SteveSome of us like to spend all day by a beach or a pool. For us, we like to mix things up a bit. It was a few years ago before we went away when Amy said to me “do you fancy a bike ride in Lanzarote?”. Nothing too strenuous, but something to break up the day. Since that day, we always make a point of hiring a bike and going for a bit of a pedal when in Puerto del Carmen.
Renting a bike
We’ve always based ourselves in Puerto del Carmen when we have visited Lanzarote. Being the largest resort, there are quite a few places to hire a bike. The place we chose was called Papa Rent, close to Hotel Fariones on Calle Acatife.
We chose Papa Rent initially as they were the closest to our apartments on our first visit to Puerto del Carmen. Their prices were good, their bikes in good condition and we had great service.
The route
The route that we figured out was pretty straightforward. Now we are not the sort of people that dress up in lycra and go off into the hills on a million-mile bike ride! We wanted something a bit more serene, and picturesque. We cycle from the middle of Puerto del Carmen and follow the coastline all the way to Arrecife. The ride is just over 9 miles, super easy with only one or two slight inclines and almost all on a cycle path too.
The route takes you out of Puerto del Carmen and past Playa del los Pocillos, then past Playa Matagorda. After that, you pass the airport which is situated right next to the beach. The route then goes on to Playa Honda, Playa de la Concha and Playa del Cable. Our last stop is Arrecife, the capital of the Island.
What to expect
I mentioned earlier that the route is very easy. Almost all of it is on a dedicated cycle path. The cycle paths are mostly a dedicated part of the wide pavement, but there is a small part by Playa de los Pocillos which uses the road. It is only a short distance with no cycle path, and if no one is looking you can always use the footpath – I do!
Can you imagine cycling along a beach promenade with the wind in your hair? The beach and sea on one side and the whitewashed buildings on the other? It’s brilliant! A lot of the route is like this, and there are plenty of others enjoying the same experience.
All you need to do is watch out for pedestrians, as they do have a tendency to wander into the cycle path. As do small children. We’ve had a few close calls over the years!
If I had one complaint, it would be that the cycle path seemed to me to be bumpier than the pedestrian path! Ah well. You can always use the normal promenade, no one seems to mind.
Once you get away from Playa de Matagorda it really begins to quieten down, not that it was too lively in the first place. You begin to see areas that are more akin to locals than tourists. Playa Honda in particular has some very nice looking apartments right on the promenade, literally 10 steps from the porch to the beach! It’s like that all the way to Arrecife.
César Manrique-Lanzarote Airport
About halfway between Puerto del Carmen and Arrecife is César Manrique-Lanzarote Airport. The path runs right by the beach at this point, and you can see the planes coming in to land from the sea. This area is popular with both cyclists and walkers. Who doesn’t want to watch planes coming into land right over your head!
It’s not anything like as busy as Heathrow airport, but in the mornings we’ve noticed a steady flow of planes landing every 20 minutes or so. Perfect if you are a plane spotter!
The path around the airport is very straight and smooth with the odd bit of sand drifting over it. By this point, there are not too many pedestrians, but there are some rickshaws touring around.
A nice spot for lunch
There are plenty of places for food and drink in the busier areas of Puerto del Carmen, Los Pocillos and Arrecife. We prefer to grab a snack on the return journey back from Arrecife. There are a few spots around Playa Honda that are ideal for this that you can see as you cycle along. Even better, some of these have a handy bike stand to park your trusty steed! Might be worth asking for a lock when you hire your bike, just in case.
At our preferred lunch stop, we’d have cycled for around 12 miles or so. A snack and a well-deserved drink are usually in order. We found a place called something or other (sorry, really can’t remember the name!) that was perfect. Decent prices for snacks and drinks, and a brilliant place to watch the world go by for an hour or so. It was on Avenida Playa Honda, and if you’ve been yourself you may recognise the view from the photo below.
After refuelling it’s a nice steady ride back to Puerto del Carmen. We take the exact same route, dodging pedestrians and racing Amy back! The bike hire is for the full day, but typically we ride back to the shop to drop off our bikes so we can carry on our day doing something else. Too much exercise on holiday can be a bad thing!
So do you fancy a bike ride in Lanzarote?
Who wants to spend a whole day on a beach sun tanning? Granted, we all like a bit of downtime but this is a great way to get a little bit of exercise and see a bit more of Lanzarote. It’s also is a nice way to break up the day. Going at a steady pace, it’s going to take around 45 minutes each way, not including any stops. That still leaves plenty of time for cooking in the sun!
Considering the price, it really is a bargain. We paid €12 each which is for a full day’s hire. By touring around we’ve seen a couple of other resorts and formed a bit of an opinion of them. It’s hard to find a better route that offers such good scenery at a holiday destination. I’ll mention it again, it’s just brilliant cycling along with the beach and sea right next to you!
Why not check out our other posts about Lanzarote?
