As soon as you set foot on land you realize that you have not landed on any island. This one has its own personality. Perhaps the implacable internal movement that she has suffered throughout her history has endowed her with that fantastic, indomitable and unpredictable spirit. It does not leave you indifferent. The colors, shapes and sensations are unlike anywhere else on the planet.
The same happens with its beaches: they produce the same surprise effect. Each one has its own character. It could be said that, in Lanzarote, wherever you go, you will always find a beach to your liking. Beaches are plentiful on the east coast and in the south, while in the west they are rather rocky. So that you can choose the one that suits you best, we go around the island, from the south, then ascending along the east coast to the north, and then returning to the west.
Lanzarote beach.
Sunrise in Papagayo
In the southernmost part of the island, we have the Punta del Papagayo, a desert area with a kilometer and a half we have beaches and small coves. Playa Mujeres, Caleta del Congrio or Caletón de San Marcial are some of them. The most popular, the wild beach of Papagayo, is a great way to start this beach tour. It is not surprising that it won the vote as the best beach.
Many islanders say that the views of the sun setting behind the horizon there are memorable. You can see the immense Atlantic, the island of Lobos and the silhouette of the dunes of Corralejo in Fuerteventura in the background. With the shape of a crescent and sheltered by the Ajaches Natural Park, its intense emerald-colored waters are almost always kept like a plate. By the way, it is one of the favorite points among diving enthusiasts.
Papagayo beach.
Big Beach in Puerto del Carmen
From Punta Papagayo we continue north towards Puerto del Carmen along the east coast. There, as its name indicates (“big”), we find one of the longest beaches on the island – just over a kilometer of golden sand – and a magnificent choice for those who enjoy the pleasant exercise of lying in a hammock. (yes, they cost €10) and let the sun’s rays do their vitamin work.
It can be said that it is one of those easy beaches: it is integrated into the city, it is comfortable and accessible -with showers, lifeguards and parking- and it has a promenade with a bike lane and a huge variety of restaurants and bars to eat, go shopping, having a drink or dancing.
Puerto del Carmen beach.
Surfing in Famara
The west coast of Lanzarote is one of the most beautiful in the Canaries. It is a great sandbank of 5 kilometers surrounded by mountains. The landscape is captivating and when the tide is low, the shore becomes a mirror in which the dunes, the cliffs, the sky and the clouds are reflected; According to the renowned architect and artist César Manrique “it is of extraordinary beauty, I carry it engraved in my soul”. He spent much of his childhood running along Famara beach.
But this beach is especially famous among surfers, windsurfers and kitesurfers. Its formidable width, the powerful wind, an ideal climate and the fact that it does not have rocks, allows the waves to break both to the left and to the right. In this sense, those who are thinking of traveling with their board, in this area will find all kinds of services: schools for all levels, accommodation adapted for surfers and material rental shops.
Surfing in Famara.
The green lagoon and the black beach
Again in the south, to discover one of the most beautiful beaches in Lanzarote. It is the Laguna Verde or Charco de los Clicos, a place located in the Natural Park of the Volcanoes, a protected area that surrounds the fascinating volcanic landscape of Timanfaya. It is a small lagoon formed in a crater of a volcano submerged in the ocean due to the volcanic eruptions of 1730. Its vision is so surreal that Almodóvar located it to shoot a scene in Broken Embraces.
Inside, the filtered water acquires emerald-colored tones (it is also known as “the green puddle”) that contrasts spectacularly with the black pebble sand of El Golfo beach and, a little further, the blue sea opens up. endless. To get these fabulous views, it is advisable to walk and approach the top of the El Golfo viewpoint. In the same area, in the direction of Yaiza, are the Hervideros, cavities formed by the lava when it meets the sea through which the water shoots up into the sky.
Black beach in Lanzarote.
An underwater museum
Back in the southern part of the island, we have our last suggestion. And one of the most curious. It is the Atlántico Museum, the only European museum whose works are underwater. About three years ago, Jason deCaires Taylor created nearly 300 pH-neutral concrete sculptures that, over time, will help increase marine biomass and species reproduction. The figures are eerily realistic and are located about 15 meters deep in the bay of Las Coloradas.
Obviously, if you want to visit this museum, you will have to put on your goggles and snorkel, and if you want to see it up close, dive in with bottles. To those who do not know how to dive, they offer the possibility of doing a diving baptism to be able to go down to this underwater museum.
