Recommendations in port?

[Sheep Flavour]

Hi we are on the Canary Islands Ventura cruise on the 3rd November. Is there any nearby beaches/places of interest in any of the following in case I don’t want to do an official excursion. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated! We are in Madeira, Gran Canaria, lanzarote, la Corina and I forget the last one! Ie is it easy to get from these ports to any places of interest. Thanks

[Harry Peterson]

All good places just to relax and wander round. And some rather good places for a gelato too!

 

Never bothered with excursions, but always enjoyed the visits.

[Eglesbrech]

Madeira

 

There is lots to do and all easy to DIY, lovely little town with nice shops and cafes and all close to the ship. Visit the large fruit and fish market to see the unusual fruits grown on the island.
 

If you fancy trying Madeira wine the Blandys Wine Lodge is in the centre of town and you can book a tour on the internet in advance or just go into the old tasting room and try a few.

 

You can also easily walk to the cable car and go up to the gardens and come back down on the sledges (but they only go half way down and you need a taxi to get back into town).

 

The fortress and the old town with the painted doors is another option and try a glass of Poncha while you are there. Poncha is the local drink made from freshly squeezed fruit and honey.

 

Gran Canaria

 

Not as pretty as Madeira but nice for a wander. There is a large shopping centre near the dock with a nice roof terrace to watch the world. The town centre is an easy walk and has a large El Cortes Inglis if you enjoy shopping. Nice tapas bars too.

 

Lanzarote

 

The ship docks in a fairly central position and Areciffe again is nice for a wander but here I would recommend you consider a tour of some sort to see the real treasures of the island. Look up the name César Manrique and see which of the amazing places he designed take your fancy as there are several. On a fist visit I would suggest fire mountain, the closest thing to the surface of the moon on earth and an amazing national park to visit for the volcanic landscapes and caulderas.

 

La Corina

 

You can walk along to the lighthouse or browse the architecture here but it’s not the most interesting place. Some nice shops but nothing particularly special. Some good seafood restaurants.

 

There is a whole section on cruise critic for port information, go to categories and you will see it.

 

Have a great cruise.

 

 

[Sheep Flavour]

Thanks all for your helpful replies I really think most of not all of the users on here really help.

[Host Sharon]

There will be lots of info in the Ports section of this site. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/2-ports-of-call/