Costa Teguise
Costa Teguise is a purpose built resort on the East Coast of Lanzarote and within easy reach of the airport, in fact only about a 15 minute drive, so no sooner as you pass through arrivals you will be enjoying a cold refreshing drink on your balcony.
Although being the second largest resort on the island Costa Teguise is a safe family resort with most of the accommodation based around apartment complexes aimed at families, so it is no wonder that the resort, in the main, caters for this market too.
Shopping There is a multitude of shops selling the usual beach attire but look out for some bargains in jewellery and discounted electrical goods. Cameras and the like are at duty free prices but don't accept the first price you are given; shop around.
For those on a tight budget the cheapest supermarkets are the Netto chain and these can be found on almost any street in the resort. They sell most products required for a truly self catering holiday as bread, milk, cheeses meats fresh produce and canned foodstuffs.
Getting around Costa Teguise and beyond The resort itself is relatively new with building starting in the mid 1970s and is really now just coming of age. The streets are wide with surprisingly little motor car traffic, so hiring a car is easy and driving is stress free. Unlike its neighbouring islands, parking on the whole is very simple.
Costa Teguise is fortunate with excellent local bus routes to the capital, Arrecife and from there to most of the towns and villages on the island. Other resorts at Puerto del Carmen and Playa Blanca can be reached from Arrecife.
The resort itself is mainly flat so walking (or even jogging!) is not an issue for even less active people. There are plenty of cycle hire shops but you can have even more fun in hiring a cycle buggy which seats up to four persons. These are available almost anywhere in the resort but mainly just off the Playa Cucharas and cost around 8 euro an hour.
Beaches
In general the beaches at Costa Teguise are wider than most others on the island and more prone to wind than others. This makes for some fantastic windsurfing and the world championships are held here every year.
Playa La Cucharas
With fine golden sand and at just over 600m this is the longest stretch of beach in Costa Teguise.
It is at the heart of the resort, easy to get to and has all the facilities that you need backing onto it. It is easily accessible with ramps for those less mobile. There are sun-loungers and umbrellas for hire too.
Playa Las Cucharas is very popular among the local (and visiting) windsurfing population so as you may expect there is often a breeze, although it is not usually too uncomfortable on the beach itself. Besides the breeze, is very welcome during the heat of the day.
Evening Entertainment The resort mainly attracts the family group. Costa Teguise nightlife is really just lively rather than rowdy. In fact this can be said for all of the island's resorts too. Restaurants are open until late and there is a huge choice of bars, both British and local style, in the resort.
Eating and drinking Approximately seven out of the ten visitors to the resort come from the UK so it's reasonable for a good percentage of the bars and restaurants to be owned by ex pats and as such gear themselves around offering the UK's favourite cuisine. It would also be fair to say that at the moment the resort is not as busy as it would like to be and therefore the costs of eating and drinking are very reasonable.
Most of the bars and restaurants back onto the Playa Cucharas and follow the seafront to the Punta Jabillo area.
All day English breakfast can be bought at Popey's in the Commercial Centre of Cucharas for as little at 1.95 euro wish a Chinese Buffet next door for only 5.95 euro, children half price. For more local dishes the Prado Verde serves some excellent fresh fish. Budget around 35 euro for two persons including a desert and wine.
Follow the seafront towards the Pueblo Marinero (fishing village) and the El Ola bar has some great tapas for you to try, dishes start at 2.95 euro and the choices are massive. The local delicacy is rabbit stew and comes for around 8 euro. Well worth it!
Another 200 metres will take you to an abundance of British and Irish bars such as Murphy's and Inn on the Beach. One to be recommended is the Waterfront Bar with Curry night on Wednesdays and fish night on Fridays with all meals just 8.50 euro each. Local beer is around 2 euro but beware Guinness will set you back 3.50 euro.
As usual there is a multitude of Italian, Indian and Chinese restaurants all offering excellent value. One of the cheapest Chinese buffet restaurants is in the Punta Jabillo, just in front of the Oasis Lanzarote Hotel. Prices here start at 4.95 euro per person for all you can eat!
One of the best local restaurants is the El Pescador in the traffic free Pueblo Marinero area. Typically Canarian, two courses with wine will cost around 30-40 euro for two people but it's certainly worth a visit at least once during your holiday.
Outside of Costa Teguise
One place you must go if you do nothing else is to get to Arrieta. It is a small fishing village about 14 km north of Costa Teguise. Go by car, bus or even taxi. The drive is very pleasant and takes you through some great countryside of undulating hills reaching up to extinct volcanoes. It has a sandy beach with a couple of small beach bars and is very popular with the usual windsurfing fraternity. This is not the main attraction though. On the seafront in the village is a restaurant called El Charcon. It is totally unpretentious with plastic tables inside and out. The food is unbelievable though. Prawns in garlic will cost about 8 euro and fish of the day with salad and Canary potatoes will only be a little more. Get there for about 12.30pm have a table inside, out of the wind, and before you know it the time will be past 4.00pm. This really is a fantastic venue which caters for every imaginable taste.
Teguise Town Teguise is the local town of administration with some fabulous cobbled streets and traditional atmosphere. However the main attraction for the visitors, especially from the UK is the weekly market. Held each Sunday it starts from 9.00am until about 3.00pm but get there early for a parking place and before the excursion coaches bring in hoards of others. Parking costs around 1 euro for the day and surprisingly enough the stallholders are locals, not as you find on Tenerife for example where most are from the UK. Spend most of the day here looking for bargains in lace and leather goods as well as some local produce to sample later in the comfort of your holiday home. Take time to have lunch in a selection of fine restaurants or simply a drink and tapas at one of the many local bars. The whole day will be quite a memorable experience.