Just had a week in Lanzarote, Playa Blanca
Discussion
No, just direct through the Avis website. I could have saved another fiver by having a VW Up! But decided that would be two small and would involve fighting with luggage to get it in.
I kept having to check I’d not made a silly mistake with the dates or something but no, a great deal. And, a decent little car too.
I kept having to check I’d not made a silly mistake with the dates or something but no, a great deal. And, a decent little car too.
Fun Bus said:
No, just direct through the Avis website. I could have saved another fiver by having a VW Up! But decided that would be two small and would involve fighting with luggage to get it in.
I kept having to check I’d not made a silly mistake with the dates or something but no, a great deal. And, a decent little car too.
Isn't there a mahooosive insurance excess as well though?I kept having to check I’d not made a silly mistake with the dates or something but no, a great deal. And, a decent little car too.
Fun Bus said:
Restaurant recommendations from me are La Romantica, Los Hervideros and, for a proper fry-up, The Anvil Irish Bar,
Am currently in PB, come at least once a year as my Wife’s best friend and family live and run a business here, we have use of a villa.
Booked car hire with Ryanair (seemed a good deal) and, confirmation arrived that the company providing the car was called ‘Orlando’ - we ended up cancelling the night before travelling as the reviews are shocking. Also, didn’t want to pay c€50 UPFRONT for a tank of fuel on a full to empty basis with no refund.
In the end, paid the £22 cancellation fee and rented a Polo through Avis for 11 days at £52. We’ll be better off than we would have been, even after the cancellation fee and topping up the car with fuel before return.
Am currently in PB, come at least once a year as my Wife’s best friend and family live and run a business here, we have use of a villa.
Booked car hire with Ryanair (seemed a good deal) and, confirmation arrived that the company providing the car was called ‘Orlando’ - we ended up cancelling the night before travelling as the reviews are shocking. Also, didn’t want to pay c€50 UPFRONT for a tank of fuel on a full to empty basis with no refund.
In the end, paid the £22 cancellation fee and rented a Polo through Avis for 11 days at £52. We’ll be better off than we would have been, even after the cancellation fee and topping up the car with fuel before return.
Have added those to our list.
Thats a cracking hire car deal!
okgo said:
Never got why anyone goes there. It looks f
king ste.
I went to Gran Canaria for some cycling, it was fine. I wouldn't go to any of those places for an actual holiday.
Relatively cheap winter sun and relatively easily accessible - 3.5 hour flight for us.king ste.I went to Gran Canaria for some cycling, it was fine. I wouldn't go to any of those places for an actual holiday.
Mexico, for example, would be x3 the price and a much longer flight.
We rent a villa with a pool when we go and if we were to go to a hotel, we'd do couples only as its just me and Mrs Daemon now (son is living in Australia).
Pleasant enough resorts out of season when most of the Chav families arent there. The resort will be running at maybe 25% of capacity so all very relaxed.
Granted, ultimately its a volcanic rock in the Atlantic Ocean but we dont go there for "the culture", just a relaxing break, good food and cold beer
Edited by daemon on Thursday 5th October 13:37
Edited by daemon on Thursday 5th October 13:45
daemon said:
Have added those to our list.
Thats a cracking hire car deal!
The auto reisen deal is good too, however it's at the airport and we a. don't want a car all the time, maybe three or four days and b. will be pissed getting off the plane so unable to drive.
Dog Star said:
daemon said:
Have added those to our list.
Thats a cracking hire car deal!
The auto reisen deal is good too, however it's at the airport and we a. don't want a car all the time, maybe three or four days and b. will be pissed getting off the plane so unable to drive.
Yes, thats a limitation with picking a car up at the airport.
We'll be landing, Jet2 willing, at 19:20 Saturday eve so aiming to be out of the airport for 20:00, in to the villa @ 20:45, and in to the resort for 21:15. First drink then if all goes to plan.
okgo said:
Never got why anyone goes there. It looks fking ste.
I went to Gran Canaria for some cycling, it was fine. I wouldn't go to any of those places for an actual holiday.
The main reason I can think of for going to the Canaries is to get away from the crap winter weather in the UK. Take a couple of weeks there in November and another fortnight in February or March and suddenly the winter in between seems a whole lot shorter.king ste.I went to Gran Canaria for some cycling, it was fine. I wouldn't go to any of those places for an actual holiday.
Yes much of the built environment is shyte and yes most of the resorts cater strongly for the football strip wearing cheap beer and chips with everything and all u can eat roast dinners Chav market and most of the shops are crammed with the sort of tourist tat you'd expect to see in Clacton or Southend.
The solution? Choose your accommodation very carefully and avoid the mouth-breathing crowds by staying well away from big resorts and avoid cheap hotel deals because the food and wine will be almost as revolting as your fellow guests table manners.
Go self catering in a remote village with a detached villa so you're in control of what and when and how you eat and drink and won't be kept up all night by s
tface drunk cretins having it large in the bar or throwing sunbeds in the pool at 4 am. Hire a car so you can visit remote beaches or have a scenic mountain road all to yourself and for a fortnight in the warm sunshine whilst the rest of Europe is scraping frost off the windscreen the Canaries really can't be beat.
Odd request time...
We're there in a few day's time. Got a villa with a relatively large pool all sorted.
One thing I need to get (the blue thing, not the tan/yellow thing):
Needs to be big enough for a well built company director type, not a kiddie. Shop recommendations in or around Puerto del Carmen?
We're there in a few day's time. Got a villa with a relatively large pool all sorted.
One thing I need to get (the blue thing, not the tan/yellow thing):
Needs to be big enough for a well built company director type, not a kiddie. Shop recommendations in or around Puerto del Carmen?
Edited by FurtiveFreddy on Thursday 5th October 17:46
Does nobody stop in Arrecife? I didn't want to be in a resort, and hoped the capital might have some culture, so had my first trip to Lanzarote last April and stopped in Arrecife, practically on the sea front with a sea view and balcony. Nothing amazing and not much history, but the weather was just about perfect and it was nice to be sat on the balcony with drinks just relaxing. We had a couple of bus trips which travelled through some of the resorts and they didn't seem very appealing, although admittedly I was probably seeing the worse of them. Lines and lines of outlets/shops/bars/ in identikit units, and the previously mentioned stereotypical UK holiday maker..
Never been to la romatica yet but its one of those where they suggest you book.
As for the blue thing, you should be able to find something in PDC !
As for chavs, usually book 4 star and avoid all inclusive.
Spice fusion just up the path from ice house isn't bad for a curry.
Cookies in the Marina isn't bad as is La Petite Marmite, we tend to walk there for a coffee and a pancake.
As for the blue thing, you should be able to find something in PDC !
As for chavs, usually book 4 star and avoid all inclusive.
Spice fusion just up the path from ice house isn't bad for a curry.
Cookies in the Marina isn't bad as is La Petite Marmite, we tend to walk there for a coffee and a pancake.
Because two of my annual holidays are in February and October. the Caaries is generally where I go.
I book an apartment online, a flight online (I use Skyscanner to get it as low as I can - £150 return for my trip in a week or so)
I always book a hire car through Cabrera Medina which means you get a car from Sixt or Cicar. Payless are also good but I have had a dodgy Aveo once.
Most of the islands will be fairly dead at this time of year, unless you go somewhere very touristy - which I tend to avoid.
I also avoid drag bars as they are horrific hangovers from the 70s.
Lanzarote I have done 3 times - Matagorda, Puerto del Carmen and Playa del Carmen. OK once or twice but quite populated and my least favourite overall.
Someone said the fish are good but for me, the water tends to be cold and the best fish I saw was during a Cyprus summer.
Gran Canaria I have done 3 times - Playa del Ingles in Maspalomas on each occasion as apartments tend to be expensive. Parking is hard if you have a hire car. The resort is a bit crap but the beaches and dunes are pretty good. Meloneras is the nicer resort but expensive. Most of GC is crap round the edges but drive inland and you get some great scenery. The down side is that the roads twist and turn so you can actually drive for 7 hours and get nowhere fast. they also like to close roads for car rallies. They have a lovely little zoo with birds of prey and other birds doing free flight displays. OK, I'm against the whole dolphins in captivity thing but the rest is all good. Free bus there too.
Tenerife I have done 4 times. I try to avoid the resorts and apartments opposite La Tejita beach are good value and it's a few minutes to the airport and you have a direct road straight up to El Teide national park which I personally never tire of (although it was 10 foot deep in snow one year). The big downside with Tenerife is crime. they get into your car, even when locked and steal your stuff - seem to have capture devices so don't leave anything in your car.
Favourite by a country mile is Fuerteventura which is still largely unspoilt, although they are building motorways now. I am going back for the 7th time in a few weeks. initially, I thought it was the world's biggest gravel car park but have come to appreciate the savage beauty of it. I stay in Caleta de Fuste for various reasons (i) it's 5 minutes from the airport (ii) it has some nice restaurants, recommend 555 and the Fado Rock if you like vast amounts on your plate (iii) lots of free parking (iv) I confess I like karaoke and they have a little circuit there (v) they don't do "two for one" beer - a pint is 1 to 3 Euros.
Worth visiting the Coloneles House for the Barbary ground squirrels (chipmunks to the uninitiated) which is an invasive species they are trying to eradicate but damn, they're cute. Driving round the island yields plenty of gems to see and at the bottom of the island is Cofete, an absolute jewel of a massively long beach that is usually deserted - all accessible via driveable gravel tracks.
I book an apartment online, a flight online (I use Skyscanner to get it as low as I can - £150 return for my trip in a week or so)
I always book a hire car through Cabrera Medina which means you get a car from Sixt or Cicar. Payless are also good but I have had a dodgy Aveo once.
Most of the islands will be fairly dead at this time of year, unless you go somewhere very touristy - which I tend to avoid.
I also avoid drag bars as they are horrific hangovers from the 70s.
Lanzarote I have done 3 times - Matagorda, Puerto del Carmen and Playa del Carmen. OK once or twice but quite populated and my least favourite overall.
Someone said the fish are good but for me, the water tends to be cold and the best fish I saw was during a Cyprus summer.
Gran Canaria I have done 3 times - Playa del Ingles in Maspalomas on each occasion as apartments tend to be expensive. Parking is hard if you have a hire car. The resort is a bit crap but the beaches and dunes are pretty good. Meloneras is the nicer resort but expensive. Most of GC is crap round the edges but drive inland and you get some great scenery. The down side is that the roads twist and turn so you can actually drive for 7 hours and get nowhere fast. they also like to close roads for car rallies. They have a lovely little zoo with birds of prey and other birds doing free flight displays. OK, I'm against the whole dolphins in captivity thing but the rest is all good. Free bus there too.
Tenerife I have done 4 times. I try to avoid the resorts and apartments opposite La Tejita beach are good value and it's a few minutes to the airport and you have a direct road straight up to El Teide national park which I personally never tire of (although it was 10 foot deep in snow one year). The big downside with Tenerife is crime. they get into your car, even when locked and steal your stuff - seem to have capture devices so don't leave anything in your car.
Favourite by a country mile is Fuerteventura which is still largely unspoilt, although they are building motorways now. I am going back for the 7th time in a few weeks. initially, I thought it was the world's biggest gravel car park but have come to appreciate the savage beauty of it. I stay in Caleta de Fuste for various reasons (i) it's 5 minutes from the airport (ii) it has some nice restaurants, recommend 555 and the Fado Rock if you like vast amounts on your plate (iii) lots of free parking (iv) I confess I like karaoke and they have a little circuit there (v) they don't do "two for one" beer - a pint is 1 to 3 Euros.
Worth visiting the Coloneles House for the Barbary ground squirrels (chipmunks to the uninitiated) which is an invasive species they are trying to eradicate but damn, they're cute. Driving round the island yields plenty of gems to see and at the bottom of the island is Cofete, an absolute jewel of a massively long beach that is usually deserted - all accessible via driveable gravel tracks.
rustyuk said:
We go to the Canaries every New Year to escape the cold and in-laws! Perfect for cold beer and a book by the pool.
Likewise - mostly in winter. These villas are very good: https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g652121... but book up very quick. The marina side of playa blanca is the 'least chav' we have found.okgo said:
Never got why anyone goes there. It looks fking ste.
I went to Gran Canaria for some cycling, it was fine. I wouldn't go to any of those places for an actual holiday.
Relaxing, quiet winter sun with a few good restaurants also. It's a very nice walk along the coast near the marina daily too.king ste.I went to Gran Canaria for some cycling, it was fine. I wouldn't go to any of those places for an actual holiday.
Gompo said:
Does nobody stop in Arrecife? I didn't want to be in a resort, and hoped the capital might have some culture, so had my first trip to Lanzarote last April and stopped in Arrecife, practically on the sea front with a sea view and balcony. Nothing amazing and not much history, but the weather was just about perfect and it was nice to be sat on the balcony with drinks just relaxing. We had a couple of bus trips which travelled through some of the resorts and they didn't seem very appealing, although admittedly I was probably seeing the worse of them. Lines and lines of outlets/shops/bars/ in identikit units, and the previously mentioned stereotypical UK holiday maker..
We stopped in it last time. It seemed odd - not touristy enough to be a resort, not city enough to be cultural.Its probably nice enough but it held little appeal TBH. We went down round the port as The World had been there the previous day and we thought maybe it was still there. I think we missed it by a few hours.
johnwilliams77 said:
rustyuk said:
We go to the Canaries every New Year to escape the cold and in-laws! Perfect for cold beer and a book by the pool.
Likewise - mostly in winter. These villas are very good: https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g652121... but book up very quick. The marina side of playa blanca is the 'least chav' we have found.Of an evening we either walk down and stop at IceHouse for a drink or two then on down the promenade in to the main resort or drive down to the port and park and leave the car there overnight. We generally get a taxi back up.
Whilst we would go to the marina during the day we've never really warmed to it at night. Open to suggestions though if anyone can suggest anywhere?
daemon said:
We book a private villa off ownersdirect.co.uk. Its a little old lady owns it and she lives nearby. Biggish villa with a decent sized pool in a residential development. About a 15 min walk from IceHouse or down to the Marina for that matter.
Of an evening we either walk down and stop at IceHouse for a drink or two then on down the promenade in to the main resort or drive down to the port and park and leave the car there overnight. We generally get a taxi back up.
Whilst we would go to the marina during the day we've never really warmed to it at night. Open to suggestions though if anyone can suggest anywhere?
I enjoy this place: https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g6... - ask for a table by the water. It's a little pricier than most but I always have 1 meal thereOf an evening we either walk down and stop at IceHouse for a drink or two then on down the promenade in to the main resort or drive down to the port and park and leave the car there overnight. We generally get a taxi back up.
Whilst we would go to the marina during the day we've never really warmed to it at night. Open to suggestions though if anyone can suggest anywhere?
Last time I was there - we stayed a little further along the cost for somewhere a bit cheaper there is this place: https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g5... and also a lovely little place in the shopping centre https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g6... small, but nice) - about 15/20min walk from marina area.
Edited by johnwilliams77 on Thursday 5th October 18:58
Another restaurant I’d recommend is:
http://www.lacabanamacher.com
Owned by an English couple, the chef has worked with some top names in the UK. The other night, we paid €40 for a taxi back from there to give an idea.
http://www.lacabanamacher.com
Owned by an English couple, the chef has worked with some top names in the UK. The other night, we paid €40 for a taxi back from there to give an idea.
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