Hi, my husband has the old liscence and we rent every year abroad with no trouble incuding Lanzarote. But maybe best to check terms and conditions of the hire company or give them a ring.

Sally

Yes it's valid, lhb, just that you must carry your passport with you too, as if you get stopped the police will want to see something with your photo on.

Thanks Sally & madsue,
the info much appreciated.

Whats parking like, is it expensive, or do the towns have any free parking areas.

Bri

I can only speak for PDC, but basically you will have to pay if you park in spaces marked with blue markings, I think yellow markings are for deliveries (but not sure ?). Payment is by pay and Display and it's quite cheap.
There's a 'payment siesta' in the afternoon, I think around 2 till 5 so if you buy a parking ticket at say 13:45 you'll notice you'll get till sometime after 17:00 (it's printed on your ticket) for just a few cents. Also parking is free on a Sunday.
Generally parking on the side roads is free, but it's not always easy to find a spot.
There's are several Traffic wardens along the strip and so you're quite likely to get a ticket if you don't Pay and Display, and it's only fair to do so. Having said that I've had a few tickets and never paid. I genuinely wanted to pay once but couldn't find a warden ! (they're pretty good at dissapearing into the background)
Another time I hired a car in town, signed the paperwork, was shown the car, went next door to buy a can of coke and when I came back I had been ticketed at 11:01, I had hired the car at 11:00. I took the ticket back to the car hire office and they laughed and tore the ticket up !

As far as I know if you buy a ticket you can park your car in different places during that time. i.e. you don't have to buy a ticket for each place you park. Does anyone know for a fact if this is correct ?

Another thing I've noticed, if you park in a spot on the opposite side of the road from which you're traveling, i.e. cross the road to do so, you're likely to get beeped at, even though there's no oncoming traffic. Am I paranoid or is this frowned upon ?

Happy driving - Ole

I use the same ticket Ole, if I am moving along the strip You can also feed the meters, so don't have to move the car after the initial 2 hrs is up. Parking is also free on a Saturday afternoon as well as all day Sunday, and from 8.00 p.m. till 8.00 a.m. Crossing the solid white line to park on the opposite side of the road is an absolute no-no!!!! I'm not even sure if it's illegal to do it!!!

Where are you going in Lanzarote? In playa Blanca there is a free car park (was two years ago) where the ferries go from. Its right at the begining of the resort with lots of bars and restaurants, bit of a trek to the new marina but a lovely walk right along the sea front.

Sally

Sue,

Was I right about the yellow markings ? Are they for deliveries ? Can you get a ticket if you use one ?

Yes forgot to say, parking is free from 20:00 to 08:00 as well, but that's not much use to me, I'm not a resident, i'm there on holiday and quite frankly there's something wrong if I'm not well over the alcohol limit by 20:00.

Amazingly though I didn't know about Saturday afternoons ?

Ole

Yes you're right about the yellow markings, they are for deliveries. You are likely to be towed if you are in those spaces when they are needed!

As a resident you don't need to know this but after 2000 you park wherever you can find a space!! Bus stops, yellow lines, pavements, you name it! Just make sure you are gone by 0800

The most likely times to get a ticket are at 0900 and 1700 when the wardens start work. Around 1300 ish they tend to go home, so you are fairly safe then, and around 1900 too!!!!!

Hi everyone

Thanks for all the info, All I've got to do now is work up the courage to try driving abroad. Is there anything that I should watch out for ?

Sorry I'm a bit slow in replying, I'm not too well at the moment, so not on line very much. But its best to get these things out of the way before a holiday, not on it.

We're going to Costa Teguise at Easter, I'm hoping it will warm up a bit. My brother in law came back last sunday, and said it was cold & windy.

Bri

Don't worry lhb! You'll be fine Anything to watch out for? Well, the places people tend to go wrong is at roundabouts and pulling out of junctions. Most of the time, just follow the car in front! And also keep checking that you, and not your passenger, are following the white line in the middle of the road!!! If you're on the white line then you are on the right side of the road!!!!

Hi Salhal. Yes, that car park's still there. There's also one underneath Hiperdino - which you can get to if coming from the port. Bear right when the road splits, and you'll see a big hole on your left. Turn left at the end of that - and you'll see it. If you spend a few pennies in Hiperdino - you get an hour free down there. It's normally quite empty when we go, so space won't be a problem.

The bit of waste ground by the roundabout isn't a car park anymore - although some people are using the areas across the road from there.