Report by Angelita.
Lanzarote, at the north/east end of the Canaries, has a lovely warm climate all the year round.
Unlike other parts of the Canaries, Lanzerote has not been too badly exploited by tourism; one of Spain's most outstanding architects has seen to it that new buildings are kept within certain artistic guidelines. The island's volcanic origin is particularily noticable as the southern part of the island is predominantly raw lava. But the inhabitants know how to utilize the situation, they even grow excellent wine in the lava sand.
The central and northern parts of the island offer a large number of tourist attractions, landscapes on a big scale, and in the east Timanfaya National Park offers visits to a volcano with camel rides to the top. The capital is Arrecife, which does not offer very much of interest to the tourist. Puerto del Carmen is the big tourist spot with a topless beach (not to be confused with the topless Playa del Carmen in Mexico). No nude bathing occurs here. But it is an excellent place to stay, with very large hotel resources, many good restaurants, even a little bit left of an authentic Canary town, and car hire is very cheap.
Costa Teguise is a resort north of the capital, mainly catering to golfers - no nude bathing.
Papagayo Beaches - Another tourist spot is Playa Blanca in the south of the island, quite developed now with many self-contained resorts. But you may also find small hotels which are not booked by package tours. No nude bathing here except perhaps for a few small coves to the west of Playa Blanca on the walk to the lighthouse. But to the east, only a couple of kilometers, is an area called Papagayo, situated in a very wild desert. There are roads leading to the beaches from Playa Blanca. They are very rough but managable. You can walk from Playa Blanca too if you are not afraid of the dust and bring plent of water. If you are staying in Puerto del Carmen you can drive down to Papagayo in about an hour.
At Papagayo there are several small bays and coves: Playa de Papagayo, the largest, and smaller ones like Playa de las Mujeres and Playa de Mola, all CO and mainly nudist. You will be impressed by the crystal clear waters and fine white sand. Choose which beach is best for the day according to the winds.
