Playa Honda

Once a sleepy Canarian fishing village, Playa Honda is now a tranquil suburb of the capital of Lanzarote, Arrecife. It's also a rather good quality holiday destination for those who want to be away from the holiday resorts.

Location

Playa Honda is nowadays regarded as a suburb of the capital, Arrecife. Situated just 7km from the Capital, and only a few minutes from the Airport.

History

Similar to Puerto Del Carmen and Playa Blanca, Playa Honda was a small Canarian fishing village which has adapted and grown over the last 20 years to meet the demand for holiday homes and accommodation.

Deiland, Playa Honda

Shopping

Playa Honda is host to El Megacentro and Deiland shopping centre, and has become popular amongst the local population.

The daily fish and fruit and vegetable markets in Arrecife are open each morning from 6.30am until noon. Both are on the Calle Liebre.

Attractions

A wide traffic-free promenade (similar to Playa Blanca) has been created to connect Playa Honda with the centre of Arrecife just 7 KM to the north, and Puerto Del Carmen 10 KM to the south. This promenade also passes through the smaller resorts of Matagorda and Playa de los Pocillos en route.

At the northern end of the promenade, in Arrecife, you will find two magnificent castles, both built to protect the island from invading pirates. The oldest, Castillo de San Gabriel, was built in 1574 on a small island in the entrance to Arrecife harbour. It was connected to the mainland by causeway and drawbridge. Castillo de San Gabriel was destroyed in a raid by Algerian pirate Morato Arraez, and rebuilt in 1599. The castle was used by the Spanish military up until around 1960. Today the castle is home to the Lanzarote Museum of the Archaeological and Ethnographic, it is open most days.

Castillo de San Jose is substantially bigger than the Castillo de San Gabriel, and proudly stands overlooking the harbour at Arrecife. Construction began in 1776. It is thought that the reason for the project was to create work for the impoverished population of Lanzarote. Since 1974, Castillo de San Jose has hosted the Museum of Contemporary Art and houses works from Picasso, Bacon, Miro and César Manrique.

Weather

Playa Honda is a little breezy, this makes the destination very popular with windsurfers, but on a hot day the wind is quite refreshing, particularly on the beach.

Nightlife

Playa Honda could never be described as a rowdy holiday destination. It is more suited to couples or families seeking to escape the boisterous nightlife of other resorts.

Transport

Being so close to Arrecife and the Airport, you don't really need a taxi to reach either. Linea 23 to the airport runs a frequent service every 45 minutes, Linea 21 to Arrecife runs every 20-30 minutes, and Linea 02 to Puerto Del Carmen every 20 minutes.