Puerto del Carmen

Resort Guide

Puerto del Carmen is Lanzarote’s original and largest resort, and still its liveliest. Strung along six kilometres of golden, blue-flag beaches and the famous seafront strip of the Avenida de las Playas, it packs in the island’s widest choice of restaurants, bars, shops and nightlife, while keeping hold of a genuine Canarian heart in its pretty old town and working fishing harbour. It’s also one of Europe’s great diving destinations. Whether you want a buzzing family beach holiday, a diving trip or a lively night out, Puerto del Carmen delivers. This guide covers everything you need to know, with links through to our detailed guides on beaches, eating out, nightlife, things to do and more.

Where Is Puerto del Carmen?

Puerto del Carmen sits on the south-central coast of Lanzarote, in the municipality of Tías, and it’s the closest of the main resorts to the airport, just ten to fifteen minutes away. That central position makes it an excellent base for exploring the rest of the island, with Timanfaya, the Manrique attractions and the northern sights all within comfortable reach.

The resort has two distinct sides to its character. The newer, tourist part runs along the Avenida de las Playas, known to everyone as The Strip, the long beachfront promenade lined on one side by the beaches and on the other by an almost unbroken run of bars, restaurants, shops and entertainment. At the southern end sits the old town, built around the original fishing village and harbour of La Tiñosa, which keeps a quieter, more traditional feel, with cobbled corners, harbour views and some of the best seafood restaurants in the resort. The two together give Puerto del Carmen its appeal: the buzz of a big resort and a genuine slice of local life, side by side.

The Puerto del Carmen Beaches

Puerto del Carmen is built around its beaches, six kilometres of soft golden sand running the length of the resort, all flying the Blue Flag for cleanliness and safety, with sunbeds, lifeguards and calm, clear water that’s among the warmest and most sheltered on the island.

The main beach, Playa Grande, sits right on the Strip in the heart of the resort, a big, lively, family favourite with pedalos, sunbeds and a summer inflatable aquapark just offshore. Nearby Playa Chica, a small sheltered cove towards the old town, is the hub for watersports and the island’s best shore diving and snorkelling. Further east lie the longer, quieter, more spacious sands of Los Pocillos and Matagorda, popular with families and windsurfers and handy for the airport end of the resort.

Eating Out in Puerto del Carmen

Few places on the island can match Puerto del Carmen for sheer choice of food. The Avenida de las Playas alone is home to well over a hundred restaurants, running the full range from traditional Spanish and Canarian cooking to Italian, Indian, Chinese, British pubs and fast food, alongside endless cafés and ice cream parlours. For the best of it, though, head to the old town and harbour, where a cluster of excellent seafood restaurants serve the freshest fish with views over the boats, the pick of the resort for a special meal.

For our full rundown of where to eat, from harbour seafood to Strip favourites, see our guide to eating out in Puerto del Carmen.

Things to Do in Puerto del Carmen

There’s more to Puerto del Carmen than the beach. The Strip itself is an attraction, with its dedicated tracks for walking, jogging and cycling along the seafront, and the Biosfera Plaza shopping centre at the edge of the old town offers several floors of shops, cafés and amusements, with a rooftop open-air cinema in summer. Rancho Texas Lanzarote Park, a popular animal and activity park with shows and a small water park, is right here in the resort and a firm family favourite. Boat trips and catamaran cruises head out along the coast to Papagayo, and the resort’s central location puts Timanfaya, the Manrique sites and the whole island within easy reach for day trips.

For the full list of ideas, see our guide to things to do in Puerto del Carmen.

Diving and Watersports in Puerto del Carmen

Puerto del Carmen is one of the finest diving destinations in the Canary Islands, and diving is arguably the activity the resort is best known for. The warm, clear, sheltered water, with visibility often over 25 metres, and an abundance of marine life along the volcanic reefs draw divers from across Europe, and there are numerous dive schools offering everything from first-time try dives to advanced courses and guided dives. Playa Chica is the main shore-diving site and the centre of the watersports scene, with jet skis, parascending, banana boats and more, while the beaches also offer pedalos, kayaks and, in summer, the floating aquapark off Playa Grande.

See our guides to diving and watersports in Puerto del Carmen for the full details.

Nightlife and Live Music in Puerto del Carmen

Puerto del Carmen has the busiest nightlife on Lanzarote, though it’s sociable and good-natured rather than a wild club scene. It splits between two main areas with slightly different crowds: the Centro Atlántico area on the Strip, with its disco-bars and a younger crowd, and the old town harbour, which draws a slightly older, more relaxed set to its bars and terraces. In between you’ll find plenty of live music, singers and entertainers, karaoke, sports bars showing the football, and a good scattering of Irish and British bars. It’s the place to come on the island if you want your evenings with a bit of life, while still being easy-going enough for families earlier on.

See our guide to nightlife and live music in Puerto del Carmen for the best spots.

Hotels in Puerto del Carmen

As the island’s biggest resort, Puerto del Carmen has the widest range of accommodation, from large hotels and all-inclusive resorts to countless self-catering apartments and villas at every budget. Where you stay shapes your holiday: the central Strip and Playa Grande put you in the thick of the action and nightlife, while the Los Pocillos and Matagorda end towards the airport is quieter and more spacious, better for families wanting a calmer base, and the old town offers a more traditional feel. Two of the island’s original hotels, the Fariones and the San Antonio, born when tourism began here in the 1960s, still operate today.

For our full rundown of the best areas and hotels, see our guide to hotels in Puerto del Carmen.

Getting to Puerto del Carmen from the Airport

Puerto del Carmen is the easiest resort to reach from Lanzarote Airport, lying just six kilometres away, a drive of only ten to fifteen minutes. A taxi from the rank outside the terminal is quick and good value given the short distance, and is one of the cheapest airport-to-resort taxi runs on the island. Pre-booked private transfers are equally straightforward, meeting you at arrivals for a fixed price. Car hire makes sense if you plan to tour the island, with the rental desks in the arrivals area and the resort a short hop down the LZ-2. The public bus is the cheapest option and, unusually for the island, fairly practical here given the resort’s closeness to the airport, though a taxi is barely more expensive once shared. For more on the airport itself, see our full guide to César Manrique Airport.

Getting Around Puerto del Carmen

Getting around the resort is easy. The Avenida de las Playas promenade links the beaches, shops and restaurants in one long, flat, walkable strip, and you can happily explore most of the resort on foot. Local buses and taxis run along the resort and out to Arrecife and other towns, and there’s a regular water taxi from the harbour across to the upmarket marina at Puerto Calero, a pleasant little trip in itself. A hire car is the best way to reach the island’s more distant attractions, but within Puerto del Carmen you’ll rarely need one.

Is Puerto del Carmen the right resort for you?

Puerto del Carmen is the right choice if you want everything in one place: great beaches, the island’s biggest range of restaurants and shops, the liveliest nightlife, world-class diving, and an easy, central base for exploring, all just minutes from the airport. It suits families, couples, groups and divers alike, and it manages the neat trick of offering both a buzzing resort strip and a genuine old-town harbour with real Canarian character. If you want the quietest, most upmarket option, Playa Blanca or Puerto Calero may suit you better, but for sheer choice, energy and convenience, nowhere on Lanzarote beats it. Explore our detailed guides below to plan your trip.