Puerto del Carmen to Puerto Calero coastal walk is a short, scenic, easily accessible walk on Lanzarote’s south-east coast. The walk connects the most popular resort town with the prestigious, modern marina of Puerto Calero by traversing the cliffs through a mix of paved pathways and dirt tracks.
This cliff-side coastal walk could be just what you need for a breathe of fresh air from the vibrant tourist mecca that is Puerto del Carmen.
Known primarily for its white sand beaches, promenade (The Strip), where a bar or restaurant is never far away, most visitors stick to these main areas of Puerto del Carmen. While there’s nothing wrong with doing that, it’s always nice to see another side to a place. Sometimes you don’t need to venture far for the crowds to disperse and a built up resort town to turn into natural beauty, as is the case when embarking on the Puerto del Carmen to Puerto Calero walk.
During my Lanzarote trip, I visited Puerto del Carmen twice, travelling by bus from my accommodation in Arrecife. On the first trip, I was having a ‘rest’ day and spent time enjoying the main beaches of Puerto del Carmen, like most do. The next visit, I was in exploring mode. I headed beyond The Strip, past the old town harbour, onto the coastal walk to Puerto Calero. In fact, I actually walked from Puerto del Carmen to Playa Quemada, the town after Puerto Calero. But for this post, I will focus on the first part, Puerto del Carmen to Puerto Calero, as this is the most popular section.
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Puerto del Carmen to Puerto Calero
Difficulty: Easy, relatively even path despite the dirt tracks
Start Point: The end of the old Harbour in Puerto del Carmen
- If staying in Puerto del Carmen, just walk towards the old harbour and keep going. Eventually you will reach some stairs that take you up, giving some harbour views. The walk officially begins from here.
- If your accommodation is elsewhere on the island, you can take the bus to Puerto del Carmen.
- I travelled from my accommodation in Arrecife by bus, and got off by the Biosfera Plaza Shopping Centre ‘C.C Biosfera’. (Little tip, this is a good stop to access the toilets in the shopping centre before heading on the walk!).
- The bus stop ‘Balcon Del Mar Ida’, which is the next one, is a couple of minutes shorter walking distance to the harbour.
- If you want to experience Puerto del Carmen’s main area first, then of course get off the bus along the main strip and you can start the walk from there!
Distance: 2.2km
- As the previous points highlighted, it’s likely you will start the walk before the ‘official’ start point, unless you are staying in that particular area. Keep in mind then that the overall walk will therefore be longer than the ‘official’ 2.2km distance. How much longer depends on where in Puerto del Carmen you start walking from.
Route type: Out-and-back
- Out-and-back walk, however, you don’t HAVE to walk both ways.
- There is a public bus that runs between Puerto del Carmen and Puerto Calero if you don’t fancy walking back again.
- There is also a boat that runs from Puerto del Carmen/Playa Quemada. This can mix up the day nicely, walk one way, take the boat the other. You can take a look at this option and book tickets here:
Lanzarote: Puerto del Carmen & Puerto Calero Boat Transfer
Walking from Puerto del Carmen to Puerto Calero
After arriving into Puerto del Carmen by bus, a short walk took me down to the Old Town Harbour. This area is lovely and a spot I missed on my first trip to Puerto del Carmen – I stayed along by the main beaches and didn’t wander this far. I missed out! So, already I was glad I made a return trip from my first visit, going on an extended walk to see more beautiful spots not so far from the main strip.
I continued past the bars and restaurants of this area, soon reaching the boardwalk pictured below. At the end of the boardwalk, there are some stairs which take you up to give a lovely view back down over the port.
From here, there is a zig-zag path that takes you up to the cliff-side. Both the stairs and this incline are very short, nothing strenuous! Already there are wonderful views along the coast. You can see in the picture the immediate path is flat and a ‘proper’ path.
After a bit of walking, the path changes to being a bit more trail-like, but remains flat and straightforward.
One of my favorite parts of the Puerto del Carmen to Puerto Calero walk is this area pictured below. There are some steps down to a rocky shore and back up again, and I just really loved this spot! It’s not difficult at all, but I’d say it is the most strenuous part of this walk, since the rest is flat.
Once past here, you can really see Puerto Calero beginning to get closer. The path is again easy, scenic, and flat. Before you know it you’ll be heading down from the cliff-side into Puerto Calero.
Puerto Calero
On arrival into Puerto Calero from the coastal walk, you reach the luxury marina and main square, Plaza del Arte. Here you can find restaurants, cafés, a supermarket, an ice cream shop, fashion stores, souvenir shops, public toilets. If you’re ready to take a walking break before a further stroll around, there are benches where you can chill out and soak up the atmosphere surrounding the high-end Puerto Calero.
I had no idea what to expect of Puerto Calero, and was very pleasantly surprised. It had a great vibe to it, small but livelier than I anticipated it being.
I ended up spending longer here than intended, deciding this was the perfect lunch spot before continuing to Playa Quemada. If you live the budget life as I do, bring a packed lunch, or buy something from the supermarket. You can then sit on one of the benches that are around. On the other hand, for a proper dining experience with a lovely port view, head to one of the restaurants/cafés.
Continue walking along past the marina if you wish to have a sunbathe/take a dip.
For some, Puerto Calero may be as far as you wish to walk, choosing to spend a few hours here. Time can pass easily especially if you head to one of the restaurants or the beach area. In this case, you can head back on the same path when you’re satisfied with your time there. Alternatively, there is the option to take the bus or even a boat back to Puerto del Carmen –
Lanzarote: Puerto del Carmen & Puerto Calero Boat Transfer
If you still have more walking in you and want to continue exploring, you can do just that. This is what I did, and can recommend doing. From Puerto Calero I continued on the cliff-side path to the coastal fishing village of Playa Quemada. This next section is slightly longer and a little more difficult, but just as beautiful and takes you even further from the tourist hot spots.
