Playa Blanca

Holidays to Playa Blanca deliver plenty in the way of beach action, chic marina style and volcanic scenery.

Sophisticated style

Set on Lanzarote’s southwest tip, Playa Blanca may be the third largest tourist place on the island but it hasn’t got too big for its boots. It’s all about laid-back sophistication here and the classy marina and local fishermen get along just fine. As for the name of the resort – it means white beach.

Blue Flag beaches

You don’t just get 1 white beach here – you get a trio. Playa Blanca Beach is the smallest, though this Blue Flag-winner is handily right in the centre of town. Then you can take your pick. You’ve got the super-soft sands of Playa Dorada to the east or sheltered Playa Flamingo to the west – both are just minutes from the café-lined promenade.

A Goldilocks resort

The great thing about Playa Blanca is that it’s not too busy and it’s not too quiet – it manages to get things just right. Down by the waterfront, for instance, you’ll find a good cluster of souvenir shops along with a healthy quota of boutiques. Likewise authentic tapas bars are just as easy to come by as happy hour cocktail bars.

Easy day trips

Volcanic Lanzarote does a good line in dramatic scenery – the drive down to Playa Blanca is a good case in point. Just 15 minutes’ drive away from the resort, though, and you’ll come to Los Hervideros – AKA the boiling pots. These blowholes formed by the sea are pretty impressive and you can have a really good nose from the walkways laid out by Cesar Manrique. He’s the island’s celebrity architect, and you can see more of his work at his James Bond-style pad over in Costa Teguise.