I’m often asked to suggest things people should do when they are visiting the island, and depending on where I’ve been recently, my suggestions keep changing! There really is so much to do on this little island, that I feel sorry for people who only have a week or two a year to enjoy it.
For those of you coming over in the next few months, here are five things you might want to try. It’s a totally personal list and will probably change next week, so feel free to pick and choose the ones that interest you.
Here we go then:
Visit La Graciosa
The beauty of this trip is that you get to visit a tiny, unspoilt island, with just two villages, and some totally gorgeous beaches. Hang around Caleta de Sebo and use the town beach there, or hire some mountain bikes or get a Jeep taxi, to Playa de la Concha on the far side of the island.
You get there on the ferry from Orzola, the northernmost town on the island.
Go Beachcombing
The “top” coast of Lanzarote gets the main weather and tidal flow, so it’s there that you can find loads of interesting debris from ships and other shores. It’s the stretch from Timanfaya through La Santa and to Famara and around to Orzola that gets it. We’ve found some fantastic ropes, barrels and amazing pieces of drift wood over the years. And it’s fascinating identifying all the different products from the empty cans and bottles that get washed up.
Go Saturday morning shopping in Arrecife
Arrecife is fabulous on a Saturday morning. There’s a terrific market and the city is buzzing and full of people. And once your legs get tired, stop at one of the many open air cafeterias and enjoy some churros and chocolate while you watch the world go by. I could spend hours watching the way friends meet up and instantly enter into animated and loud conversation.
Once you’ve exhausted everything you want to see in Calle Leon y Castillo, keep walking up the street and you’ll come to the huge Open Mall shopping centre.
Afterwards head up to the top floor of the Gran Hotel and enjoy the spectacular view from the restaurant there and be amazed that a coffee and cake there is very reasonably priced despite the fact that it’s a five star hotel.
Eat take away tapas at a Mirador
Most tapas bars will happily sell you portions (raciones) of their fare to take away (para llevar.) I’d order some Ensalada Rusa, some mixed olives, some Tortilla Española and pack that with fresh tomatoes, fresh bread (with sachets of olive oil to put on it), and a bottle of wine, and set myself up for a picnic with a view.
You can choose from the viewpoints at Femés, Haria or even the Mirador del Rio.
Scuba Dive at Charco del Palo
Lanzarote is one of the most underrated dive destinations in the world. For most divers, The Red Sea is the Mecca, and I’ve dived there, but I think Lanzarote is even more special. And the beauty of it is you don’t have to endure several hours on a boat to get to the dive sites – almost all of the good ones are right off shore, where the lava has created amazing underwater reefs and caves teeming with sea life.
I’d choose Charco because there are at least six different dives you can do there which range from 18 to over 40 meters in depth. There are dozens of excellent dive schools on the island who can take you out, or teach you how to dive in our warm, safe waters.
Getting to them
So those are my five. You can do most with public transport, but I’d highly recommend you hire a car when you’re here. There are plenty of car hire companies on the island, some have old battered cars, some take a big deposit and insist on a credit card, some rip you off by charging a huge amount for fuel., others charge extra for 2nd drivers, child seats and even insurance.
We’ve been arranging car hire for our readers for years now, and our cars are all less than two years old, we have no hidden extras and we include full insurance and two drivers with every hire. You can get a quote here: Lanzarote Car Hire
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