Playa Blanca, Playa Real

All in all, we had a wonderful 2 weeks in Lanzarote, however, we were suprised by the constant wind! The villa (16 Playa Real) was excellent and we definitely felt right at home straight away. The beds were comfortable, the kitchen amenities excellent as were the bathrooms. The living area had a 3 seater and 2 seater and a coffee table. There were a selection of books and dvds such as Life on Mars, Incredibles, Godfather Trilogy, etc. There was an indoor dining table for six and outdoor table for six. The pool was a lovely large size.

The villa is located in a residential area called Playa Real (near Carlos Park on one side and the Natura Hotel on the other) and it has direct access to a gate (few steps) which leads directly onto a promenade which runs along the seafront of Playa Blanca. The lighthouse is in one direction and Playa Blanca town, marina Rubicom and Papagayo in another.

Unfortunately, there was no beach in front or that near to the villa and that really was our only disappointment. Most of the seafront is very rocky. The nearest beach (Playa Flamingo) was 10-15 minutes walk away which was too far for our youngest children (there and back after a few hours in the sun) and the beach was not that nice compared to what we were used to - rocky and the sand did not look very appealing. However, there was a nicer beach about 20 minutes walk away with a small area free from rocks and the sand was much better, but the nicest beach (Playa Dorada - very beautiful with golden sands and free from rocks - picture postcard stuff) was over 30 minutes walk away.

We ended up hiring a car (7 seater Volkswagon caddy for £240 euros/week) and were glad we did as we explored all of Lanzarote and found some lovely places to visit. Just out of Playa Blanca, were a couple of beaches, one of them Papagayo which were beautiful. They were accessed via a dirt road and cost 3 euros per car admission. There is a lovely uncommercialised small beach on the northern tip of the Island - well worth visiting as it is enclosed by rocks hence the water is very calm and very warm. You can walk out quite a way and the children really enjoyed it.

The nearest large chain and cheapest supermarket was HiperDino in the centre of Playa Blanca (had free underground car parking if spending over 10 euros). It is worth a taxi trip if you are not hiring a car as the other more local supermarkets (Spar, Netto, others) were definitively more expensive.

We visited Rancho Texas Park - the children loved the sea lion show (photo with sea lion: 10 euros) and the eagle show was excellent as the birds flew very close to the audience and were often flying just over our heads!

Puerto del Carmen is definitely a must to visit - very commercialised and with a very large stretch of beach. It is definitely the 'Blackpool' of Lanzarote! If your kids enjoy McDonalds - there is one here!

The camel rides (10 euros for a camel seating up to 2 adults or 2 adults and 2 v young children) were so much fun! We found them on the way to Mount Tiede. The visit to the volcanos - Timanfaya National park - are definitely worth a visit - the scenery is spectacular, however, we didn't spend more than 2 hours there as there is not much to do. We just parked up and then had to go onto a coach (included in admission costs) which took us through the winding volcanos. Entrance: adults 14 euros and children 7 euros.

We visited both the Wednesday (Playa Blanca) and Saturday (marina Rubicon) local markets for souvenirs.

We never managed to find time for the water park or to take the ferry to Fueventura (12-20 mins from Playa Blanca depending on which ferry company you take). Also, in Playa Blanca town centre, there is a lovely lady in the tourist information booth who was very helpful with places to visit and telephone numbers of taxi services etc.

Transport from the airport to Playa Blanca cost us 85 euros (one way) for six of us in a 10 seater minibus and on the return leg, we took 2 taxis which cost us 90 euros in total. It only took around 30 minutes.