Hi there, im flying over from ireland next week for 13 nights. Ive never been on holiday on my own, but since everyone i know was too busy, i decided to book anyway!

im looking for some advice for issues that are starting to worry me! so hopefully, someone can help!

1: my apartment i booked is the "bitacora apartments" are they decent? ive only paid a deposit of €30, so its no huge loss if i decide to cancel. the reason i booked with them, is they arrange a singles holiday for people to meet others in the same situation... but after speaking to their more than helpful rep, it turns out there isnt many bookings for the weeks ill be there...
the booking is with charliesholidays.

2: costs? ive my flights paid for, and €30 booking deposit for my accom. the accom is €30 a night from what i gather, which is cheap i think. i will have about €900 spending money after paying the balance on the hotel.
this is my main worry. will 900 be enough for 2 weeks holiday?

Im not into extravagant wine and dine experiences, but sometimes i do like some class. ill probably end up having the majority of meals in cheaper places, and the odd night ill go somewhere more expensive. ive done a lot of reading on this forum about restaurants so i reckon i have a good judge on prices for food.
Would i be wrong in budgetting €30 for food per day?
ive decided ill have the first 2-3 days relaxing, go to the beach, stroll around, and just get use to the area and weather. so i feel the first 3 days should be cheap for me.
i would like to rent a car for 2 days, as ive been highly suggested to take a trip around the island and sightseeing.
one main note on the car rental, i have a full clean licence from uk for the last 8 years, but i have no credit card, only a laser/debit card. will this be a problem?
im also interested in doing some diving (ive never done it before), so can someone suggest a decent tour group/school who organise it?
ill probably go karting at some stage, and id love to play both golf courses. however, i wont be bringing clubs, so can someone inform how much rental is and green fee's are?

3: nightlife. since im 26 i do enjoy going out. ive heard its very easy to find people and get to know them, so i tend to do this a lot :p ive read a lot on beer prices etc, what would people suggest for do's and dont's for clubbing/going out? im into anything music wise really.

4: taxi's: these scare me. ive had so many bad experiences before. should i get a bus or a taxi from the airport? are the buses easy to figure out time schedules or is everything in spainish only? i spent 2 weeks in spain last year, and i couldnt understand anything :/

and finally, any last advise for a single traveller? would really really appreciate ANY advice, as this holiday is intended to try help me relax before i start my theses in september, and im stressed to the max for the last 3 years. my last holiday was a disaster, and i really want to make this work!

regards,
mike.

Don't worry. Others will answer your specific points, but Lanzarote is much cheaper than Ireland to eat and drink (I have several Irish friends), and the taxis are fine - regulated to hell by the government. They may be a bit abrupt, but you shouldn't get ripped off. Ask the fare before you get in.

thanks walker, thats the taxi's sorted so

hi ya mike, if ur still nervous there is a good site with great tranfer offers, last minute transfers. Enjoy the sunshine.... and remember pack lightly if ur travelling ryanair!!!!

Hi Mike.
Lot of questions there Mike. I'll try and help with one. I think 900 would be enough for your stay when we used to holiday here we used to budget 100 a day and there was two of us. Like you we would eat in fairly inexpensive places most days and have a few special nights and slighly more expensive restaurants. When your out and about try and pluck up the courage to visit the obviously local spanish bars you can get great tapas much cheaper and often better cooked than the main line restaurants. Most of the Spanish are friendly sometimes they seem a bit gruff but its just thier way. Ask for menu del dia and you wont go far wrong.
If you are more comfortable with British fare there are lots of bars doing good food along and just off the strip and amazingly good prices.
Almost everyone in Lanzarote is friendly after all we would like you to spend your money here

Relax and enjoy yourself.

Ray

The Bitacora apartments are fine, they have RTE 1 and 2 and BBC 1 and 2 so you can keep up to date and watch the GAA if you want. Location they are only 5/7 mins from the main strip and about same from Old Town.
Regarding night life - the bars in Centro which is the main late night area would be expensive drink wise but if you are only going there after 12 you might not be drinking as much - check out Charlies for live music.
Check out bars which have happy hours - the Brian Boru has a happy hour from 9 - 10 where you get 2 drinks for 1, other bars also have. In the Old Town a place called the Brendan Behan in the La Hoy Centre does really good deals you can actually purchase a certain amount for your whole stay.
Taxis are very reasonable and you should not have a problem at all.
Enjoy!

The golf courses are very expensive, last year we were quoted 60e a round + 50e club hire, needless to say we declined the offer.

A few short answers here:

1. The Bitacora should suit you just fine.

2. €900 is loads for a single person staying two weeks

Breakfast: Buy bread/cereal/milk/fruit in supermarket - no more than €20 and much healthier than fry-ups

Typical lunch: €10-€15 max, including a beer/glass of wine (TOTAL: €150 max)

Dinner: Ranges from €10 'specials' to €30 (roughly) for someplace "expensive" (TOTAL: €300 max)

That leaves you with over €400 still for drinks at night, excursions, golf, etc.

Car hire: not sure of exact price, but you should have no trouble with your laser/debit card. You can also use this card to withdraw money from any of the ATMs on the island. You can select English instructions after you insert your card.

3. As mentioned above, Charlies is a good spot for live music. O'Reilly's just underneath it in Centro Atlantico is good too. If it's clubbing you're after, then Centro Atlantico is the place for you.

4. Taxi to Bitacora should cost no more than €20 max. As said above too, you should have no problems with the taxis.

Last advice? Relax, you're in Lanzarote! Drink plenty water, take plenty walks along the sea-front, dance as much as you can. Put on enough sun-cream.

wow thats amazing! thanks a million for all the info! i feel much better now! really looking forward to next week!

i reckon ive got everything sorted advice wise, and i should be able to plan and have a nice holiday now!

regards
mike.

Hi,hope you have a great holiday!! Just wanted to say that we have never had problems with taxis - in fact one year my son left his bag in the back of one, which had his game boy in it and some games.We all thought we would never see them again,but friends contacted the taxi firm and the driver brought the bag with all items still inside to our apartments the next day - to say our son was overjoyed would be an understatement!! Don't think this would happen at home!!!
we have always found Lanzarote friendly and great fun,and the advise about drinking loads of water and wearing sunscreen should definitaly be followed - it will be very hot!!!
Enjoy!!

Can I also suggest Bottles Bar as a destination. We were in Lanza for 17 days in June and we ate there often for lunch/dinner as it was near our appartments. The food is of a high standard but very reasonable priced (steak and chips 7.50 euros). The bar has recently been taken over and is owned by a irish guy Brian and a hilarious bloke called Dave from Tipperary. Its a chilled out bar, kinda like what you would get back home. You could easily while away a few hours in here before you hit the main strip (Bottles is just behind Centro Atlantico). If you like live music then Charlies, Mulligans and O'Reillys will be right up your street. For general bars then I would reccomend Atomic Revolution, (they do a "power hour" where you pay 10 euros and can drink as much as you want in a hour), Big Apple and Hippodrome.
Enjoy! You will have a blast.

cheers chez, im from tipp myself, so ill def head into bottles and make myself known. im loving the sound of this power hour

On the car hire, Cabrera medina / cicar do 2 days usually for 50€ and you can pay cash no card required. They have about 10 offices spread throughout puerto ðel carmen.

Taxi from airport to bitacora would be around 13€ , never been ripped off in a taxi.