Puerto del Carmen – the classic holiday destination

Puerto del Carmen is the most important tourist resort on the island. Here, 30 years ago, the first hotels were built and today the seaside promenade is eight kilometres long. There are many hotels and apartment complexes, three sandy beaches and a lot of restaurants and bars to suit all tastes, all providing everything that the tourist is looking for.

Puerto del Carmen is sunny the whole year round, with nice beaches, an International menu, many sports activities and a lot of night life. The first walk normally takes the guests to one of the big beaches. The busy Playa Grande, the huge Playa de los Pocillos, the Playa Matagorda or one of the small beaches in between the big ones, each beach attracts its own group of people. At the north end of Playa Grande you will find families with small children because of the easy access to the beach and the shower facilities. Opposite the discotheques the young and pretty get their tan, and at the south end older tourists enjoy the tranquillity.

After the beach there are 8 kilometres of promenade to explore. The always more and more popular all inclusive tourism makes it harder for restaurants. To attract customers many restaurants now offer a full menu for 5 to 8 Euros, not especially a sign of quality. So if you want to be sure to have a good lunch or dinner, it is often better to look for a better restaurant, to pay a little more and to be sure to leave totally happy and satisfied.

It is also recommended that you are careful in many of the electronic shops which are on the promenade. Some of the big bargains for video cameras, digital photo cameras or sun glasses are only publicity stunts to get people into the shops, once you are inside they try to sell you something totally different. To be sure of a genuine bargain, the best advice is to check at home actual prices and offers, and to have a clear idea about what you want to buy and what you want to pay for it.

Later in the day Puerto del Carmen becomes the centre of night life. On the promenade people go out for a walk, have a meal and the first drink of the evening. In the Centro Atlántico many discos and bars are open all night, and in the old town harbour there are terraces and local bars where you can enjoy good music and a nice ambience until the early hours of the morning.