Puerto del Carmen Travel Guide

Puerto del Carmen is the main resort on the popular holiday island of Lanzarote.  Once known to the locals as La Tiñosa this former fishing village has been transformed over the last fifty years to become one of the most popular holiday hot spots in the Canary Islands.  Welcoming hundreds of thousands of tourist guests every year.

Puerto del Carmen is located on Lanzarote´s south east coast close to Arrecife airport.  And back in the early 1970´s this is the place where the island’s first visitors would stay, as it was home to the sole hotel in Lanzarote at that time.  The Los Fariones, which is still located right by the beach today.

Over the years this trickle of tourists became a flood as word about Lanzarote´s great climate and weird volcanic scenery got out.  And by the 1980´s the town had expanded enormously – encompassing a 6km coastal strip of apartments, villas and hotels known as the Avenida de Las Playas.  Visitor numbers over the next twenty years left the resort looking a little run down.  But this trend has now been reversed by the injection of a €16 million budget which has helped to improve the infrastructure here enormously.

There is now a new seafront promenade lined with attractive tress and palms whilst a marina is planned for the harbour area.  Making Puerto del Carmen an attractive proposition for a holiday on Lanzarote once again.

There are hundreds of apartments and villas in Puerto del Carmen for visitors to stay in with prices for two bedroom properties with pools starting at about €550 per week.  Whilst those who prefer to let someone else take care of the catering on their holidays will also find a decent selection of hotels.  As the days when the Los Fariones was the only choice in town are now long gone.

Indeed Puerto del Carmen ha grown to such an extent that it now encompasses the neighbouring resorts of Los Pocilloas and Matagorda too.

The resort offers plenty to see and do.  There are loads of restaurants, bars and clubs here.  Along with excellent beaches such as the Blue Flag winner Playa Chica.  Kids will love Rancho Texas, a Wild West themed park with a decent zoo attached.  Whilst the Old Town harbour area provides a great environment for meals out under the stars.

Many visitors to Puerto del Carmen choose to rent a vehicle so they can also get out and explore.  And there are lots of Lanzarote car hire offices here offering competitive rates and good quality vehicles.

Lanzarote´s Leading Resorts

The popular holiday island of Lanzarote is home to three main resorts.  With each boasting its own unique character, identity and attractions.  As well as a variety of accommodation options.

Lanzarote is one of the seven Spanish owned Canary Islands – which lie just off the Atlantic coast of West Africa.  After Tenerife and Gran Canaria Lanzarote is the third most popular of the islands with holidaymakers – welcoming around 1.4 million tourists every year.  The bulk of whom enjoy a stay in one of the three main resorts of Costa Teguise, Playa Blanca or Puerto del Carmen.

Puerto del Carmen was in fact the first resort to be developed on the island and is still the most popular today.  Before the advent of tourism this was just a small fishing village called La Tiñosa, with little in the way of beaches, roads or amenities.  But as tourism took off in Spain during the late 1960´s La Tiñosa evolved into Puerto del Carmen – with beaches created by importing sand from the nearby Sahara desert.

Today Puerto del Carmen extends for around 8km and is nominally spit into two separate areas – the Old Town in and around the harbour are and the New Town which runs parallel with the main beach of Playa Grande.  There are two main hotels in Puerto del Carmen for visitors to choose from – the Los Fariones and the San Antonio.  As well as a good selection of apartment complexes.

Costa Teguise was developed after Puerto del Carmen in the 1980´s – originally designed as an upmarket resort with high quality accommodation.  Such as the five star Gran Melia Salinas – still widely regarded as the best hotels in Lanzarote today.

Costa Teguise remains an attractive resort but suffers by comparison with its rivals as the weather in this part of the island isn’t as favourable.  And during the winter months Costa Teguise can be shrouded in cloud whilst Puerto del Carmen and Playa Blanca are basking in sunshine.

Playa Blanca is the newest resort on the island – developed during the 1990´s.  And is home to some great beaches whilst also enjoying the best weather the island has to offer.  The high quality of the hotels and villas in Playa Blanca has helped to rapidly establish the resort as the second most popular on the island.  Aided further by the fact that Playa Blanca is also in close proximity to Lanzarote´s leading tourist attraction – the Fire Mountains of Timanfaya.