The main crops that grow in the region are sweet potatoes and watermelons, and it is here just to the north of the town in the district of La Cena, where the islands major vineyards are to be found. The highly acclaimed Malvasia wines are produced here from grapes grown from individual vines that are surrounded by semi-circular walls of volcanic stone.

Being primarily a residential town, San Bartolome has so far remained almost completely "undiscovered" by many of the major tour operators, and as far as we are aware doesn't as yet feature as a recognised destination in any of their summer or winter sun brochures. As a result most visitors here will be independent travellers who either own holiday homes in the area, or those who prefer to make their own travel and accommodation arrangements.

Making the journey west to San Bartolome from the Arrecife International Airport can be quite difficult, and realistically there are only two options available.

The first, and possibly the most convenient option, would certainly be the door to door service offered by any of the numerous taxis waiting outside of the arrivals hall, who would typically charge around 15€ - 20€ for the journey. Taxis on Lanzarote do represent very good value for money by European standards, and can instantly be recognised as being the eggshell/white cars with a large red stripe on each front door.

However, a standard taxi on the island is only licenced to carry a maximum of 4 passengers plus a "reasonable" amount of luggage, so for larger groups of travellers, or those with special needs, it is our recommendation to make provision for a pre-booked taxi to be waiting for you at the airport, and clearly specify at the time of booking that a larger, or specially adapted, vehicle is needed for the journey.

The second option would be to pre-arrange for the collection of a hire car from one of the numerous agencies based at the airport. Driving over to San Bartolome should be fairly stressless for most drivers, once you have remembered which side of the road to drive on, as you leave the airport facility you will automatically join the LZ2, the Carretera de Arrecife de Yaiza, at which point you need to head north east towards Arrecife.

As you approach Arrecife take the LZ3, Carretera de la Circunulacion, which is the Arrecife northern ring road, where you will need to keep a sharp lookout for the LZ20, Carretera de San Bartolome, which then takes you inland to the town.

If needed, a more detailed version of this route, complete with links to maps where appropriate, is available from the Route Map link on the left hand frame of this page.

Unlike so many other coastal developments on the island, San Bartolome is not a purpose built tourist resort, but remains a traditional Canarian town where few, if any, concessions are made to the small numbers of visitors who pass through the town each day.

The narrow streets and white washed houses all seem to lead to the 18th Century Parish Church of San Bartolome, which contains carvings of San Andres along with a very impressive altarpiece.

As with so many other towns on the island, San Bartolome could never really be ever described as being lively, and is therefore perhaps more suited towards older couples or families looking to escape the all night neon lit bars and nightclubs favoured by the younger 18 - 30's crowd.