Puerto del Carmen is the largest and most popular holiday resort on the Canary Island of Lanzarote. It is located in the south just over 10 miles (or 16km) from Lanzarote Airport at Arrecife. Once a small fishing port, Puerto del Carmen has been redeveloped in the last couple of decades, but it has managed to keep its old quarter, in particular the region round the picturesque harbour. When compared to the chic marina of Puerto Calero located closeby, it is still very much a traditional working port, although there are pleasure boat trips (with glass bottoms) from the harbour to the nearby island of Fuerteventura. Although Puerto del Carmen has a quite lively nightlife, it is certainly tame compared to other Spanish tourist resorts and it usually attracts younger couples, family groups and friends.

Puerto del Carmen include the wonderful Playa Grande (or Playa Blanca) which runs for just over 2 miles (or 3km) and offers safe swimming for families, plus there are several water sports or fun activities available such as parascending, pedalos and banana boat trips. Along the beach runs the esplanade of the Avenida de las Playas or known locally as The Strip, which is lined with tourist hotels, lots of shops, cafes, take aways and loads of bars which is the main visitor centre of the area.

Further east of the Playa Grande is the vast golden sand beach of the Playa de los Pocillos, often regarded as the best on the island, because of the gentle slope and warm sheltered situation, that makes it very suitable for smaller kids. Close by it are more bars, restaurants, cafes and shops.

The main one of the Puerto del Carmen attractions is one of the most visited on the island, the famous Rancho Texas Park, that has a Wild West styled amusement park displaying diverse things such as birds of prey, parrot shows, a Red Indian village, pony rides for younger children plus a petting farm. Information is available on the Texan city of San Antonio, originally founded 300 years ago by emigrants of Lanzarote. Rancho Texas Park also has ever popular Country and Western evenings featuring barbecues, live bands and plenty of refreshments.

Further west of the town is the trendy yacht marina of Puerto Calero, which opened in 1989 and is a great place in which to stroll round and admire the beautiful yachts. There are plenty of nice bars and pavement restaurants, including the Papardelle which specialises in pizza and pasta, plus a number of designer boutiques. A selection of boat cruises are available from there, such as catamaran, tourist submarine adventures, plus angling for tuna and marlin. The Museo de Cataceos de Canarias is located there as well charting the evolution of dolphins and whales through a whole series of expert models, skeletons, photos and interactive computer displays.

Puerto del Carmen nightlife is known as the best of all the holiday resorts on Lanzarote Island, with most of the action taking place along the Avenida de las Playas in popular nightspots such as the Paradise Nightclub, Charlies or the Waikiki Beach. The Avenida de las Playas also has a large selection of good restaurants and take aways, you might try the port area for the best seafood restaurants though.

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