Language
Quite often we are asked "will I need to be able to speak Spanish?". Well the simple answer is no. All the bar, restaurant and shop owners can speak English and German, however, just notice how the few people who do make an attempt to speak Spanish, no matter how badly, get treated better than the 99% of those who don't. Even the use of common everyday courtesies such as "hello", "how are you", "please" and "thank you" will certainly pay dividends.

Lookie Lookie Men
Many of the popular resorts do have quite a large number of illegal street traders selling "genuine" designer watches and T shirts. Do not start to barter with them unless you have a genuine desire to buy. A firm but polite "no" will not offend.

Markets
The largest street market on Lanzarote is held every Sunday morning in the centre of La Villa de Teguise, some 9 miles inland from the coastal development of Costa Teguise. In recent years every person entering the market does have to run the gauntlet of innumerable timeshare touts attempting to lure you to their development with offers of free car hire, free holidays or even cash rewards. Just smile, keep walking, and say no, and they'll soon move on to the next likely candidate.

Once inside the market it usually takes around 1.1/2 to 2 hours to see everything, although to secure the best bargains you will have to haggle with the traders. A couple of words of advice, do not start to negotiate if you have no intention of buying, but do not be afraid to say no and walk away if the prices do not fall to a level that you are prepared to pay for an item. Common sense we know, but still easy to forget. The market opens at around 9:00am, and in common with most markets throughout Spain begins to break up shortly after lunch.

The Transporte Interurbano de Lanzarote run special buses from a number of resorts to this market, however, due its popularity, these buses do get very busy, and have in the past also been known to attract pick-pockets.

Money
The official currency of Spain is the now the Euro. For more information please see the "Euro" section on the previous page.

Pickpockets
Unfortunately Lanzarote, as with every other holiday destination, does have its fair share of pickpockets. Use common sense in any crowded areas, and hold on to any personal belongings. If you do have something stolen, you must report it to the local Police with 24 hours, if only for insurance purposes.

Public Toilets
You will find public toilets in some of the larger shopping centres, other than that, every restaurant and bar will have them for customers use. So it may cost you the price of a Coca Cola to "spend a penny".

Restaurants
The Spanish and most of the other Europeans, do tend to eat very late in the evening compared to the British. As a result, few restaurants will tend to get very busy much before 8pm.

Shopping
Lanzarote has excellent shopping with many of the brand names you will recognise from home, although some products may be manufactured locally under license and have a slightly different taste.

The resort Playa Honda is rapidly becoming one of the main areas of commerce on Lanzarote and with the development of the El Megacentro and Deiland shopping centre, it has become a favorite shopping and leisure area for the local population. Centro Commercial Deiland is built over 3 floors and covers an area of 28,000m2 with additional free car parking for 800 cars. Once inside you'll find shops, restaurants, cafés, along with a multiplex cinema and bowling alley. For more information their contact details are:
Deiland Centro Commercial
Calle Chimidas 20
35509
Playa Honda
Lanzarote
Email: info@deilandplaza.com
Web site: www.deilandplaza.com

Sunbathing
Obvious advice, but the sun in Lanzarote is very hot. Please be careful and ensure that you cover yourself in a high protection sun cream and remember you will get very badly burnt even on a cloudy day.

Taxi
Taxis on Lanzarote can instantly be recognised as being the eggshell/white cars with a large red stripe on each front door. They are numerous, and if a group can travel together, can also be a cheap way of getting around your resort. Your hotel reception will always call a taxi for you (sometimes for a small charge) or alternatively flag one down in the street. Cabs are not always metered, however, a list of common fares is often advertised at the taxi ranks, and the driver should also always carry a copy. For trips any further a field always agree the price with the driver before getting in.

Telephones
Public telephones are numerous throughout all of Lanzarote with instructions in several languages. International calls home are cheaper between 10pm and 8am, and all day on Sunday. To make a call to the UK dial 00 wait, 44 then dial your full STD number without the first 0. The minimum cost of a call is usually around 2 Euro. International calls can be made from your hotel, but may prove to be very expensive.

Using your mobile phone whilst in Lanzarote may also prove very expensive. Some UK mobile phone operators charge you to receive calls by as much as £1.80 per minute, and any calls made to the UK at £2.10 per minute for those customers on PAYG tarriffs. It is however, possible to significantly reduce these costs by fitting a Spanish SIM card into your phone when you arrive on the island, although you will need to ensure that your mobile handset is unlocked for it to work. A PAYG Spanish SIM pack complete with 30€ credit that consists of 18€ free calling credit with purchase and a further 12€ following the completion of a short questionnaire, can be purchased in the UK before you travel from:
Web site: www.0044.co.uk

Timeshare
Lanzarote has got to be the Timeshare, or holiday co-ownership as they prefer to call it, capital of the world! Any couple walking together under the age of 60 will be a prime target for the touts. The first question will always be "do you speak English?". After that you may be asked to help them with a holiday questionnaire on behalf of the Spanish tourist board, or the more common scratch card. These scratch cards are all winners. Prizes may be 3 days car hire, water park tickets, duty free packs or the star prize of 2,000 Euro. Unless you want to sacrifice 1/2 day of your holiday to a relentless hard sell, do not go with them to collect your prize! Remember, only the foolish or greedy will really believe that they are getting something for nothing.

Tipping
It is customary to pay tips in Lanzarote. Normally a tip of around 10% of the total bill is expected.

Water
The tap water in Lanzarote has a high mineral content and perhaps it will be best to buy bottled water from the supermarkets. The cost of a 5 litre bottle is around 1 Euro there are two types available, "agua con gas" is sparkling mineral water and the more common "agua sin gas" still water. Avoid ice cubes unless you are sure it is made from bottled water, this includes ice in drinks.

Waterparks
The only aquapark on the island is situated on the outskirts of Costa Teguise. The park is open each day from 10:00am to 6:00 pm and features the usual selection of high speed slides for teens and adults, along with the slower flumes for younger children. Admission costs around 15.75€ for adults and 9.75€ for children, and their contact details are:
Costa Teguise Aquapark
Avda de Teguise, 315
Costa Teguise
Lanzarote
Telephone: +34 928 592 128
Fax: +34 928 827 290

Working in Lanzarote
Without a doubt the most popular question we are asked is regarding working here. So, we have created this section which should hopefully answer most of your questions.

Firstly, working in Lanzarote is not a paid holiday. The bar and restaurant owners work long hours and will not carry passengers. Secondly, work is becoming harder to find for everybody. However, if you are genuinely prepared to work hard, come out to the island early in the season on a cheap flight, pick up a copy of an English language newspaper, and follow every lead. If you strike lucky then good luck to you, if not, well you've had a cheap holiday.

A few web sites well worth looking at before you go are the pages of Escape Artists, Wemploy, and Ambient Jobs, who give listings of jobs throughout all of Spain and the Canary Islands.