Canary Islands

[AlyLu07]

I sail on voyager in a few weeks and we have stops in 3 of the canary islands, La Palma, Tenerife, and Lanzarote. Are there any sights that are must see? And how far is the port from the city center? Any information or picutes anyone might have about any of these islands is greatly appreciated.:D

[chuly]

I sail on voyager in a few weeks and we have stops in 3 of the canary islands, La Palma, Tenerife, and Lanzarote. Are there any sights that are must see? And how far is the port from the city center? Any information or picutes anyone might have about any of these islands is greatly appreciated.:D

 

In Tenerife and Las Palmas the port is within walking distance from the center and in Las Palmas from the beach. Lanzarote's center is far from the port (and in our opinion not worth even going to). A must see in Lanzarote are the Fire Mountains- expectacular! and Jameo Del Agua as well. Tenerife is a beautiful island and Las Palmas has very nice beaches.

Hope this helps:)

[chuly]

I sail on voyager in a few weeks and we have stops in 3 of the canary islands, La Palma, Tenerife, and Lanzarote. Are there any sights that are must see? And how far is the port from the city center? Any information or picutes anyone might have about any of these islands is greatly appreciated.:D

 

Oops! We didn't notice you were from Miami so forget about the beaches in Las Palmas - too cold for us Miamians..... Although it's nice to walk along the boardwalk. We just got back from a cruise to the Canary Islands and the Brits were going crazy with Las Palmas beaches, but for us there's nothing like the Caribbean.:)

[LeeWalker]

In Tenerife and Las Palmas the port is within walking distance from the center and in Las Palmas from the beach. Lanzarote's center is far from the port (and in our opinion not worth even going to). A must see in Lanzarote are the Fire Mountains- expectacular! and Jameo Del Agua as well. Tenerife is a beautiful island and Las Palmas has very nice beaches.

Hope this helps:)

 

Chuly,

 

Do you remember if there were plenty of taxi available at the port of Arrecife(Lanzarote)? We will be there in three weeks and really want to do the fire mountain and Jameo Del Agua. Do you think 8 hours will be enough to do both using a taxi?

Thank you much!

[standby 06.30]

I sail on voyager in a few weeks and we have stops in 3 of the canary islands, La Palma, Tenerife, and Lanzarote. Are there any sights that are must see? And how far is the port from the city center? Any information or picutes anyone might have about any of these islands is greatly appreciated.:D

Hi I take it you mean the island of La Palma not the town.

 

Tenerife, if you have seen the Volcano, go to La Oratava walk around visit Jardin Victoria, Museo de artesania Iberamericano.

 

The port is on the wet side of the island hence it is green, sugar cane and bananas, a lot of the time it clouds over at about 1400 t0 1500 hours.

 

The alternative is to walk from ship to Spains Harrods "El Corte Ingles", you can buy real Cuban Cigars, fantastic Deli, we buy bread, Manchego Cheese, air dried Sarrano ham, etc to take back for a picnic on the balcony, my wife buys shoes and handbags. Very good coffee shop and supermarket, great fruit and wine, Cordoneu Cava.

 

Walk back to the dock there are some good seafood restaurants, if there is a european ship in try to see where the crew eat, if you hear Greek, thats the place.

 

 

The island is duty free so ciggs and booze are cheap.

 

Lanzarote, you dock next to oil terminal so not pleasant, Volcano etc.

 

Alternative, monumento al campesino or the history of farming, we go because it has the best lunch on the island, true Lanzarote food, they roast a baby pig in salt fantastic, if we want seafood the old port of puerto del carmen, Tapas the "new" part of puerto del carmen, great chipirones etc, good beach. about 3miles long or more.

To take back to the ship visit the German bakery in the radio station, fantastic bread and cakes.

 

If you like proper Lobster not the rubber you get on the ship turn right out of the port keep looking towards the sea and drive for a few mls you will have to turn off the main road and follow a small road next to the sea to a little village, I cant remember the name of the restaurant but the lobster was very good, also the cuttlefish.

 

La Palma only been three times, small island a few good restaurant by the port good tapas Chipirones seafood etc, also a good tripe tapa.

 

 

Hope you have a good trip Kalo Taxidi

[AlyLu07]

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions.

 

chuly you are probably right about the beach being too cold for me :cool: although i wouldn't mind taking a nice stroll on the beach.

and we are definitely going to see the fire mts from what i read they are definitely not to be missed.

 

standby 06.30 thanks for all the food suggestions my FH will love that he loves to eat especially in new culture and for the shopping thats definitely for me. great advice! :D

 

Keep them coming, could use all the info possible. :)

[kimiata]

Chuly,

 

Do you remember if there were plenty of taxi available at the port of Arrecife(Lanzarote)? We will be there in three weeks and really want to do the fire mountain and Jameo Del Agua. Do you think 8 hours will be enough to do both using a taxi?

Thank you much!

 

Hi, we were there in 2005 and there were plenty of taxis. Our driver took us to both the places you mentioned plus Jardin de Cactus and Mirador del Rio. It was one of our favorite stops on our cruise.

[LeeWalker]

Hi, we were there in 2005 and there were plenty of taxis. Our driver took us to both the places you mentioned plus Jardin de Cactus and Mirador del Rio. It was one of our favorite stops on our cruise.

 

Kimiata,

Thank you for your reply. I'm very happy to hear there will be taxis waiting at the port. We like to do all the things you mentioned. Also, do you remember if you were quoted a flat fee for the day excursion or paid straightly by the meter.

[kimiata]

Hi Lee, we negotiated a flat fee with the driver. I forget how much it was (maybe $200?) but I do remember we stopped at an ATM to get euros to pay him! Seems there were also entrance fees at each of the attractions as well. I think it was around $5 at each place.

[SarasMommy]

In Tenerife there are the Pyramids of Guimar to visit.

[LadyDivot]

Is $200 a reasonable amount for an island tour? I'm a first timer in Lazarote and am clueless. Also, how long did it take to do all the sights?

 

Thanks...Pam

[kimiata]

Hi Pam, I am not sure exactly how much we paid in 2005, but my husband and I both seem to remember about $200. I am also not sure how many euros that would have been back then, and unfortunately the exchange rate is a lot worse these days. Maybe someone who has been there more recently can chime in.

 

I did save the shore excursion information from that cruise, so I know that the ship's "North" tour (where Jameos del Agua is) was $76 pp, and the "South" tour (to Montanas del Fuego) was $75 pp. Both tours were 4 hours long. We were only in port from noon to 5:30, so you could only pick one if you were doing a ship-sponsored excursion.

 

I remember feeling lucky that we got to see both the North and South sights. Our ship's "South" tour, however, included a camel ride. Our friends enjoyed it, but I'm not sure we would have!

 

Hope that helps,

Kim

[bjay3]

We're stopping in the Canaries next week and have arranged a independant tour of Lanzarote with an ex-pat Brit living there. He's doing a full day tour of the major sites for us. For 6-8 people, he's charging 50 euros each and 60 euros for 2-4 people. I can't verify for him yet as we haven't gone yet but if you're interested, here's his e-mail address: cymmon@hotmail.com

[Traveling Sue]

We are on the NCL, Gem and it is stopping in Lanzarote and Gran Canaria this month. Does anyone have any information on Gran Canaria Island? We were thinking of renting a car and driving around the island but not sure what to see or the condition of the roads. Any info would help..

Thanks, Sue

[AlyLu07]

everyone has had such great advice! :D

 

anyone else been to the canary islands that can give some good tips on the islands itself and on what to do?

[LadyDivot]

I have been spoiled in finding non-cruise tours in the Caribbean, and have not had very good luck for the Canaries. I wrote an email to the gentleman listed by BJay, but have not heard back. Others on my cruise have also looked for outings, but with a similar lack of response. So, we'll either end up on a ship's excursion or try to work something out with a local on the dock. The hard part is that I have no idea the cost of such a thing, and from what little info I have, the ship's excursion doesn't seem unreasonable - which is also a new experience for us. :)

 

Good luck to us all!

[ianj]

I .... have not had very good luck for the Canaries.

 

Try http://www.lanzaroteguidebook.com/lanzarote-guided-tours/lanzarote-experience.php I've booked an excursion for Dec 10th (off the Century) thru' nick@lanzaroteguidebook.com and while we havent been yet, they've been very responsive and reasonably priced.

Good luck

[LadyDivot]

We are just off the Dec 2-16 Transatlantic on Celebrity's Millennium and visited Lanzarote and La Palma in the Canary Islands. Honestly, DH and I were not sure what to expect and weren't that excited about the Canaries. We loved it and are very glad we went. Given how the dollar is tanking against the euro, our best bet was to take excursions from Celebrity. We normally plan our own excursions but couldn't find anything to do on our own at a reasonable price. We weren't disappointed with the ship's excursions.

 

Lanzarote: We did the full day, including lunch, Lanzarote Highlights tour. We visited the Timanfaya Park first and were blown away. DH and I decided that this was the most unique landscape we've seen so far. It is arid and barren but beautiful at the same time. If I ever make it to the moon, I think it will look just like Timanfaya. I think this is the must see place in Lanzarote. On this tour, we visited a winery and tasted local wine. The fact that the locals on Lanzarote can make anything grow and the way they have to do it is a testament to their determination and fortitude. The lunch was very tasty and plentiful. The afternoon visit to the Jameos del Aqua with the blind crabs was also very interesting and worth the visit. The tour also took us to some very beautiful lookout points around the island with some fantastic views of the ocean in contrast to the black rock and sand of Lanzarote. We believe that we saw all the best parts of Lanzarote on the all day tour and recommend something like this if you probably won't be back again.

 

La Palma: The stark difference between La Palma and Lanzarote couldn't be greater! Just 60 KM to the west of Lanzarote and absolutely lush and green. We opted for the morning, 4-hour Volcano and Wine Tour. It was awesome! We walked out to the end of a crater that looked straight down on the water and had a magnificent view of the island. We also toured a winery and had a tasting there as well. We visited a mill that contains a pottery workshop that makes pottery in the style and method of 500 years ago. The potter was there and talked about his craft and demonstrated how he made the designs and his face lit up while talking about it. Very interesting. Also, there was a nice souvenir shop at the mill. Absolutely anything will grow on La Palma, as opposed to Lanzarote, so you will see Poinsettia TREES, not plants but TREES, and enormous bushes of Birds of Paradise. Beautiful! The 4 hour tour was plenty and we made it back to the ship in time for lunch.

 

Hopefully this will be useful to you, and I will try to answer any questions. We really enjoyed our stops in the Canary Islands.

 

Pam

[retirepopo]

Pam:

Hope you don't mind to answer few questions.

We will be sailing with Galaxy on May 3 for a 16 days Transatlantic cruise. Lanzarote is one of the port called. We like to visit the Timanfaya National park, There are 4 of us and we are thinking to rent a car and drive to there, do you have any idea how long the drive will be from the port to the park and how is the road condition? Did the tour visited 'The Cave of Los Verdes" ?

we have almost 7 hours, will it be enough time to visit both place?

Can I ask how much the full day tour cost?

Thanks.

[LadyDivot]

Po,

 

No problem! I just rechecked the excursion doc (I saved it off the X website) and we paid $79 pp and it was called "Grand Lanzarote Highlights." Generally, we don't pay for ship excursions if we can do on our own, but I couldn't find something similar through a local provider. As an aside, we'd rather give the money and business to a local provider, when we can. We also considered all the places this tour went for @ $10 hr/pp including lunch and thought we probably couldn't do much better ourselves. This is also our one time at Lanzarote for quite awhile so we wanted to hit it all! :)

 

Looking at the time stamp on our pictures, a completely nonscientific method, it appears it was about 30 minutes from the port to the Timanfaya Visitors Center. The roads on Lanzarote were fine and that shouldn't be a problem. As we recall, you can walk around the Visitors Center and think we remember you can drive around part of the park yourself, but there are some parts of the park that are restricted to tour buses and we didn't get out. We can't remember for sure, but I think so, that some of the tour buses we saw belong to Timanfaya and they can take you around the part you can't drive yourself.

 

I don't remember the "Cave of Los Verdes" so I can't respond to that, but the Jameos del Agua was very cool. I think you should have enough time to visit all of these places. We did, and we went to a bunch of other places including lunch and a stop for coffee.

 

Have fun!

 

Pam

[retirepopo]

Pam:

Thank for the information.

79.00 per person for a full day tour plus lunch, it is a good deal. Because it is still early, celebrity has not post the shore execusion for the May 2 sailing. we may just book it from the cruise.

Besides Canary island what other ports did you visited? I also need help on Barcelona and Tenerife, any suggestions?

thank again. Happy new year.

[LadyDivot]

Happy New Year to you! We didn't go to Tenerife - we went to La Palma. I did most of my info search on the internet because I didn't find that much info on CC - which I found odd, by the way. I gather that Tenerife is the most populous island, so you should find plenty of info. Sorry I can't help!

 

Our itinerary was Barcelona - Malaga - Cadiz - Lanzarote - La Palma - Haiti (Labadee) - Ft. Lauderdale. I gave a review of Labadee in the Carribbean forum if you are interested. In Barcelona, I highly recommend the HOHO (hop on hop off) bus. If you are going to be there one or two days, it seems to be the best bet for cost and taking you to all the highlights of the city. We went two days early so we could sightsee for one day and then get on the boat not jetlagged. We stayed at the Hotel Rivoli in Las Ramblas and can highly recommend it. Very comfortable and a reasonable $150 euros/night given the location and compared to other hotels in the area. The Rivoli is a stones throw from the Plaza Catalunya which has a HOHO bus stop and is also close to the subway if you want to take that option.

 

Hope that helps!

 

Pam

[roboref]

We rented a car on Lanzarote. Cost was $50 for the day plus $12 in fuel, drove most of the island, went to fire mountain, rode camels, Tequise and beach. Had a great time and very doable. Fire mountain was 8 Euros each. Also cost about $15 to $20 for cab each way to/from airport to port.

 

Also a link to pictures of the Canary islands if interested as well as Gem Exotic Western Med. Cruise below:

 

http://good-times.webshots.com/album/561667571uHbWNi?start=432

[LadyDivot]

Happy New Year, Roboref - from a fellow Abq'ian.

 

Pam (East Mountains)

[CajunLiner]

Pamelapage & Roboref:

 

Know what else you two have in common??

 

You both have the same name and you've both sailed a Transatlantic crossing with me!!

 

Donna