We’ve heard some bizarre ones over the years, but these are surprisingly common myths we thought we’d dispel about Lanzarote.
The Beaches Have Black Sand
No, they don’t. Apart from one beach at El Golfo, Lanzarote’s beaches all have “sand” coloured sand, ranging from quite dark at Famara and Arrieta, to almost white at Caleton Blanco and Papagayo.
The Whole Island Is A Holiday Resort
Wrong again. There are three main resorts on the island – Puerto del Carmen, Playa Blanca and Costa Teguise. Outside of those areas the island is, well, normal! People living, working and going about their every day business. The vast majority of the island isn’t a holiday resort, and it’s a fabulous place, waiting to be discovered.
You’ll Get Sick If you Drink Tap Water
Nope. The tap water is perfectly safe to drink. It’s desalinated from the ocean and it doesn’t taste very good, which is why we all drink bottled or filtered water, but it won’t make you sick, and it’s perfectly safe to clean your teeth with.
Avoid Ice In Drinks
This one is often peddled by the same people who tell you you’ll get sick if you drink the water. Bars here don’t make ice at their premises – they buy it in from a huge plant that makes tons of it and delivers it in little refrigerated vans with “Cubiton” on the side. The ice is made from completely pure water and all it will do is chill your drink perfectly. You can buy the same ice yourself from the supermarket.
Lanzarote Is Tiny
It’s true that the island is only 75KM long, and about 25 wide, but that adds up to a decent area, and because the island rises to over 2,000 feet in places, topography has an effect as well. If you were to walk around the Lanzarote, you’d see over 200KM of coastline! We’ve lived here for nearly 20 years, and we still discover new places all the time.
Lanzarote Isn’t Part Of The EU
We might be much closer to Africa than we are to Europe, but Lanzarote is very much a member of the European Union – in fact the union has provided huge amounts of funding to the islands. We set our own taxes and duty as we have a special tax regime here and we are a special economic zone. We don’t have VAT, which is 21% in the rest of Spain. Instead we have a local tax called IGIC which is only 7%, and we don’t have duty on alcohol and tobacco.
It’s Cooler In The North / It’s Hotter In The South
As we mentioned above, the island is only 75KM long – less than 50 miles. Although we do get variation in weather across the island, thanks to micro climates, they are never consistent. We’ve known many days when Orzola was the hottest place on the island, and Playa Blanca the coolest, and vice versa. It all depends on the wind direction, what sort of weather is headed our way, and how much cloud is building over the high ground.
The Island Is Full Of British & Irish Bars Selling All Day Breakfasts
You’ll find plenty of those in the resorts, but you’ll also find a huge choice of cuisine from all over the world there as well. But venture out of them, and you’re much more likely to find puntillas on the menu, rather than bacon and eggs.
More myths reading? Here are ten myths about actually living in Lanzarote
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