I spend the second winter half on this island but I am not such a tourist who spends here 1-2 weeks rather I am a tourist who lives here for 4 -5 months. So I have the time to discover and evaluate what is worth the visit.

I am not a local who is used to everything here, I see with fresh eyes.

And since I give information to my tourists about the sights I had to read a lot/I asked a lot/I searched a lot of information about Lanzarote.

Last reason why my list can be helpful is I am a keen discoverer, I don’t sit at home cooking (sometimes I do, ok see: Sicilian cooking class), but I rather go everywhere myself because I don’t believe others’ fairy tales: I want to see, I want to have proof, I want to experience and I want to live an active life.

So here is my BUCKET LIST for Lanzarote:

The most important sight is the Timanfaya Natural Park, it is really a must see: Hundreds of volcanic craters, El Diabolo Restaurant, Fire Mountains => You can read about it in a previous post: It is like a walk on the Moon in Lanzarote

My favourite sight is the Jardin de Cactus (Cactus Garden). It is also designed by Cesar Manrique (who else? :)). I spent there an hour taking pictures of the flowers, magnificent, more than 1,100 different species of cacti from countries like Mexico, Kenya, Tanzania, Morocco or Peru. => Visiting the Jardin de Cactus (Cactus Garden) in Lanzarote

The Papagayo Beach is really great, it is in the southern part of the island. You can walk there from Playa Blanca (huhh 8 kilometers) or you can go there by car. It is a protected area, there is an entrance fee 3 EUR (2017). The parking is near the beach, there is a restaurant and many other beaches in walking distance. => 10 photos to convince you to go to the Papagayo Beach #gallery-0-66 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-66 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; } #gallery-0-66 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-66 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

The Mirador del Rio is lookout point in the North, from above you have a beautiful view over the Island of La Graciosa. => White Sandy beaches on La Graciosa Island #gallery-0-67 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-67 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; } #gallery-0-67 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-67 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

La Graciosa is another island north of Lanzarote, easily reachable by ferry from Orzola, it takes 30-40 minutes to go there. The island is full of white sandy beaches. You can walk there from the harbour, or you can rent a bike or you can go on a Catamaran tour like I did. => White Sandy beaches on La Graciosa Island #gallery-0-68 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-68 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; } #gallery-0-68 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-68 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Some additional Information to La Graciosa I didn’t write in the previous post: There is a beautiful beach, the Playa de las Conchas, where you can go for example by bike, like a dream.

In El Golfo is the Lago Verde , the Green Lake/Lagoon. You can photograph the lake from above from a lookout point or you can go closer by coming from the other side to see the interesting stone formations on the beach. => Lanzarote’s Lago Verde (Green Lake) to discover from both sides

La Geria is not far from the Timanfaya Natural park, it is a wine-growing area. The vine stocks are planted 2 meters deep and protected from the wind by half-moon lava stone walls. The El Grifo is a famous wine produced here.

I am not a fan of caves, but I must say it is really colorfully illuminated and I heard interesting stories during the tour. You can visit the Cueva de los Verdes only with a guide, every 30 minutes there are tours down. What is the joke inside I will not tell you, go there and see. Cesar Manrique’s presence here too… #gallery-0-72 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-72 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-72 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-72 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Cesar Manrique was the most famous artist, he left everywhere his mark. He created the Fire Devil at the Timanfaya Park, the crab at Jameos del Agua, the fish at Mirador del Rio, the Jardin de Cactus …etc. There are 2 museums, in Tahiche is the house where he lived (Cesar Manrique Foundation), in Haria is the house where he worked.

Lagomar is the House of Omar Sharif (who doesn’t know him check google under Dr. Zhivago). It was also partly designed by Cesar Manrique, exquisite for sure. Pity that Mr Sharif owned the house only for a few days, then he lost it on cards…

The Capital, Arrecife doesn’t have this ’wow’ effect like the Timanfaya Park but for a half day ok, if you want to see a nice harbour, where you can find good restaurants go there. The Grand Hotel is the highest building on the island, from above you have a nice view.

The promenade in Puerto del Carmen is full of restaurants, bars, shops everything a tourist needs/ doesn’t need you can find here. But not only that. The beach section is really nice and the sunset is magnificent from here…

The sunset in Playa Blanca I would put on this list too…

The Jameos del Agua is a cave where you can find the albino crabs (nowhere else in the World you can find them), a concert hall, a small museum and an artificial lake. One of the masterpieces of Cesar Manrique.

?????????????

Teguise is famous for its market every Sunday. It is a weekly market, full of clothes, bags, decorations, jewels. If you want to see the real Teguise go there when there is no market. Then it is a sleepy little village with white houses, narrow streets and small churches.

The Camel ride station is outside the Timanfaya park, it is fun to ride on these camels. #gallery-0-79 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-79 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; } #gallery-0-79 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-79 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Playa de Famara is the surfers’ paradise, the water is shallow, it is always windy. There are a lot of surf schools here. In the village mostly surfers rent apartments and they spend the whole day on the beach. There are really good fish restaurants here. I liked the beach itself too just to relax a bit, without surfing.

The Caldera Cuervo is a crater you can visit inside. One of my favourite craters, I did a tour there, from the parking it takes 20 minutes to reach the entrance. The road there and inside too is like being on the Moon, you can find here a Lunar landscape. Outside the park, near La Geria. => It is like a Walk on the Moon in Lanzarote

Caldera Blanca is a bit more tiring, it took for me 2,5 hours to go up and back down. I have never walked on around a crater before. => Walking on the top of the White Crater (Caldera Blanca) in Lanzarote

There is a nice lookout point at the Ermita de las Nieves

Caletón Blanco is on the northeast coast of the island near Órzola, here you can find some tiny beaches of white sand and black rocks. Photogenic area… #gallery-0-84 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-84 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; } #gallery-0-84 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-84 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

So that is it so far…. I still have 2 weeks left, I will see if I add something more to the list…. :)

Vicky