, lots of places to eat and drink and an opportunity to buy some local goods as well as the usual tourist tat!
If you like a bit of local culture visit the home of Cesar Manrique; his house was built in 1968 on top of a volcanic trail from a volcanic eruption that occurred in 1730-36. It uses the formation of volcanic ‘bubbles’ for the main rooms within the house; it really is worth a trip just to see the architecture. You might also take a trip up to fire mountain the area of the volcano; Timanfaya is a really popular tourist spot but again a fascinating trip – the kids will love the fact that they are standing on what appears to be a living volcano!
What else can I say? I know Lanzarote has been referred to as Lanzagrote! – but I really enjoy it; there is a real varied choice of places to dine from great little ‘local’ bars to quite cosmopolitan restaurants. We love to take a late afternoon lunch in Puerto Calero; lovely port with some fab’ boats to ‘wish over’ and the children love to spend hours feeding the fish off the harbour. There is also a submarine you can take a trip on from here. There is a cute little marina in Playa Blanca that has a fantastic choice of dining in a beautiful setting over looking the sea.
I have to admit I could go on and on but will leave it at that for today!