Puerto del Carmen Lanzarote

SteamTrean

Can anyone please give me some advise on what not to do and what to do in Puerto del Carmen. Myself and the GF are heading for a week at the end of june. Any suggestions not to go will of course be ignored as the tickets are paid for, but any positive shizzle would be greatly appreciated. I am particularly interested in the price of electronics, Recreational activities and water sports.

Thank you in advance.

Saruman

Just back from there on saturday.. stayed in hyde park lane in the playa picillos area.
Weather was hot!!
Firstly dont buy suncream etc over here... get it there for half the price.
Secondly... take the blue delfin day trip to Fuertefentura.. you might see Dolphins.. i did not but no big deal, seen loads of them before and swam with them.

Rent a car and go to all the places listed in the Gran Tour yourself.. cost the same or less but you have the freedom of the car. I rented a convertable Beetle for €100 for 2 days.

Make sure you go to La gera the wine area and get some wine.. OR take note of what you like in the tasting and buy it possibly cheaper in the local Spar (yes they are everywhere )

Oh it seems there are more Irish pubs here than anywhere elese in the canaries i have been to!!

Lots to do there.. less than Gran Canaria or Tenerife but its lots of fun.

Electronics.. very cheap but you will only get amazing prices from the dodgy foto shops.. places called "soni" etc
One called Visanta though is supposed to be legit!! I did not buy anything there.. Go there though.. be wary of anywhere else.. i know from previous canary islands
For instance i needed a UK-spain adapter.. something thats €4 in the airport and i knew they sould be cheaper.. however could not find any.. finally went in to one of the dodgy places as my wife kept going on at me not believing they were so bad.. he wanted to charge me €9?? then he showed me a cheaper one for €6 i said no and walked out and he kept shouting at me lower and lower.. last i heard was €3
Few mins later found a nice souvineer shop, asked there.. €2 so got one and spent €60 on other lovely asian stuff too

babaduck

It's a lovely spot & we really enjoy spending time in PdC - where are you staying?

It's a heck of a lot cheaper than here. I'd be very wary of buying electronic equipment over there (have seen friends get burned), but tobacco, alcohol & perfume is criminally cheap!

I personally hated the boat trip to Fuerteventura, nothing to do there, & if I won a free week there, I'd give it away... but some people like it

Rather than paying over the odds for the guided trips, rent a car with a/c and head off around the island yourself. You should be able to get to most of it in a day because it's approx. the size of Wicklow, although 2 days would be better. There's also a good shopping centre on the road into Arrecife with a big branch of Springfield for Men amongst other places (they have a branch in Roches, but they don't sell the aftershave here...:mad:)

Food & drink is generally really good quality, with the better restaurants being in the Old Town if you like your grub (El Tomate, Las Cascadas etc). If you're not bothered about haute cuisine, then any of the Lani's chain or the restaurants you'll find in the New Town along the seafront are just fine too!!!

Saruman

That Lani gets around.. Oh if you like mexican food.. do not bother going anywhere Especially Lanis mexican place.. cantina something.... no one can do it there!! They cant even do a good margarita.. they use lemon instead of lime which tastes awfull.

Here is a suggestion.. look for a small Asian place called Zen.. its the only one that does Japanese on the island i think.. if sushi is not your thing you HAVE to have teppenyaki (table grill).
Sit around the table.. they give you a kimono to wear and the chef grills your food there and then in front of you.. Love that place.

mikedragon32

For a fantastic meal, go to Bistro Montmartre, next to the Biosfera shopping complex. Amazing food and a great atmosphere.

Visanta is okay. My parents swear by it and have bought quite a bit of stuff in it. I went to Arricife and bought my PSP there, wasn't much cheaper than here at home, but given that when I was there NO PSPs were available in Ireland, just after the launch.

Agree with Saruman on the Mexican food. It's terrible. Lanis do have a couple of good steak houses though and you can watch the food being cooked.

My favourite daytrip was the Catalanza catamaran trip from Puerto Calero. Try to book the adult only one, as it was a lot of fun, plus not being bothered by screaming kids is always a bonus!

If you hire a car, you can get to see the entire island in a day. Some beautiful things to see around the place.

My one negative is a biggie. I will NEVER go there again. With the exception of Bistro Montmartre and a couple of restaurants in Matagorda, Wifey and I found the service was absolutely terrible. Most places staff were stroppy and rude. Speaking to others there at the time and to friends who've been there since, they agree.

But don't let it bother you, enjoy yourself regardless.

Saruman

I did not find that with the sercive now... only the lanis mexican place. Service evreywhere else was excellent.. we got lots of free shots at the end in most places too.. i guess to make us tip more
The zen place.. the second time we were there as well as the usual peach schnapps shot (fizzy there) she also gave us some chinses alcohol... jaysus it was 58%!!! Rank stuff.. made me feel ill.. she asked if we wanted more.. i said no your ok.. she pured 2 more and left the bottle.. so we eh.. pured it out into stuff when she was not looking


One place where you get excellent food at good prices and the staff are fab (gave us a bottle of peach schnapps on our last day!) is way down at playa pocillos at the commercial ctr there... beside the arcade place.. cant think of the name.. anyway good looking young spanish guy called sam and an older guy with grey patch on back of head.. looks like bald patch at first.. excellent staff!!

Lots of Garlic in canary food... have Prawns in Garlic oil.. excellent starter.. eat all the garlic and wipe oil in the bread you get... love it.. have to make some time!!

Padraig Mor

Second the suggestion for the day trip to Fuerteventura - a decent enough day out and the beach in Corralejo is incredible! As someone said, the best restaurants in PdC are down by the harbour in the old town; there is also a good one called 'La Canada' near the Atlantico Centre in the new town. The band in Mulligans in the new town were excellent (well, last year anyway) - it is also the most expensive place around though! If you want to pick up some clothes, head straight to the Biosfera shopping centre between the old and new towns.

plissken

its a lovely spot alright myself and the girlfriend stayed there last year and loved it, timanfaya (sp) national park is a must without a doubt you get to see the volcanoes on the island its great, also there is a casino in puerto del carmen which is extremely classy myself and the girlfriend went and loved every minute of it.

a word of warning though stay away from the electronics shops they are nothing but middle eastern conmen running them i went into a few looking to by a nintendo ds, in one i found one and bought it went around the corner to check the box again and there was a cheap plastic camera in the box instead I went back into the shop and he said he never seen me before needless to say 10 minutes of me waiting outside the shop telling everyone he was a conmen and he soon gave me my cash back. but I went into a few off them and they all were the same in another shop he tried to charge me 20 euro for a spain-euro adapter

wirelessdude

what are the park lane apartments like?

SteamTrean

Thank you all very much for the information, sounds like a decent spot. Looking forward to getting the moobs burnt off myself.

fade2black

Totally off topic but I may have said one of the funiest things I've ever said while in Lanzarote.

We were just after watching that Drag act in the old town (excellent show, check it out) and we were walking and getting lost. We came to a hotel and I looked up and there were a load of people out on their balconies...We asked for directions....And I remarked that it was like an episode of celebrity squares!! HaHa! Huh? You see the lay out of the balcony and the layout of celeb....ah forget it...

Saruman

Hyde park lane? Fantastic.. loved them.. not so much apartments as bungalows. Well most are duplex bungalows.. others are more apartment like as in they are the same as the duplex with another apartment on top
Plently of room inside. could do with a few little things like stuff to wash dishes with etc and only one pool has a pool bar. Great setup.. about 5 mins walk from the beach etc.. its right near rancho texas which is worth a visit! Rancho texas has an all inclusive theme night too.. all you can eat and drink.. i did not do it but supposed to be fab night out especially if you like line dancing.. and if not.. well drinks included in price so im sure that will not matter at the time

There is a casino there with a cool looking rooftop bar... dont bother for coctails.. excellent view but coctails are muck... and expensive.. for a beer or coffee im sure its fine though. View is excellent there..

Oh by the harbour there is a great cluster up the walkway past the sort of plaza area... one is called.. well cant remember.. Bahia or something like that.. anyway the menu outside is on a ship steering wheel and there is a hot chick wearing a mini skirt that is barely a skirt Go there for FAB sea food and great sunset views.