Playa Chica
— The Sheltered Cove of Old Puerto del Carmen

Playa Chica takes its name literally — the “little beach” — and it lives up to it, a modest curve of shoreline tucked between arms of dark volcanic rock at the original fishing quarter of Puerto del Carmen. This is the older end of the resort, where narrow streets and a working harbour still hint at the settlement’s origins before tourism reshaped the coastline further west.

The rocky headlands that enclose the bay do more than frame it: they break the Atlantic swell before it reaches the water, leaving the cove notably calm even when the open sea beyond is choppier. That stillness, combined with the clarity that comes from a sheltered, low‑sediment bay, has made Playa Chica a longstanding favourite for snorkelling, with shoals of small fish moving among the submerged rock.

Because the beach itself is compact, it never takes on the scale of Lanzarote’s larger southern strands. Instead it functions as a neighbourhood swimming spot, used by locals and visitors staying nearby as much as by day‑trippers, with the volcanic terrain underfoot and around the bay a constant reminder of the island’s geology.

Its position within the older part of Puerto del Carmen means it sits close to the harbour and the town’s original core, a quieter counterpoint to the resort strip that extends along the coast to the south and west.