Arrecife as a port of call

We will be visiting here in November from early pm to late night on Braemar. Having seen the port reviews it does not seem to be a popular port, but there is mention of a castle and a beach area if you walk on a bit.

Does Fred offer shuttle buses from here and, if so, are they fairly regular? We will probably pop into the castle, but is the beach area worth walking on for - we would just want a stroll along the front rather than to spend time on the beach? We often go into port again in the evening, (or stay out for a meal), if the ship is in port late night, but a combination of needing a shuttle and the poor port reviews are making us think it is not likely to be worthwhile - any comments on that would also be appreciated.

We would not want to travel beyond Arrecife, (on a trip or by other means), as we do a lot of travelling around on Land holidays and have seen a lot in the Canaries, especially volcanic landscapes.

We went on the beach transfer trip -- Lanzarote tour & Puerto Del Carmen transfer -- and the bus dropped us on the road where the bars and shops are. We went down a ramp onto the beach but there were no beds there. We were sat on rocks and I went for a swim. A long way along the beach I could see areas where sunbeds were set up, but my husband wouldn't have been able to walk along there, so can't comment on cost. After swimming, I joined Ray on the rocks to sunbathe for a while then I got changed (there was a building with loos and changing facilities) we went up to a bar where we found beers and excellent free wifi.

We were not with Fred when there, so not sure what they will do.

My sister lives in Lanzarote, she mentioned a new Marina that has been built called Marina Lanzarote with restaurants,cafes and shops. Slightly upmarket but worth a visit. Looking at google maps, it is about 3 miles from cruise terminal. Here is a link to a you tube vidio http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJ2EjymeOsM

I've enjoyed strolling around Arrecife. From the ship you can cross the road to the lagoon with good cafes. At the top, join the pedestrian shopping street. Down the street you will re-join the seafront. If you turn right towards the tall hotel, and just beyond it, is El Reducto beach on Avenida Fred Olsen. Maybe a total walk of 1200 metres each way. There are lots of seating, shops and cafes on the way.

Fred's own trip to Puerto del Carmen is costly at c£25 when the local bus every hour is about 3 euros. The bus to Costa Teguise runs every 20 minutes for a similar price.

Happy cruising

Bob

Thank you all for the replies - sorry I have been so late coming back to the thread.

Looking at Google Earth, the marina seems to be the same side of the town as the cruise port and the very detailed info from Mann overboard is particularly useful, but all replies have helped to put the port into perspective, so thanks again to all of you.

Barbara

The post by mann overboard is spot on and 100% correct. It is a shame that the ship is not spending the whole day there as there are some lovely tours around the Island and through the Timanfaya National Park. A quick stop in the port of Arrecife is not Lanzarote.

The old fort opposite the Miramar Hotel is a pleasant area to stroll to and at the bottom of the shopping street.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Miramar+Hotel+Lanzarote/@28.9586184,-13.5477589,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0xe5c667efd79faed7

Thank you for the reply, I have actually looked into what has been referred to as 'The tall hotel' and it has a bar on the top (17th) floor which does drinks and snacks at quite reasonable prices, so afternoon tea is on the agenda. The itinerary has been completely changed and we are now in Lanzarote form late morning to late night, but we will likely just stay in Arrecife and perhaps get the bus to Costa Teguise, which we quite fancy seeing as we would like a holiday on the island and it seems a decent, central location. We will hire a car for a week and see a lot more on a land holiday.

The downside of a longer day in Lanzarote is that we have lost Fogo in Cape Verde, which was the only other port we had not visited and Fogo was a big pull when booking the cruise. Presumably Fred found a cheaper option - or one where they could sell more trips! They only told us they had changed it a week and a half before the cruise starts as well, which made it even more annoying. Fred is not in our best books at the moment and we would be very careful about booking another of their cruises.

Must get back to the packing, thanks again,

Barbara

We visited the Cesar Manrique Fundacion which is a short taxi ride (€10) from the port. It was wonderful. Here is a link to give you an idea but there are reviews on Trip Advisor.

http://www.lanzaroteinformation.com/content/fundación-césar-manrique

I had noticed that on my searches as well - a sort of arty place I think. We really do want to do a land holiday (probably in Costa Teguise) and would see that then. It did look a good visit from a cruise ship though - especially if there are a lot of ships in port, which there are when we go from what I have seen.

Thanks,

Barbara

Nice that you have longer there but a shame about Fogo as that would be quite unique.

Costa Teguise is not far and a pleasant enough resort. It is one of the original ones. My favourite is Playa Blanca but it is a lot further away but add to your list for when you do a land based holiday it is a lovely resort and some very good quality hotels and apartments. The Timanfaya Palace in Playa Blanca is a favourite of mine.

The Gran Hotel ( Tall hotel ) is ok. A lot of people go for tea/coffee and cake and to get some views from the cafe. The cakes are nothing special though.

The Melia Salinas hotel in Costa Teguise is pleasant and you could go there for a drink and to look around. It is directly by the large sandy beach.

http://www.melia.com/en/hotels/spain/lanzarote/melia-salinas/index.html

I have printed out that link and done a print out. Nice to go along with a specific hotel in mind. We know playa Blanca is well spoken about, but on a land holiday we will likekly get car hire an travel round, so central sounds better to us, as lang as we are happy with the resort as a place to stay. There are some nice pics of the north on Google Earth and that is much further from Playa Blanca. We would travel to all parts of the island though, so we may return to there another time.

Thanks,

Barbara