So, you’ve arrived on Lanzarote, you’ve settled into one of our villas in Playa Blanca and you’re ready to dive into the best that this vibrant town has to offer. To help you put together your Playa Blanca itinerary, we’re covering the best places to see and things to do in and around the town.
Playa Blanca (meaning “White Beach”) is the most southerly resort on the island of Lanzarote, which is itself situated just 80 miles off the coast of Africa. Surrounded by numerous golden beaches and azure seas, and enjoying almost year-round sunshine with temperatures averaging 21°C (72°F), this is an amazing place to enjoy a family holiday or a sunshine getaway for couples. With Lanzarote’s mountain ranges blocking the majority of trade winds coming from the northeast, Playa Blanca tends to be drier and hotter than the island’s northern region – so it’s no surprise that the resort is such a popular holiday destination for tourists across the globe.
What started as a small fishing village has now grown into the full-blown holiday resort we see today, thanks to an insatiable thirst for sand, sunbeds and high-quality accommodation across the Canary Islands. Though slightly smaller than neighbouring resorts, visitors come to Playa Blanca to enjoy the quieter, more relaxing atmosphere you’d struggle to find at the often-rammed beaches of Fuerteventura and Tenerife. Despite its smaller size, Playa Blanca has a lot to offer holiday-goers travelling to this part of the world.
Being a relatively new tourist destination, Playa Blanca has been able to develop based upon the best ideas of others. For example, while there are places to eat, drink and dance until the early hours, there are no mega-nightclubs with hundreds of people pouring onto the streets at closing time. However, if you want to see more of Lanzarote’s nightlife, there are plenty of clubs 25 miles away in the resort of Puerto del Carmen. Developers have also chosen to build the luxurious Marina Rubicon here, and surrounded by designer boutiques and eateries overlooking the yachts, it definitely brings an upmarket feel to the resort.
As the fastest growing resort on the island, there are countless things to see and do in Playa Blanca. From island-hopping boat tours and scuba diving lessons to finding out more about local culture at Playa Blanca’s historic castle, Castillo de las Colorados, there’s something for everyone in this vibrant resort. Alternatively, tourists can take the coastal walk to the resort’s lighthouse, Faro de Pechiguera, where the route promises first-class views across the North Atlantic waters to Fuerteventura.
If you’re looking to top up your tan, the resort is home to four beaches for you to choose from, which are: Playa Blanca, Playa Flamingo, Playa Dorada and Papagayo. Playa Blanca beach, which the resort is named after, is based in the heart of the resort and proudly boasts a European Blue Flag for cleanliness. Just a short walk to the west of the town, you’ll find the attractive Playa Flamingo, situated close to the resort’s newer developments around Montaña Roja. Playa Dorada, which translates as The Golden Beach, tends to offer a calmer sea, making it a popular hotspot for anyone taking a morning swim. Located at the eastern end of Playa Blanca, the collection of five smaller beaches form Papagayo, which is a protected national park – and while sparsely-populated, these largely untouched bays are arguably the most well-known beaches in the area.
If you’re looking for what do in Playa Blanca on a Wednesday, there’s a small market that takes place at the Marina Rubicon every week at 9:00am to 2:00pm. Here, you can shop for jewellery, clothes and souvenirs before going into the shopping centre or to the nearby boardwalk for a bite to eat. The market is also open on a Saturday between the same times, and, although there are only around 30 stalls, you’ll find plenty of gifts and trinkets to bring home with you – which makes it more than worth visiting while you’re staying in Playa Blanca.
If you were hoping to do some shopping in Lanzarote, then look no further than the vibrant resort of Playa Blanca, where you’ll find the main shopping area in the centre of town – which is one third pedestrianised. Here you will find shopping outlets for a wide range of clothes, electrical goods, alcohol and cigarettes. On a practical note, you will also find many cashpoints, supermarkets, a chemist and lots of places to eat – not forgetting that our office and friendly team of local experts are also situated here, should you need your very own Lanzarote guide!
Running parallel to the high street, just one block away is the sea-front boardwalk. The boardwalk in Playa Blanca runs the full length of the resort (5 miles) and passes numerous beaches, Marina Rubicon, the harbour and too many restaurants to mention. If you’re looking for places to go running in Lanzarote, the boardwalk is an ideal place for walking or jogging and is wheelchair friendly too. For the most part, this section of Playa Blanca is populated by restaurants and cafés, as well as a few shops. The sea views here are beautiful during the day, but an evening meal is a must to fully appreciate the views of the orange sunset over the Atlantic Ocean.
While there’s lots to do in Playa Blanca, sightseers and shoppers should get out of the resort to discover what delights Lanzarote has to offer. There’s a regular bus service that travels between Playa Blanca, Puerto del Carmen (the Biosfera Plaza, which is a shopping centre in Lanzarote) and Arrecife, the capital of Lanzarote – as well as the large shopping centre of Deiland. This really will give you every opportunity to shop ’til you drop for everything and anything, at prices that are often cheaper than those back in the UK. Please note that most of the shops in Arrecife close between the hours of 2pm and 4.30pm every day. If you have a hire car then allow 25 minutes to Puerto del Carmen and a further 10 minutes to get to Arrecife.
From Mediterranean tapas bars to Indian-inspired eateries, there’s no shortage of choice when it comes to dining in the resort of Playa Blanca. Offering everything from seafood paella and tapas to freshly made burgers, rest assured that there’ll be something to whet your tastebuds amid the resort’s array of restaurants. So, whether you’re looking to try the local cuisine or just want to avoid the hassle of washing up, make sure you venture out to sample some of the mouthwatering menus that Playa Blanca has to offer.
For those of you who are quite happy to remain in the resort, you’ll be glad to know that car hire is no longer a necessity when staying in any of our villas, thanks to the ease of accessing public transport. So, if you can’t decide whether to stay in Playa Blanca or Puerto del Carmen, why not enjoy the best of both resorts by relaxing in the laidback area of Playa Blanca and travelling the short distance into the island’s longest established resort?
There’s now a bus service that runs back and forth across the resort of Playa Blanca and all our villas are a short walk away from any of the bus stops. For the timetable and a map of the stops click here. The service costs less than €2 per trip and runs every half-hour from 6:30am until 10pm (7 days a week). Of course, if you do want to be within walking distance of the town and beaches, we have lots of villas to suit. Travelling up the eastern coast are the fishing villages of Punta Mujeres, Arriets and Orzola, plus the attractions of Jameos del Agua and La Cueva de Los Verdes. These are amazing structures formed from the cooling lava which flows to create caves and tunnels. Heading north over the mountains there’s the Mirador del Rio, the highest point on Lanzarote with a viewing platform from which to enjoy stunning views of the neighbouring island of La Graciosa. Take a short drive from here down through to Haria, known as the Valley of a Thousand Palms, on to the village of San Bartolome and you’ll find the Cesar Manrique Foundation. This is a tribute to the late local artist who influenced much of the architecture and strict building controls on the island.
If you want to travel around the island, we can arrange excursions, car hire or a private driver for you. From the green lagoons of El Golfo to the martian landscapes of the Timanfaya National Park, there really are the most amazing places to see on Lanzarote – not least the countryside, which still bears the scars of the volcanic eruptions that started in 1730 and lasted for more than 2000 days!