Lanzarote and Tenerife Suggestions

[swcruise]

Hi,

 

I have booked 1/2 day cruise line excursions for Lanzarote and Tenerife and am wondering whether to rethink this. I am interested if any of you have experiences of taking private taxis in these ports, how much this would cost and where we you would suggest going ? We have never been to these islands before, so we would very much like to get a flavor and see what we can in the time allowed. There are three in our group, we are currently paying approx 100 euros between us for each day, so would be looking for something in this price range.

 

Also, if we have time is it worth spending wandering through the port towns of Arrecife and Santa Cruz ?

 

As always you feedback is very much appreciated. :)

[FinelyRetired]

Good Morning:

 

For Lanzarote I did a combination of things in Jan. and was well satisfied with my day.

 

I did a 1/2 day RCCL ships' tour called: "Panoramic Lanzarote." ($42USD)Went to Timanfaya, saw some vineyards, climbed around a rocky inlet with pounding surf, etc. On that drive they pointed out Cesar Manrique's house.

 

Back at Port, I left bus & went straight to the taxis and negotiated with a driver to take me to Cesar Manrique's house....I think it's correct name is Fundacion Cesar Manrique. Very interesting home, now small art gallery. Many of the rooms are built underground inside large lava domes. The taxi driver gave lots of history too about where he died in a car crash nearby under mysterious circumstances. Driver waited in a car park along with other taxi drivers while I toured the house for about 45 minutes. This was a short distance from Port, only about 1 1/2 hours required & as I recall drive/tip came to 25-30 euros for myself. www.lanzaroteisland.com has info on his major impact on Lanzarote & the house/gallery.

 

Enjoy planning your day.

[kruzseeka]

Good suggestions for Lanzarote - we've had a couple of holidays on the island, and I would say the two most impressive things to see are the Timanfaya National Park and the Fundacion. The Fundacion is not far from Arrecife (I guess less than 5 miles) and taxis are not too expensive in Lanzarote. The vision Manrique had to create such a stunning home from lava bubbles is nothing short of amazing!

 

Tenerife also has a volcano - Teide which is very interestng but if I had to choose between Teide or Timanfaya, I'd say Timanfaya was more impressive. At Timanfaya, often camel rides are included in excursions - if that is of interest to you and at Teide there is a cable car to the top but not all trips include this i.e. you don't actually go to the top of Mount Teide.

 

Tenerife is a very different island from Lanzarote. Lanzarote is black volcanic ash - but very beautiful in a dramatic kind of way. In Tenerife there is a dry, somewhat barren southern part to the island and a green, lush area to the North (where you are berthed). It's worth getting some kind of trip which allows you to see both halves which are quite a contrast.

 

Personally, I wouldn't waste time wandering around either Arrecife or Santa Cruz - there are much more impressive things to be seen on both islands to spend time in rather ordinary towns with no particular wow factors (at least none I've managed to find!).

 

Enjoy your trip - the Canary Islands are lovely and worth visiting. :)

[swcruise]

Thank you both for your replies, I will look into going to the Fundacion after our morning tour which co-incidentely is the same one Finelyretired that you did, it sounds a good excursion. Do you know will they leave us off the bus after the excursion in the town if we request it to get a taxi, or for safety and regulation reasons will we have to go back to port to pick one up ?

 

Any input on small traditional villages that we could grab a cab to and have lunch, myabe overlooking the sea ??

 

Tks

[HeinBloed]

We just returned from Lanzarote:

 

I would hire a car - the car rental station is just at the exit of the port.

 

Driving on Lanzarote was easy and we saw much more than on the cruise ship's offer:

 

http://heinbloed-musica.blogspot.com/2009/01/tag-7-auf-msc-fantasia-day-7-on-msc.html

 

Regards,

HeinBloed

[FinelyRetired]

As always, HeinBloed has provided an excellent resource for the avid DIY tourist. I always admire those whose spirit of adventure and pre-planning skills allow them not only see more, but fully understand a Port.

 

For me, a car hire represents a lot of advance research for an area well beyond the actual time to hire/return the car at Port, maps/directions and time management to judge distance to return to Port in time to return car etc.

 

Even with extensive research for Lanzarote I'm not sure I would have recognized the "salt flats" when we drove by, understood the curious half moon piles of rocks farmers & vineyarders use to protect their crops from the prevailing winds which are strong & year round. I probably would also not have appreciated without guide commentary that because the last volcanic activity was so much more recent in Lanzarote than Tenerife, it ressembles a moonscape but the lichens, etc. are beginning to emerge & life can begin anew in the harshest of environments. When I saw Tenerife, it was amazing to see how green the extra many, many years without eruption had allowed the landscape to change. I could well imagine that given another 100 years or so Lanzarote might look more like Tenerife today.

[swcruise]

Heinbold, tks for posting your blog and also taking the time to publish an English version. Looking at the photos, I am excited about our stop in the Canaries, counting the days now until we are at sea..