If you are going to a villa in Lanzarote next summer you might be wondering about where to visit when you are there. Well, the capital city of Lanzarote is Arrecife and that is as good a place as any to start with.
Arrecife is a lively port city that took over from Teguise as the Island’s capital. It is positioned on the south coast of the island, nestled between Costa Teguise and Puerto Del Carmen. Arrecife is also the home to the island’s airport and a slight diversion on the road to Puerto Del Carmen will give airplane enthusiasts an excellent treat as they can stand almost at the end of the runway and, dependent on wind direction, have the airplanes passing low level over their heads as they take off or land.
Half of the island’s inhabitants reside in Arrecife and the site of Lanzarote’s only building of above the regulation couple of floors. From miles around the island’s only high rise structure can be seen towering over the city. Cesar Manrique’s vision for the protection of the island stopped the building of any more such buildings and for decades this hotel, the Arrecife Gran Hotel, was a mere shell mid construction as authorities debated completion or destruction.
As already mentioned, the traditional capital was Teguise, some siz miles further inland. This was chosen as protection from the regular pirate raids of old and was the capital of the island for 4 and a half centuries. It was only in 1852, when the importance of the port was recognized for the seafaring trade that the capital status was moved to Arrecife.
This piratical past is still in evidence today as there are two castles protecting the harbour. Although, these days they mainly stand and watch the biggest fishing fleet in the Canaries setting to sea and returning with their catch.
Lanzarote’s most southerly and most westerly tourist resort is Playa Blanca. It is also a younger resort than Puerto Del Carmen and Costa Teguise and there is some building work still in progress, but many holiday makers still find it quieter than its two earlier resorts. It is just under 40 kilometers from the island capital of Arrecife and a little over twenty miles from the airport.
Playa Blanca started life as a fishing village and more recently has seen service as the embarkation point for the ferry to neighbouring Fuerteventura. There is even talk that the harbour will be enlarged to take in cruise ships to attract in more visiting tourists.
The Playa Blanca coastline consists of a 9 km wide bay, split into 3 smaller bays, including the best known of the 3 bays, Papagayo. This has the result of producing neat beaches with white sand that are safe for swimming and soaking up the sun’s rays. Scuba diving is also possible with the English speaking dive centres dotted around. Although the aquatic life is the same as the whole of Lanzarote, diving over the white sands does make an attractive change.
There are plenty of restaurants and shopping opportunities in Playa Blanca, but nightlife is said to be a little quieter than its sister resorts around to the airport. Most of the tourist accommodation in Playa Blanca consists of holiday villas rather than hotels and apartments and there is an excellent assortment to choose from. Finding villas Playa Blanca is commonplace and there are an excellent choice of villas available.
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