Lanzarote is a duty free island, and during your visit to Puerto del Carmen you will undoubtedly see numerous electrical shops around the resort selling cameras and other electronic goods at prices substantially cheaper than your would expect to pay back home.

If you do buy, ensure that a UK guarantee is included, and is stamped by the shop keeper, and that where applicable instructions are in English. Don't be afraid to haggle, the shop keeper will often quote in Euros then "convert" the price for you into sterling.

Take your time, and ensure that you know the price of everything you are buying, otherwise you may find out that the batteries have just cost you almost as much as the product itself.

Many shops will also sell 32-1 games cartridges for the popular games consoles. These games are copies and often contain duplicates, and always insist on seeing them work before you buy.

During Spring 2002 the new Biosfera shopping complex opened in the resort which is located next to the Guardia Civil Offices and the local post office. Here you will find a good selection of upmarket cafes, bars and restaurants, along with designer names such as Zara, Timberland, Levi's and Footlocker etc.

The Rancho Texas park on the outskirt of Puerto del Carmen, is the recreation of the American wild west complete with cowboys, indians, wig wams, buffalo, crocodiles and many other exotic animals.

Overall the park took over 5 years to create and now covers an area of some 50,000 m2. As you enter the attraction you are met by Sofia, who is a huge owl with piercing yellow eyes, and with whom you will undoubtedly be photographed with.

During the day you can lose the children for hours whilst they play in the Indian village or pan for gold amongst the waters of the goldmine water wheel, although be sure to reserve their seats for the eagle, crocodile and parrot shows that also take place at regular intervals throughout the day.

In keeping with their western theme, the park also has its own riding stables where absolute novices can safely enjoy a short horseback ride, and more experienced riders can undertake a 1/2 day trek down to the beach.

During the evening and after the main park closes for the day, their Country and Western themed nights are also a very popular attraction where the whole family can party the night away.

Their own professional entertainment team will endeavour to keep everyone entertained with a combination of live music and line dancing along with special entertainment for the children.

Central to the evening is always their "eat as much as you can" American style BBQ complete with beer, sangria or soft drinks all included within the entrance price.

Entrance to the park is quite reasonable at around 19€ for adults and 14€ for children, although for those visitors staying in one of their 10 specially designed lodges on site daily entrance is of course free. Contact details for more information and bookings is:
Rancho Texas Lanzarote
Calle Noruega s/n
Puerto del Carmen
35510
Tias
Telephone: +34 928 841 286
Fax: +34 928 515 563
Web site: www.ranchotexaslanzarote.com

A unique way of seeing what lies beneath the seas around Lanzarote is by the Sub Fun Tres tourist submarine, which operates out of the marina at Puerto Calero.

For the technically minded, the Sub Fun Tres is 1 of only 8 Mark III tourist submarines that were built by the Mobimar Corporation of Finland and is 18.6m long, can safely dive to a depth of 75m and cruise at 2 knots, whilst carrying a maximum of 48 passengers plus a crew of 2.

A trip on The Sub Fun Tres usually lasts around 1 hour, during which you will normally be submerged for around 50 minutes, and departs throughout the day from 10am. Contact details for more information and bookings is:
Submarine Safaris
Modulo C
Local 2
Puerto Calero
Lanzarote
Telephone: +34 928 512 898
Web site: www.submarinesafaris.com