Map of Papagayo Beaches Lanzarote, Canary Islands:

Papagayo Beaches
Papagayo is a conservation area close to Playa Blanca in the south of Lanzarote. To enter, there is a nominal charge per car, which allows you access to the most idyllic beaches on the island. The road is unmade, full of bumps and holes and sends up clouds of sandy grit, but everyone seems to zoom along it happily, anyway.

By turning off this dirt track, you can reach beach after beach of golden sand and clear water, with some great snorkelling at their rocky edges. The main beach is Playa Papagayo (Papagayo means parrot), which was crowded in mid August. There is a small cafe and bar here. By the building work, which was going on, the facilities looked certain to expand.

Most other beaches have no retail experiences at all, but are much quieter. One is backed by a huge caravan site, which has a cafe, toilets and showers. Surprisingly, this beach was fairly empty, despite the large number of caravans and camper vans.

If you do decide to visit these gorgeous beaches, take a parasol: there is no shade. You have been warned.

Papagayo is a naturally beautiful area of Lanzarote and well worth a visit. At the moment, it is unspoiled and undeveloped. I wonder how long it will be until it becomes the next Puerto del Carmen.