Patalavaca Holidays

Travel Agent's View

Located on the south west of the island, Patalavaca is a quiet resort ideal for those seeking a relaxing holiday.

The resort offers a laid back night-life with a good selection of restaurants and bars, for those seeking a livelier night out the vibrant resort of Puerto Rico is just a 10 minute drive away.

The resort boasts lovely sandy beaches which have good facilities with sun loungers and umbrellas for hire as well as bars and restaurants close by for refreshments. From the harbour visitors can take boat tours and deep sea fishing is also a particular popular activity.

For golf enthusiasts, there is several golf courses in the area with superb 9 and 18 hole courses.

The resort is situated approx 44 km from the airport.

Insider's View

Patalavaca reminds me of a sea-side village where I lived in Greece years ago. Its heart's in the right place and not in a shopping centre, plus the locals are friendly. They might not be Canarian locals as it's pretty international here, but everyone is welcoming. Which, after you've spent some time on the island, you'll realise can be something of a rarity.

Unlike it's luxurious neighbour, the ever-expanding time-share resort next door, it's not all glint and gloss, but a bit ramshackle in places. The beach is small and sandy, or rather was. The last few winters diminished its size when strong storms washed a lot of it away. During the week it's roomy enough, but at the weekends learn to say excuse me in Spanish and you might just squeak your towel on.

I used to love the little wooden bar perched on the rocks. Sadly, it went the same way as the sand and nobody's got around to putting it back yet. So if anyone knows a trick for underwater drinking... let me in on it.

For such a blink and miss it place, Patalavaca out does itself in restaurants. It should really have it's own Good Food Guide. On a two week holiday, if you ate in a different one every night, it'd be like going around the world in fourteen days.

The diverse selection starts with French cuisine from La Petit Lyonnais, steaks from the Texas Grill, a touch of the olé with Casa Fernando and of course, the requisite Chinese and that's just on the roadside. Down by the beach front are Danish, German and Spanish eating places. To name just two, Valentino's and the Sarten Negro have excellent reputations. The Sagitarius, even though it's not quite as elegant as the others, is the most popular with locals for fish .

On the cliffside opposite the Hotel Green Beach is the Cueva Pirata. Its been there the longest and is a firm favourite of mine when I want a good piece of steak. They cook the meat on a massive open barbecue-type grill which makes it really tasty. Watch out for the steps up to the cave-dining area, they're a bit tricky, and an awful lot trickier on the way down when you've been on the wine.

Patalavaca's the sort of place I'd want to come back to year after year. There's no night-life as such, not counting the Juke Box bar in the un-shopping centre, so after dinner try a coffee or brandy and a stroll to walk off all the good food. In truth, that's just about all I can manage these days and if you hear any rumours to the contrary, they're probably only half true! Insider Sig