Puerto Calero

Resort Guide

Puerto Calero is Lanzarote’s most exclusive and elegant corner, a beautifully designed marina resort on the sheltered south coast, midway between Puerto del Carmen and Playa Blanca. Built around one of the finest yacht harbours in the Canaries, it’s a calm, sophisticated, immaculately kept spot of luxury yachts, upmarket waterfront restaurants, designer shops and landscaped gardens. It’s the launch point for many of the island’s best boat trips, from catamaran cruises to the famous submarine safari, and a superb diving base. Quieter and more refined than the bigger resorts, it suits couples, sailing lovers and anyone after a peaceful, stylish holiday. This guide covers everything you need to know, with links to our detailed guides on dining, boat trips, activities and more.

Where Is Puerto Calero?

Puerto Calero sits on the south coast of Lanzarote, in the municipality of Yaiza, around ten kilometres from both the capital Arrecife and the airport, and just a few kilometres south of Puerto del Carmen. It occupies a naturally sheltered stretch of coast, which is part of why the marina here is so calm and well regarded, and it enjoys the warm, sunny, protected climate of the island’s south.

The resort was purpose-built around the marina, which opened in 1989, and has grown into a small, self-contained village of low, tasteful, white-walled buildings in keeping with the island’s architecture. It’s compact and beautifully laid out, centred entirely on the harbour and its waterfront promenade, with a couple of hotels, some smart residential developments and the marina’s shops and restaurants. This is a boutique resort rather than a sprawling one, and that intimate, upmarket scale is exactly its appeal.

The Puerto Calero Marina

Everything in Puerto Calero revolves around its marina, and it’s a genuinely lovely one. Now expanded to well over 400 berths, it’s regarded as one of the best sailing harbours in the Canaries and a favourite port of call for luxury yachts and visiting sailors from around the world.

Simply strolling the waterfront, admiring the boats, browsing the shops and stopping for a coffee or a long lunch overlooking the water, is the classic way to spend time here, and the landscaped gardens, calm atmosphere and sea breeze make it a genuinely relaxing place to be. The marina also has full facilities for sailors, including a boatyard, sailing schools and repair services, and it hosts regattas and sailing events through the year.

There Are No Beaches In Puerto Calero

One thing to be clear about before you book: Puerto Calero has no beach of its own. This is a marina resort, not a beach resort, and that’s the single most important thing to understand about it. If a beach on your doorstep is essential to your holiday, one of the other resorts will suit you better. The nearest beaches are the sands of Puerto del Carmen, including the sheltered cove of Playa Chica, a few kilometres away and easily reached by car, taxi, bus or the water taxi across the bay. Many visitors happily stay in Puerto Calero for its calm and its style and simply hop over to Puerto del Carmen or take a boat trip when they want a beach day.

Puerto Calero Boat Trips and Submarine Safari

As a marina resort, Puerto Calero is one of the very best places on the island for getting out on, and under, the water. It’s a major departure point for boat trips of all kinds, from catamaran cruises along the coast to the Papagayo beaches, to deep-sea and sport fishing excursions and sailing trips.

Its most famous attraction is the Submarine Safari, a real passenger submarine that dives to around 30 metres, taking you down to explore the marine life, volcanic seascape and wrecks off the coast in comfort, without getting wet, one of the most memorable and family-friendly experiences on the island.

For our full rundown of what leaves from the marina, see our guide to boat trips from Puerto Calero.

Diving and Watersports

The waters off Puerto Calero are among the best on the island for scuba diving, with rich marine life, volcanic underwater landscapes and wrecks, and there’s a well-regarded dive centre based right at the marina offering everything from beginners’ try dives to guided dives and courses, including underwater photography outings. Sailing lessons are available too, and the marina is the natural base for anyone wanting to charter a boat or learn to sail. For beach-based watersports you’d head to nearby Puerto del Carmen, but for diving and everything boat-related, Puerto Calero is superb.

See our guides to diving and activities in Puerto Calero for the full details.

Eating Out in Puerto Calero

Dining is one of the great pleasures of Puerto Calero, and the marina is known as one of the island’s smartest places to eat.

The waterfront is lined with an excellent range of restaurants and cafés, from relaxed spots for lunch to fine-dining establishments, taking in Canarian, Spanish, Italian, Chinese, steakhouse and international cooking, much of it built around fresh local fish, Lanzarote wines and island produce, and all with lovely views over the yachts. It’s the ideal setting for a long, leisurely, special meal, and eating out here feels more refined and grown-up than in the busier resorts.

For our full rundown of where to eat, see our guide to eating out in Puerto Calero.

Nightlife in Puerto Calero

Puerto Calero is not the place for a big night out, and its visitors wouldn’t want it to be. Evenings here are sophisticated and low-key, centred on a long dinner and a drink at one of the marina’s chic cocktail lounges or its chilled-out and Irish and English bars, watching the sun go down over the boats. There’s no karaoke, no clubbing and no rowdy strip. If you want livelier nights, Puerto del Carmen is only a few minutes away by taxi or water taxi, which is the beauty of Puerto Calero’s location: peace and refinement on your doorstep, with the buzz of the big resort close by whenever you fancy it.

Hotels in Puerto Calero

Puerto Calero is a small resort with a limited but high-quality range of places to stay, leaning firmly upmarket. There are a couple of well-regarded hotels, including luxury and adults-only options with spa and wellness facilities and cliff-top sea views, along with smart apartments and villas, many with private pools, in the surrounding residential areas. It’s a resort that suits couples, honeymooners and those after a quiet, refined base rather than big all-inclusive family hotels. Some of the spa and wellness centres are open to non-residents too.

For our full rundown of the best places to stay, see our guide to hotels in Puerto Calero.

Getting to Puerto Calero from the Airport

Puerto Calero is an easy trip from Lanzarote Airport, lying around thirteen kilometres to the south-west, a drive of roughly fifteen to twenty minutes. A taxi from the rank outside the terminal is quick and straightforward, and pre-booked private transfers are just as easy, meeting you at arrivals for a fixed price. Car hire is well worth considering here: because the resort is small and has no beach of its own, having a car makes it easy to reach the beaches, the rest of the island and its attractions, though it isn’t essential if you’re happy with the marina, boat trips and the odd taxi. For more on the airport itself, see our full guide to César Manrique Airport.

Getting Around Puerto Calero

Puerto Calero itself is tiny and entirely walkable, with everything set around the marina and its promenade, so you won’t need transport to get about the resort. For trips further afield, there’s a taxi rank in the resort, local buses run to Puerto del Carmen in around ten minutes, and the Express water taxi service connects the marina to the old harbour in Puerto del Carmen across the bay, a lovely little journey in its own right. A hire car is the most flexible way to explore the wider island and reach the beaches, but between buses, taxis and the water taxi you can manage well without one.

Is Puerto Calero The Right Resort For You?

Puerto Calero is the right choice if you want a calm, stylish, upmarket base with a beautiful marina, excellent restaurants and easy access to the island’s best boat trips and diving, and if you value peace and refinement over nightlife and a beach on your doorstep. It suits couples, sailing and diving enthusiasts, and anyone after a quieter, more sophisticated holiday, particularly those happy to travel the short distance to a beach when they want one.

If you need sand right outside your hotel or a lively resort atmosphere, Puerto del Carmen or Playa Blanca will suit you better, but for tranquil, good-looking luxury with the buzz of a big resort just minutes away, Puerto Calero is in a class of its own. Explore our detailed guides below to plan your trip.