On Sunday there is a market at Tequise which is well worth visiting. There are a lot of stall holders over from Africa and there are many bargains to be found. The market is especially good for watches and other jewellery.
The first car park on the way into town has a large sign outside saying market 500m - it is not necessary to park here as there are several more car parks closer to the market and they all cost the same amount.

Car Hire is necessary as there are no buses. We used Cabrera Medina, a large local firm, which was nearly half the price of what the tourist rep offered with Avis.

If you don't want to drive then you'll have to go on the excursions. Several of the Exchange Bureau's offer excursions at about 1/2 the price of the tour companies so keep this in mind at the initial meeting. If you choose to go with your tour company you can always book later.

There are several of Cesar sculptures dotted around the island including at the major attractions which are interesting and add to the feeling of continuity on the island. For more information on Cesar Manrique see the page on Foundacion Cesar Manrique.

We stayed at Puerto del Carmen which although considered the most lively resort still has some quiet areas. There are many restaurants to choose from although most have the same menu; grilled meats and fish and most dishes were served with chips. The salads are very good value and include a variety of foods, and a side salad is almost a meal in itself. There are some more traditional restaurants in the Old Town down on the harbour and I did hear that El Golfo on the main street was to be recommended. On the sea front in Puerto del Carmen there is a good tapas bar called El Barito that I would recommend.

If you are into 60's, 70's and 80's music there is a bar just off the main street in Puerto del Carmen (turn up between Chester Fried Chicken and the Cabrera Medina office and it is just on the right past the Irish pub). The owner is great and he has the most amazing CD collection.

The following tips about beaches were given to me by Dave Williams.
"There is a very nice golden sandy beach in the South of the island. It is called Papagayo and is just beyond Playa Blanca. There is a dirt track road which leads to the beach and it is well worth a visit. The beach is quite large - approx 500-600m. There are a few secluded coves around the point which are accessible at low tide. The beach itself shelves quite steeply. There is ample place to park or many people ride bikes to the beach. As with many of these 'out of the way' beaches, many nudist frequent them but on the whole they tend to stick to the edges and also go to the coves either side of the main beach.

Another beach, which we found, is called Playa Quemada. This is situated South of Puerto Del Carmen. Follow the main road from Arrecife towards Playa Blanca and just after the junction to the Bachaloriat College there's a sign post to Playa Quemada. This is a small fishing village with the beach situated the 'other' side of the village buildings. The first time I went to the beach I thought that I'd missed it because the tarmac road runs out BEFORE you reach the village buildings. Just follow the road to the end and there's a few small restaurants and bars. The beach immediately in front of these bars is where the boats are moared. This part of the beach is covered by pebbles. People do swim off this part but the 'real' sandy bit of the beach is just around the point. It is accessible at low or high tide. When the tide is in, it is possible to clamber on the rocks but it is much easier to use the cliff-top foot path. When the tide is out or nearly out it is possible to walk around the point directly onto the beach.

The sand here is black and gets very hot and uncomfortable to walk on during the heat of the day - much hotter than golden coloured sand! It is said that the sand has healing properties, eg for rheumatism, aches and pains, etc. Many people go into the sea and then bury themselves in the sand. You are then in your own little sauna. They stay like that for about 10 minutes and repeat this process many times.
Again, like Papagayo, because of its remoteness many nudists frequent the beach. This is not to say that it is only nudists but if you're not aware of the fact then you may be offended."

The following information was given to me by Larry Healy.

"Golf - There is one golf club on the island called Costa Teguise and as the name would suggest it is located near Costa Teguise (approx. 5km). The course measures 5842 metres off the yellow markers and 5178 from the red markers. There is a lot of volcanic sand on the fairways which can be quite difficult to play off. It costs around 6500 pts to play (at January 1998) and there is a club house and a small pro shop."

Celebrations - The people of Lanzarote love to celebrate and at festival times everyone dresses up and there are amazing street parties.
The following information was given to me by Leonard Viner-Caudrey
"The Lent carnival lasts for 2 days and nights and is an amazing experience. The flamboyant dress of the participants is a site to be seen. Here is a photograph of one of the women.
The shopping hours in Arrecife are 10.00 a.m. till 1.30 p.m. and 4.00 p.m. till 8.00 p.m. with mornings only on Saturdays and Sunday closed. There is a Centro Commerciale outside town on the airport road that is open from 9.00 a.m. till 9.00 p.m. on weekdays.
We stayed at Playa Blanca where all the restauranrs are first class and cheap. Apparently there is a large catering and restaurant training school at Puerto del Carmen which one can also visit and be served immaculately."

The following information was given to me by Andrea Martelli who visited Lanzarote in March 1998 with his wife. They like to keep as far as possible from tourist resorts and crowded places and have provided some very interesting information.

1. We rented the car at the airport from Cabrerra Medina for 18.000 pesetas one week, full insurance and unlimited milage included. The car was new and in a very good shape. CICAR had the same price. There are other car rental companies at the airport but I didn't see any motorbike rental office there - there ara some in tourist towns such as Playa Blanca and Puerto del Carmen.
2. We had not booked any accomodation in advance from Europe. There is plenty of appartments to rent but most of them are booked only from abroad since are in the hands of travel agencies. There are few of them managed by local people and furthermore it is quite difficult to obtain one for less than one week or at least four days. The prices we paid ranged - in March - from 3000 (one room with bed and kitchen) to 6500 pesetas (two bedrooms plus kitchen and one pool downstairs) per day.
3. There are no camping sites with facilities but we saw a place near the Papagajo beach where it is officially allowed to camp. We have also read in a booklet that camping is allowed almost anywhere in the island - at least 50 meters off the streets - but I would suggest to check much better this information.
4. There are very nice restaurants in Lanzarote where fish and also meat are cooked very well. A 3 course dinner costs about 2000 to 3000 pesetas per person including wine or beer. A very good place to go is "La Era", it is a pleasant place with small dining rooms and they serve tipical Lanzarote dishes (try Puchero Canario) with a good selection of Canarian and Spanish wines.
5. Nice beaches are in the north-east, with several small bays composed of sand and volcanic rocks, and in the south around the Papagajo cape that you can reach either by foot on a coastal path or by car on a dirty road after the payment of an access fee since all the area is a natural park. Few beaches are on the west where the sea and the wind are less calm in comparison with the other places.
6. Very nice is travelling around the vineyards and wine cellars where you can enjoy the local wine and some tapas under the pergola shadow even if it is a bit expensive with respect to what you get. If you wanted to buy some bottle wine you are very welcome, not all the wine anyway worth being purchased, from my point of view, but some are very peculiar with an original flavour - it is possible to test the wine before buying it.
7. As a touristic places what we liked much and worth visiting are: Caves de los Verdes, Mirador del Rio, Timanfaya Montagna de Fuego, vineyards, Papagayo park, El Golfo, Haria, Teguise.

The following tip for those who want to get away from the tourist areas and meet the locals was given to me by Lari G "At about 40 minutes' walk from the beach (Puerto del Carmen) ( +/- 10 minutes), direction north roughly, there is a little village called Tias. There I met local people in the bar and enjoyed the conversation. I don't speak much Spanish but I understand it rather well if they speak slowly. "

Lari G also heard that the submarine safaris run by several companies are worth a try and his landlady said that it's worth going if the weather is absolutely calm and there are no clouds. He didn't try it but if anyone else has then let me know.

All in all Lanzarote is an interesting place to visit and great to get away from the British winter.

I hope that you have found some of this helpful and if you are planning a trip to Lanzarote you enjoy yourself.

Here are some links that I found interesting:
Red2000 General information on all the towns and attractions. This one also includes quite a good map.
Spain Tour Interesting information about the culture of the Canary Islands.
Lanzarote Guide Good information on the major tourist sites.
Guide to Lanzarote Good information on the island.

If you have any questions or tips you can email me.

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