Puerto del Carmen, on the south-east side of Lanzarote, is among the most important tourist spots on the island. There are more than 6 km of beaches protected from the trade winds (Grande Beach, Los Pocillos and Matagorda being the most extensive), and a wide variety of hotels.
Understand
Puerto del Carmen has a full range of services and numerous entertainment centres along the expansive Las Playas Avenue: stores, shopping centres, restaurants and bars, recreational centres, pubs, discos and in general a vibrant nightlife.
Anyone expecting a quiet place and beautiful nature surrounding will be disappointed: In addition to various bars and restaurants in the area of the harbor and kitschy tourist shops along the beach promenade, there are mainly barren "lunar landscapes" to visit. The streets often have a steep incline, which is why less sporty people and especially wheelchair users should expect problems here.
Get in
Puerto del Carmen is well signposted from the airports, and most areas of the Island. There is a direct bus service (#161) from the airport. Buses from the capital Arrecife run every 20 minutes. A taxi from the airport is about €15–20 (2018).
Get around
Hire cars, electrobikes, mopeds and buses are all plentiful here. Plenty of rent-a-cars at reasonable prices.
By electric kick scooters
Puerto del Carmen, Playa Honda, Arrecife and Costa Teguise are covered by one connected e-scooter sharing system. You can take one anywhere and leave it in the designated area. The service is provided by Superpedestrian Link Scooters and can be used with the according app. It costs €1 to unlock and €0.30 per minute (February 2023).
By bus
The bus lines 3 and 161 operate around the town. Timetables are covered in Google Maps.
See
Stroll along the main avenue. It is possible to walk all the way to the neighbouring resort along the coastline. Visit the Old Town and Port.
Do
Go to the beaches. Don't forget to take a tour of the island's main sights (Jameos del agua, Cueva de los Verdes, Mirador del Río, Jardin de Cactus, El Golfo, Fundación César Manrique).
Puerto del Carmen is host to many dive centres. Scuba diving is one of the most popular sports there with very favourable conditions. Water temperatures vary from 19°C in the winter to 23°C in the summer, and visibility averages over 25 metres to 30 metres.
Buy
Plenty of gift shops full of souvenirs and the like. Avoid, at all cost, the Indian electronic shops. With a few exceptions (ask a local or a guide), they are all very shady "businesses", experts in the bait-and-switch practice and other even less decent tactics or just plain fraud. If you need to buy a camera or something, always ask first, as there are only 2 or 3 out of the more than 20 shops that are not like that. Other than the Indian electronic shops, all the others are decent business that you can safely buy anything from. Many of the smaller supermarkets have prices highly inflated for tourists, so it would be to your advantage to buy from larger supermarket chains. The international press is available in several newstands and supermarkets. There are plenty of floating toys, snorkelling gear, towels and stuff for the kids on the beach.
- Fundgrube is a chain of stores that is widespread all over the Canary Islands and offers fashion accessories, handbags, cosmetics, some clothes and lots of cigarettes. The prices of most product groups correspond to those in normal supermarkets, they are comparable to those in the duty-free shops of the Canary Islands airports.
- Along the beach promenade there are many small shops with fashionable articles, mostly of poor quality. They are often run by traders who look Chinese and their range of goods and prices are interchangeable. It is similar with electronic items.
- Everyday goods can easily be purchased in supermarkets such as Lidl or Spar.
- Biosfera Shopping Centre, Avenida Juan Carlos I, 15 (above the old town centre), ☏ +34 928 515 320. M-Sa 10:00-22:00, Su 11:00-22:00. Well-stocked small mall, mostly designed for local customers, on the outskirts of the Old Town with curious architecture built into what used to be a hugh hole in the volcanic rock. There is a handful of bars and restaurants and a decent array of high street branded fashion outlets including Zara, Footlocker, Benetton, Timberland all generally retailing cheaper than the UK equivalents.
Eat
The entire front-water strip is packed neck-to-neck with bars and restaurants. There is a McDonald's and a Burger King in the Old Town. The main strip has a cosmopolitan range of restaurants mostly catering for the tourist trade and of a reasonable standard and price.
Budget
Mid-range
Splurge
- 🌍 Kentia, Gourmet Club, C. Reina Sofía, 23.
Drink
The entire front-water strip is packed neck-to-neck with bars and restaurants.
Sleep
Plenty of 3- and 4-star hotels and apartments available for rent.
- Hotel Los Fariones, C/. Roque del Este 1, ☏ +34 928 510 175. Beachfront hotel, set in extensive gardens with native plant species, with direct access to the Atlantic Ocean.
Connect
As of Oct 2023, Puerto del Carmen and its approach highways have 4G from Vodafone, and 5G from MasMovil, Movistar and Orange.
Go next
Puerto del Carmen lays claim to being the most popular tourist destination on the island, and has a diversity that will suit most tastes. The Old Town has managed to retain its traditional Canarian atmosphere. Most nights you can see the locals playing boules in the streets, sample seafood, or simply enjoy a glass of the local wine as you gaze across the harbour. The New Town (or "strip" as it's more commonly known) is bustling with activity. Again, this has a wide range of bars and restaurants available, as well as discotheques for working off some of those excess calories. The Biosfera is certainly worth a visit, with 4 floors of shops and bars, an area which really comes to life when the sun sets. There's even a kiddies' play area to keep them occupied whilst you haggle with the shopkeepers.