Spain - Canary Islands - Lanzarote - Charco del Palo

Peter and his wife went there in January 2002 and sent this report direct to the NUFFers.

If you have any comments about this report or wish to add further information please email them to:
neffupdate @ ada-augusta . demon . co . uk

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My wife and I visited the naturist resort of Charco del Palo during the first week of January 2002. We booked our accommodation through Dune Leisure (now ceased trading) and flight through The Travel House. Both companies dealt competently with the arrangements. Dune Leisure also organised a hire car from the airport, through Cicar. Due to the relative remoteness of Charco del Palo, I would say this is highly recommended.

We stayed in a 2 bed-roomed bungalow (Los Ajaches) although we hired it as a 1 bed, at a cheaper rate and the other room was locked off. The bungalow was well appointed and had a lovely terrace, which was in the sun all day.

The resort is about a 40 minute drive from Arrecife airport and not too difficult to find although drive slowly as some road signs are very close to the junction and easy to miss. At Mala, take the first right between the Hospital and the Don Quijote restaurant and the resort is a 5-minute drive to the bottom of this road.

The resort is reasonably large with several roads and a mix of apartments, bungalows and some villas. We ate in three of the restaurants on the complex and found the standard of food and value for money, excellent. A small shop on the complex provides all the basics but as you would expect, is a little pricey.

During our stay we had a mix of hot sunny days to warm cloudy days. We thought this was fine but regular visitors told us the weather was not as good as previous years. Our first day was brilliant sunshine and we were able sunbathe all day on the terrace. Late morning I had a stroll down to Pete's Pub (without needing to dress) and had breakfast on their naturist terrace. Most days we were able to have breakfast on the terrace 'au naturel'. The only place you really need to wear clothes is inside the shop and I suspect inside the restaurants. Although most people wandered around nude on their terraces and at the sea front pools, it is surprising how many people covered up to walk from their accommodation to the sea front. The resort was not busy, with quite a bit of the accommodation unoccupied and perhaps as the season picks up and there are more people (nude) about, individuals will feel less conspicuous about their nudity.

When the sun was out we were generally content to laze around the terrace or stroll down to the sea front pools. Germans mostly occupy the resort, but we did manage to find the occasional Brit' to have a chat to. It would seem a number of Germans retire there and rent out accommodation as a source of income. One sunny day we did drive south to Papagayo beach and had a delightful afternoon in one of the sandy coves. The furthest one away from Playa Blanca is the most naturist. After the tollgate keep turning left until you reach the car park. Leave the car park walking to your right.

Other recommended visits (on cloudy days) are Ceaser Manrique's house near Arrecife and the 'fire mountain' in Timanfaya National Park. Also we had a drive to the Famara beach on the north west coast and had a (windy) stroll along the beach. Nearby is the village of La Caleta were you can enjoy a tasty, inexpensive lunch in the Casa Ramon restaurant. The Canaries have a reputation of being windy but I have to say that we did not find the wind a problem. In fact the breeze was quite welcome on some days.

We will definitely return to Charco for a quiet relaxing naturist holiday.

If you have any comments about this report or wish to add further information please email them to:
neffupdate @ ada-augusta . demon . co . uk

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