Unbiased Guide to Taking A Look At Lanzarote’s Capital City Of Arrecife And The Secluded Resort Of Puerto Del Carmen

January 6, 2009

Vacation Villas are great for hosting Family reunions, Weddings, Summer vacations and much more.

Any visitor while choosing for Villa for vacation will be spoiled for choice. Though majority of the villas will have great locations and very luxurious with all modern amenities, few guidelines are must before deciding on your dream vacation rental villa home.

Villa rentals are becoming more popular for families going on vacation in many areas of the world. Villas offer a degree of privacy that just isn't available at hotels and most resorts. Luxury villa rentals offer a great deal more than the average villa rental in terms of extra accommodations.

Luxury villa rentals are available in nearly every country around the world. Italy, Greece, Spain, Mexico and the Caribbean are among some of the more sought-after destinations. Concierge services and valet parking are only a few of the added comforts of a luxury villa rental.

Most villa rentals of this stature provide a full staff that is available to see that your every need is met while you do nothing but enjoy your vacation.

The rise in direct booking websites has seen a boom in owners advertising their own properties, and as a result holiday makers are seeing a similar rise in villa holiday nightmares.

With the huge amount of concrete gone into building villas in Europe in the last 10 years competition is fierce for holiday rental income and owners have decided to take matters into their own hands to get bookings.

Very often booking direct with owners means your villa may be available for a slightly cheaper weekly rental than similar properties with professional management companies or letting agencies.

The disadvantage to booking direct however is you have no guarantees of the standard on arrival or indeed how professional the owner maybe.

If you are going to renting an apartment in Lanzarote in the near future you might be wondering where there is to visit when you are there.

Arrecife is a lively port city that has taken over from Teguise as the Island's capital.

Arrecife is home to half of Lanzarote's inhabitants and the location of Lanzarote's only building of above the regulation couple of floors. From miles around the island's only high rise building can be seen towering over the city.

Cesar Manrique's vision for the future of the island prevented the building of any more such buildings and for decades this hotel, the Arrecife Gran Hotel, was a mere part completed shell as authorities debated completion or destruction.

As previously mentioned, the traditional capital was Teguise, some 10km further inland. This was chosen as protection from the regular pirate raids of old and was the capital of the island for 4 and a half centuries. It was only in the mid 1800s, when the importance of the port was recognized for the seafaring trade that the capital status was moved to Arrecife.

This piratical past can still be seen today as there are two castles protecting the harbour. Although, these days they mainly stand and watch the biggest fishing fleet in the Canaries setting to sea and returning with their catch.

Playa Blanca is Lanzarote's most southerly tourist resort. It is also a newer resort than Puerto Del Carmen and Costa Teguise and there is ongoing building work still in progress, but many tourists still find it quieter than its two earlier resorts. It is just under 25 miles from the island capital of Arrecife and a little over 20 miles from the airport.

Playa Blanca was originally a fishing village and more recently has been used as the boarding point for the ferry to neighbouring Fuerteventura. There is even a possibility that the harbour will be adapted to take in cruise ships to pull in more visiting tourists.

The Playa Blanca coastline consists of a 6 mile wide bay, split into 3 smaller bays, including the best known of the 3 bays, Papagayo. This has the effect of creating neat beaches with white sand that are safe for swimming and soaking up the sun's rays. Scuba diving is also possible with the English speaking dive centres dotted around. Although the aquatic life is fairly similar to the whole of Lanzarote, diving over the white sands does make an attractive alternative.

There are a large choice of restaurants and shopping opportunities in Playa Blanca, but nightlife is said to be a little quieter than its sister resorts nearer to the island's capital. Most of the tourist accommodation in Playa Blanca consists of holiday villas rather than hotels and apartments and there is a large variety to choose from. Finding villas to rent in Playa Blanca is commonplace and there are an excellent choice of villas available.

Want to get your own vacation home? It is possible - the very time.