Puerto del Carmen runs for about six kilometres along the southeast coast of Lanzarote, ten minutes from the airport. It is the island's oldest and largest resort, grown from a small fishing village from the 1960s onwards, and it is where most first-time visitors to Lanzarote stay.
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LET US BE STRAIGHT ABOUT WHAT THIS IS. Puerto del Carmen is a package resort: a long strip of hotels and apartment blocks behind a promenade of bars, restaurants, dive shops and souvenir stalls, with the Avenida de las Playas running the length of it. It is not a Canarian village, it has no old quarter to speak of beyond one small harbour, and a good deal of the strip is interchangeable with resorts anywhere in southern Europe. If you want local character, Arrecife is fifteen minutes north and our Arrecife packing list covers it; if you want the island's volcanic interior, our Lanzarote packing list covers that.
WHAT IT HAS GOING FOR IT IS SUBSTANTIAL, THOUGH, AND IS WHY IT KEEPS FILLING. PLAYA GRANDE is a long, wide, gently shelving beach of pale sand with calm water, Blue Flag status and lifeguards, which makes it genuinely good for weak swimmers and children, and that is not true of most Atlantic island beaches. The promenade is flat, continuous and walkable for six kilometres. Because Manrique's building restrictions applied here too, nothing is more than a few storeys high, so the strip is low-rise and open rather than a wall of towers. And the DIVING off this coast is the best in the Canaries.
THE OLD HARBOUR at the eastern end, the Puerto Viejo, is the one piece of the original village that survives: a small basin with fishing boats, a handful of fish restaurants and a quieter beach beside it, and it is where to eat and where to be in the evening if the strip is not your thing.
The Beaches, the Diving and the Harbour
Six kilometres of sand, an underwater museum, and the quiet end.
THE BEACHES run the length of the resort. PLAYA GRANDE is the main one, wide and busy with sunbeds and watersports. PLAYA DE LOS POCILLOS is longer, less developed and windier, which the windsurfers like. PLAYA MATAGORDA at the western end is closest to the airport and gets the aircraft noise. PLAYA CHICA, by the old harbour, is a small sheltered cove and is the diving entry point.
THE DIVING IS THE REASON TO CHOOSE THIS RESORT OVER ANOTHER. Playa Chica gives shore access to walls, caves and a drop-off within swimming distance, the water is clear and 18 to 23C year round, and the operators are numerous and well established. The MUSEO ATLANTICO, a few kilometres offshore, is Europe's first underwater sculpture museum: around three hundred figures by Jason deCaires Taylor standing on the seabed at 12 to 15 metres, which you reach by dive or by a snorkelling trip with an operator rather than independently. It is strange and genuinely memorable, and it is the one thing here you cannot do anywhere else.
THE PROMENADE is the resort's other real asset: flat, paved, continuous and planted, running the whole six kilometres, which makes walking, running and cycling easy, and the evening paseo along it is pleasant regardless of what you think of the bars.
Otherwise: the Rancho Texas animal park for families, boat trips including catamaran days and the ferry to Fuerteventura from Playa Blanca, and the strip's nightlife, which is concentrated on the Avenida and is loud, cheap and not subtle.
Recommended Tours and Experiences
Timanfaya, the Manrique Sites and Fuerteventura
The volcanoes twenty minutes away, and a second island across the strait.
TIMANFAYA NATIONAL PARK is 25 minutes northwest: the 1730s eruption field, visited by coach along a route closed to walkers, with the geothermal demonstrations at the visitor centre. It is the island's great sight and should not be missed from here.
LA GERIA, the vineyards in volcanic pits, is twenty minutes north, and the MANRIQUE SITES ring the island: the Jameos del Agua and Cueva de los Verdes in the northern lava tubes, the Cactus Garden, the Mirador del Rio and the Manrique foundation at Tahiche.
PLAYA BLANCA at the southern tip is 25 minutes and is where the FUERTEVENTURA FERRY leaves, a 25-minute crossing to Corralejo, which makes a second island a day trip. Our Corralejo packing list covers the other side.
Getting around: the airport is ten minutes and transfers are constant. A CAR IS WORTH HIRING FOR TWO OR THREE DAYS rather than the whole stay, because the resort is walkable and the island's sights are a day each; hiring at the airport is cheapest. Island buses run from here to Arrecife frequently and to the main sights less so. The resort is flat, so a bike is a good option.
When to Go
Any month. Winter is the peak and the point.
A subtropical desert climate with almost no seasonal variation and very little rain: summer from June to September at 26 to 29C, winter from December to February at 20 to 22C, sunshine in every month and sea temperatures between about 18 and 23C.
WINTER IS THIS ISLAND'S HIGH SEASON, which inverts the European pattern: 21C and sunny in January is the entire proposition, northern Europeans fill the resort from November to March, and prices peak then. If you want warmth in winter without long-haul flying, this is among the best options in Europe.
APRIL TO JUNE AND OCTOBER are the quietest and the most comfortable: warm, less wind than midsummer, fewer people than either the winter-sun or August peaks.
JULY AND AUGUST bring the Spanish domestic holidays and the strongest TRADE WINDS, which keep the temperature pleasant and make the beaches breezy. The wind is a feature rather than a problem unless you want a still day on the sand.
THE CALIMA can arrive in any month: a hot Saharan dust wind lasting a few days, which raises temperatures sharply, fills the air with fine dust, cuts visibility and occasionally disrupts flights. It matters if you have a respiratory condition and is otherwise unpleasant rather than dangerous.
Is Puerto del Carmen Safe for Women Travelers
Safe, with the particular caveats of a large resort strip.
US State Department travel advisory: the Spain advisory. Read the current level there directly rather than relying on a figure printed in any guide.
UK FCDO travel advice: gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/spain, and read the safety and security page rather than only the landing page, because that is where the substance sits.
THE SUN IS THE FIRST AND LARGEST RISK and the trade wind is why it catches people. The Canaries sit at Saharan latitude with high UV in every month including January, the breeze removes the sensation of burning, and this island has almost no natural shade because it has almost no trees. A first-day burn is close to the default experience here. The beaches offer paid umbrellas and almost nothing else.
THE RESORT-SPECIFIC CAVEATS ARE ABOUT THE STRIP AT NIGHT and are worth stating plainly rather than coyly. The Avenida de las Playas has a concentrated bar scene with cheap alcohol and a young drinking crowd in parts, and the ordinary consequences follow: drunk crowds late, some unwanted attention, and drink-spiking reported here as in any large resort. The practical approach is the one for any nightlife strip: stay with people you came with, watch your drink, use a taxi rather than walking the full six kilometres back alone at three in the morning, and know that the eastern end around the old harbour is quieter and more mixed in age than the central strip.
PETTY THEFT is the other resort pattern: bags on sunbeds while people swim, phones on bar tables, and apartment break-ins where balconies are accessible. None of it is dramatic and all of it is avoidable.
THE SEA at Playa Grande is gentle and lifeguarded in season, which is genuinely unusual for an Atlantic island. Elsewhere on Lanzarote the coasts are Atlantic with rips and no supervision, and that distinction matters if you drive out to swim. Los Pocillos gets more wind and more chop.
Spain is in the EU, so a UK Global Health Insurance Card or an EU European Health Insurance Card gives you state-provided medically necessary care on the same terms as a resident. That is not the same as free, it does not cover repatriation or a private clinic, and on the islands and the costas many clinics aimed at visitors are private and will bill you, so check before you are treated. Spanish public hospitals are good and a farmacia handles minor problems without an appointment. Tap water is drinkable across the mainland and the Balearics. Heat is the realistic summer health risk rather than anything exotic.
Socially this is very easy and very international: English is the default language on the strip, a woman eating alone draws no attention whatever, and there are large numbers of solo and small-group travellers of every age. That same internationalism is why it feels less Spanish than Arrecife.
The Puerto del Carmen Packing List
Sun protection in every month, which the wind will undo
A wide brim sun hat that stays on in a trade wind, high factor sunscreen reapplied after every swim, and a long sleeve sun hoodie for the beach and the boats. This is the first item for any Canary trip and applies in January.
A windproof layer
A packable rain jacket for women, chosen for wind rather than rain. Rain is scarce; wind is constant, and a catamaran day or a winter evening on the promenade needs it.
Base layers for winter evenings and the volcanoes
January evenings fall to around 15C with wind, and Timanfaya and the northern miradors are cooler and much windier than the beach. Our merino base layers are 100% Australian merino at 17.5 micron, and a long sleeve merino wool base layer for women covers both and a week of sun and salt without holding smell.
Swimwear, several sets, and a rash top
You will be in the water daily. A long sleeved rash top is the practical answer to a day of snorkelling over pale sand, which is where backs and shoulders burn.
Shoes for lava and for the promenade
Volcanic rock is sharp and shreds thin soles. Comfortable shoes for six kilometres of promenade, and waterproof hiking boots with merino wool socks if you are walking in the interior.
Water in a dry climate
An insulated water bottle. The tap water is desalinated and drinkable, the air is dry and the wind dehydrates faster than the temperature suggests.
The small things
Sunglasses, essential in this glare. Lip balm for the dry wind. A bag that closes for the beach. Your own mask and snorkel if you own them, because the diving and snorkelling are the real draw. AND THE TWO THINGS THAT MAKE THE TRIP: book the Museo Atlantico with an operator rather than hoping to find it, and hire a car for two or three days rather than the whole stay.
Essential Resources for Women in Puerto del Carmen
Emergency numbers: 112 for all emergencies, the single European number for police, ambulance and fire. 092 for local police. Coverage is good throughout the resort and the island.
Diving emergencies: the nearest recompression chamber is on the island, which is one reason the diving industry here is well established; your operator will hold the current arrangements, and dive-specific insurance is worth checking because many policies exclude scuba by default.
Main hospital or clinic: the Hospital Doctor Jose Molina Orosa outside Arrecife, about fifteen minutes north, is the island's main hospital with a 24 hour emergency department, and there are private clinics within the resort for minor problems. Dial 112.
Official health authority: the Spanish Ministry of Health. Carry a UK Global Health Insurance Card or an EU card. The island hospital is fifteen minutes north outside Arrecife, and if you plan to dive, check that your travel insurance covers scuba to the depth you will actually dive, because many exclude it
US Embassy: the United States Embassy in Madrid.
Official tourism authority: Turespana, the national tourism board. And with the Lanzarote tourist board and the Centros de Arte, Cultura y Turismo, which runs Timanfaya's visitor arrangements, the Jameos del Agua and the other Manrique sites and publishes their current hours
This is a package resort and an honest one. Six kilometres of promenade, low-rise because Manrique's rules applied here too, with one surviving old harbour at the eastern end.
The diving is the best in the Canaries, with shore access from Playa Chica and the Museo Atlantico sculpture museum offshore, reachable only with an operator.
Playa Grande is gentle and lifeguarded, which is unusual for an Atlantic island. The rest of Lanzarote's coast is not.
The trade wind hides the sun in every month, and the island has almost no natural shade.
Solo women safety assessment: Puerto del Carmen is very easy and very international for a woman alone: English is the default language on the strip, eating alone draws no attention whatever, and there are large numbers of solo and small-group travellers of every age. The caveats are the particular ones of a large resort strip and are worth stating plainly: the Avenida de las Playas has a concentrated bar scene with cheap alcohol and a young drinking crowd in parts, which brings drunk crowds late at night, some unwanted attention, and drink-spiking reported here as in any big resort, so the sensible approach is the standard one for a nightlife strip, which means staying with the people you came with, watching your drink, taking a taxi rather than walking six kilometres back alone at three in the morning, and knowing that the eastern end around the old harbour is quieter and more mixed in age. PETTY THEFT follows the resort pattern: bags on sunbeds while people swim, phones on bar tables, and break-ins where balconies are accessible, none of it dramatic and all of it avoidable. THE SUN IS THE LARGEST ENVIRONMENTAL RISK and the trade wind is why it catches people, since these islands sit at Saharan latitude with high UV in January, the breeze removes the sensation of burning, and there is almost no natural shade. Playa Grande is gentle and lifeguarded in season; the island's other coasts are Atlantic with rips and no supervision.
Reading On
For the country-level picture, start with the Spain travel guide for women. For the island and its volcanoes, see the Lanzarote packing list; for the working capital fifteen minutes north the Arrecife packing list; and for the island across the strait the Corralejo packing list. For why merino rather than cotton in constant wind and dry heat, read the guide to merino wool base layers for women. Every destination we cover is indexed at the travel packing guide for women, and the base layers are at the Roman Trail collection.
If the outer journey is calling you, the inner one usually is too. Explore SoulMap at romantrail.com/blogs/soulmap.
