Just had a week in Lanzarote, Playa Blanca
Discussion
I seem to recall similar conversations with Jaguar Steve in the past - for someone who's been there a lot he seems to have a real downer on the people...
Anyway, thanks for El Peregrino, and can I repay with La Chalanita.
La Cuchina de Colacho - maybe next time, will have a baby in tow this year so probably not the best idea. Used to visit El Mirador (down by the start of the Marina) for a properly nice meal, but went last year and thought the quality had dropped and the prices had risen.
Anyway, thanks for El Peregrino, and can I repay with La Chalanita.
La Cuchina de Colacho - maybe next time, will have a baby in tow this year so probably not the best idea. Used to visit El Mirador (down by the start of the Marina) for a properly nice meal, but went last year and thought the quality had dropped and the prices had risen.
havoc said:
I seem to recall similar conversations with Jaguar Steve in the past - for someone who's been there a lot he seems to have a real downer on the people...
Anyway, thanks for El Peregrino, and can I repay with La Chalanita.
La Cuchina de Colacho - maybe next time, will have a baby in tow this year so probably not the best idea. Used to visit El Mirador (down by the start of the Marina) for a properly nice meal, but went last year and thought the quality had dropped and the prices had risen.
I certainly have a very big downer on the majority of people who holiday there. There was a punch up on the flight from Stansted to Furteventura just a few days ago which rather proves my point and there's no denying most of the big beer and chips in the sunshine resorts are as ghastly and tacky as Clacton or Southend on a drunken bank holiday.Anyway, thanks for El Peregrino, and can I repay with La Chalanita.
La Cuchina de Colacho - maybe next time, will have a baby in tow this year so probably not the best idea. Used to visit El Mirador (down by the start of the Marina) for a properly nice meal, but went last year and thought the quality had dropped and the prices had risen.
Maybe the amount of time we've spent in the Canaries also means we've experienced more than our fair share of attempted rip offs. Who knows?
That won't stop me going for the only reason there's nowhere else in Europe for winter sunshine and we've learned over the years how to avoid the worst excesses of our fellow Brits 'aaavin it faaakin large on 'bleedin 'olliday and I've also learned to never let my credit card out of sight for even a few seconds and check my bill and change very carefully indeed.
We'll be back in November...
We've just come back from a great week in Lanzarote. We stayed the other side of the marina from Playa Blanca. This thread was very useful so hopefully I can add a few updates:
Taxi from the airport was 40-45 Euros.
We hired "fat bikes" (mountain bikes with very wide tyres) from https://www.emotionfatbikes.com/ which were great fun. The bike shop is two minutes ride away from the desert/beaches on the south east corner.
The Marina Rubicon is very smart and clean. We went mainly at lunchtime/early afternoon.
Blue Note - tapas was OK, but it was looking a bit tired in day light. Might be more of a night spot.
Popa's - creperie and smoothies. Very smart place with the added attraction(!) one day of a fashion show from the clothing shop next door. They cancelled this out with live and very loud flamenco music on another day...
Terazza La Cubierta - excellent tapas and house salad. Massive paella cooking one day. Great service, food and view:
Bar Terraza - snacks, coffee, cakes, cocktails. Even a proper cup of tea. And cakes. Lovely cakes!
Ristorante Pizzeria Il Commendatore - really good pizzas and waterside seats in the shade if you are beginning to boil.
It was a great place to be lazy. It was nice just strolling up and down the cliff top promenade.
Taxi from the airport was 40-45 Euros.
We hired "fat bikes" (mountain bikes with very wide tyres) from https://www.emotionfatbikes.com/ which were great fun. The bike shop is two minutes ride away from the desert/beaches on the south east corner.
The Marina Rubicon is very smart and clean. We went mainly at lunchtime/early afternoon.
Blue Note - tapas was OK, but it was looking a bit tired in day light. Might be more of a night spot.
Popa's - creperie and smoothies. Very smart place with the added attraction(!) one day of a fashion show from the clothing shop next door. They cancelled this out with live and very loud flamenco music on another day...
Terazza La Cubierta - excellent tapas and house salad. Massive paella cooking one day. Great service, food and view:
Bar Terraza - snacks, coffee, cakes, cocktails. Even a proper cup of tea. And cakes. Lovely cakes!
Ristorante Pizzeria Il Commendatore - really good pizzas and waterside seats in the shade if you are beginning to boil.
It was a great place to be lazy. It was nice just strolling up and down the cliff top promenade.
RicksAlfas said:
We've just come back from a great week in Lanzarote. We stayed the other side of the marina from Playa Blanca. This thread was very useful so hopefully I can add a few updates:
Taxi from the airport was 40-45 Euros.
We hired "fat bikes" (mountain bikes with very wide tyres) from https://www.emotionfatbikes.com/ which were great fun. The bike shop is two minutes ride away from the desert/beaches on the south east corner.
The Marina Rubicon is very smart and clean. We went mainly at lunchtime/early afternoon.
Blue Note - tapas was OK, but it was looking a bit tired in day light. Might be more of a night spot.
Popa's - creperie and smoothies. Very smart place with the added attraction(!) one day of a fashion show from the clothing shop next door. They cancelled this out with live and very loud flamenco music on another day...
Terazza La Cubierta - excellent tapas and house salad. Massive paella cooking one day. Great service, food and view:
Bar Terraza - snacks, coffee, cakes, cocktails. Even a proper cup of tea. And cakes. Lovely cakes!
Ristorante Pizzeria Il Commendatore - really good pizzas and waterside seats in the shade if you are beginning to boil.
It was a great place to be lazy. It was nice just strolling up and down the cliff top promenade.
Thats the nicer end of Playa Blanca. The ongoing building works for the new port and associated noise / fencing have taken away from the other end.Taxi from the airport was 40-45 Euros.
We hired "fat bikes" (mountain bikes with very wide tyres) from https://www.emotionfatbikes.com/ which were great fun. The bike shop is two minutes ride away from the desert/beaches on the south east corner.
The Marina Rubicon is very smart and clean. We went mainly at lunchtime/early afternoon.
Blue Note - tapas was OK, but it was looking a bit tired in day light. Might be more of a night spot.
Popa's - creperie and smoothies. Very smart place with the added attraction(!) one day of a fashion show from the clothing shop next door. They cancelled this out with live and very loud flamenco music on another day...
Terazza La Cubierta - excellent tapas and house salad. Massive paella cooking one day. Great service, food and view:
Bar Terraza - snacks, coffee, cakes, cocktails. Even a proper cup of tea. And cakes. Lovely cakes!
Ristorante Pizzeria Il Commendatore - really good pizzas and waterside seats in the shade if you are beginning to boil.
It was a great place to be lazy. It was nice just strolling up and down the cliff top promenade.
We did Segwaying out along the beaches which was great to do too.
My wife wants to book to go back, but i'm in two minds. Will see how we get on in Tenerife in September and take it from there.
We've just come back today, albeit from the other side of PB (just past the harbour, near the other beach).
Town seemed quieter this year, and some establishments were definitely being more pushy in trying to drum-up trade.
Oh, and 3-for-3 local shops failed the integrity test with me - one tried it on with an exchange rate scam, one under negotiation promised a good deal which then turned out to be the sticker price, and the third sold not-so-cheap tat which fell apart within 48hrs then refused any sort of refund or exchange.
...which, all told, is rather silly, as that sort of behaviour will drive punters to the all-inclusives, where the majority of profits leave the island.
Town seemed quieter this year, and some establishments were definitely being more pushy in trying to drum-up trade.
Oh, and 3-for-3 local shops failed the integrity test with me - one tried it on with an exchange rate scam, one under negotiation promised a good deal which then turned out to be the sticker price, and the third sold not-so-cheap tat which fell apart within 48hrs then refused any sort of refund or exchange.
...which, all told, is rather silly, as that sort of behaviour will drive punters to the all-inclusives, where the majority of profits leave the island.
Bit of a thread resurection but we are back in PB for the first time since Nov 2019, like all places Covid seems to have claimed a few places in particular a great favourite of ours El Peregrino has gone. Thankfully La Cocina de Colacho has survived. There is also a huge building project under way creating a new 720 room hotel, we noticed the foundations being done in 2019 and it still looks like a long way from completion, must have been a bit of a pain staying in one of the nearby hotels during this work. The harbour has also been restructured to accomodate cruise ships, have to wonder how the existing infrastructure will cope with the increase in tourists these developments will bring. However we spent a couple of hours in ONE Sailors Bar this afternoon watching those much wealthier than us sale into the Marina. 
ninepoint2 said:
Bit of a thread resurection but we are back in PB for the first time since Nov 2019, like all places Covid seems to have claimed a few places in particular a great favourite of ours El Peregrino has gone. Thankfully La Cocina de Colacho has survived. There is also a huge building project under way creating a new 720 room hotel, we noticed the foundations being done in 2019 and it still looks like a long way from completion, must have been a bit of a pain staying in one of the nearby hotels during this work. The harbour has also been restructured to accomodate cruise ships, have to wonder how the existing infrastructure will cope with the increase in tourists these developments will bring. However we spent a couple of hours in ONE Sailors Bar this afternoon watching those much wealthier than us sale into the Marina.
Apparently the new port can, as you say, accommodate cruise ships but the local authorities have refused permission to allow them to port in. Arricife port took exception to it, it seems.We've been to PB a few times and really love it, its got eveything needed for a winter break in the sun. La Kathedral is our fav little spot.
Sounds like a lot of work is going on as its got quite popular over the years.
The cruise ships coming in is likely to I assume flood the place in the day as they stop for the day? Not massively a lot to do in PB unless they will take them to the volcano?
Has anyone got any pictures of the work being done on the port?
Sounds like a lot of work is going on as its got quite popular over the years.
The cruise ships coming in is likely to I assume flood the place in the day as they stop for the day? Not massively a lot to do in PB unless they will take them to the volcano?
Has anyone got any pictures of the work being done on the port?
fourstardan said:
We've been to PB a few times and really love it, its got eveything needed for a winter break in the sun. La Kathedral is our fav little spot.
Sounds like a lot of work is going on as its got quite popular over the years.
The cruise ships coming in is likely to I assume flood the place in the day as they stop for the day? Not massively a lot to do in PB unless they will take them to the volcano?
Has anyone got any pictures of the work being done on the port?
As i said above, apparently the local gov has not given permission for cruise ships to port in, even though the port has the capability. Sounds like a lot of work is going on as its got quite popular over the years.
The cruise ships coming in is likely to I assume flood the place in the day as they stop for the day? Not massively a lot to do in PB unless they will take them to the volcano?
Has anyone got any pictures of the work being done on the port?
This seems to have put the development on the back foot as there were even cruise ships scheduled (Marella Explorer for one) and they are now reverting back to Arrecife.
That may change at some point in the future but even if it does its designed for small to medium sized cruise ships, not the large ones which would have to continue to use Arrecife.
To use Marella Explorer as an example, she holds around 2,000 people at capacity, so "medium sized". Typically IME around 1/3 of passengers will go on tours from the ship when she ports in, around 1/3 will stay on board (free food, pool, bars so why not?) and around 1/3 will head in to the local town across the course of the day for 2-3 hours. So realistically you're looking at maybe 700 people across the day heading in to the town. Explorer also only goes to the Canaries over the winter (most of the cruise ships hit the more lucrative Med or Carribbean for the summer seasons) so thats off peak anyway.
If theres one cruise ship a day even for 3 days a week (bearing in mind most will still go to Arrecife) then you're probably looking at a useful suppliment to winter numbers rather than the town being overwhelmed.
A moot point currently anyway, as cruise ships arent going to be porting in there in the forseeable.
Deep Thought said:
As i said above, apparently the local gov has not given permission for cruise ships to port in, even though the port has the capability.
This seems to have put the development on the back foot as there were even cruise ships scheduled (Marella Explorer for one) and they are now reverting back to Arrecife.
That may change at some point in the future but even if it does its designed for small to medium sized cruise ships, not the large ones which would have to continue to use Arrecife.
To use Marella Explorer as an example, she holds around 2,000 people at capacity, so "medium sized". Typically IME around 1/3 of passengers will go on tours from the ship when she ports in, around 1/3 will stay on board (free food, pool, bars so why not?) and around 1/3 will head in to the local town across the course of the day for 2-3 hours. So realistically you're looking at maybe 700 people across the day heading in to the town. Explorer also only goes to the Canaries over the winter (most of the cruise ships hit the more lucrative Med or Carribbean for the summer seasons) so thats off peak anyway.
If theres one cruise ship a day even for 3 days a week (bearing in mind most will still go to Arrecife) then you're probably looking at a useful suppliment to winter numbers rather than the town being overwhelmed.
A moot point currently anyway, as cruise ships arent going to be porting in there in the forseeable.
Good analysis...This seems to have put the development on the back foot as there were even cruise ships scheduled (Marella Explorer for one) and they are now reverting back to Arrecife.
That may change at some point in the future but even if it does its designed for small to medium sized cruise ships, not the large ones which would have to continue to use Arrecife.
To use Marella Explorer as an example, she holds around 2,000 people at capacity, so "medium sized". Typically IME around 1/3 of passengers will go on tours from the ship when she ports in, around 1/3 will stay on board (free food, pool, bars so why not?) and around 1/3 will head in to the local town across the course of the day for 2-3 hours. So realistically you're looking at maybe 700 people across the day heading in to the town. Explorer also only goes to the Canaries over the winter (most of the cruise ships hit the more lucrative Med or Carribbean for the summer seasons) so thats off peak anyway.
If theres one cruise ship a day even for 3 days a week (bearing in mind most will still go to Arrecife) then you're probably looking at a useful suppliment to winter numbers rather than the town being overwhelmed.
A moot point currently anyway, as cruise ships arent going to be porting in there in the forseeable.
One thing PB needs is a golf course, screaming out for one.
bennno said:
fourstardan said:
Good analysis...
One thing PB needs is a golf course, screaming out for one.
Sadly it would then be full of golf club people.One thing PB needs is a golf course, screaming out for one.
I'm quite happy with there being no golf course anywhere near.
...for exactly the same reasons that I'm happy there are very few 'pubs' or 'Irish bars' in the resort. Because just for once it's nice to have a Spanish 'resort'* that doesn't feel completely like e.g. Skegness or Padstow transplanted to a decent climate.
* Yes I'm aware there could be considered a little irony in that statement.
stevemcs said:
Interesting. I'd be all for it. I'd love to port in to PB on a cruise ship. None scheduled though.
https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports
Marella were scheduling Explorer to stop there over the winter but they've reverted back to Arrecife.
Word on the PB residents groups on FB is that its a no for now from the authorities. Cant see why they would have been let build something so big if they werent going to let cruise ships in at some point though.
stevemcs said:
Awful and unrecognisable.Just imagine the devastation if a golf course arrived !
Deep Thought said:
Interesting. I'd be all for it. I'd love to port in to PB on a cruise ship.
None scheduled though.
https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports
Marella were scheduling Explorer to stop there over the winter but they've reverted back to Arrecife.
Word on the PB residents groups on FB is that its a no for now from the authorities. Cant see why they would have been let build something so big if they werent going to let cruise ships in at some point though.
Cruise companies are not exactly in a position to start growing at the moment. None scheduled though.
https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports
Marella were scheduling Explorer to stop there over the winter but they've reverted back to Arrecife.
Word on the PB residents groups on FB is that its a no for now from the authorities. Cant see why they would have been let build something so big if they werent going to let cruise ships in at some point though.
Gassing Station | Holidays & Travel | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff