Lanzarote and Fuerteventura
Lost a ring or other jewellery on Lanzarote or Fuerteventura
Puerto del Carmen, Costa Teguise, Playa Blanca, Famara, Corralejo, El Cotillo, Caleta de Fuste and Jandía.
Wind is what sets these two islands apart from the rest of Spain when something small goes missing on a beach. The trade winds shape the weather across the Canaries, and the largest dune field in the group lies on the Fuerteventura coast at Corralejo. Dry sand here does not sit still, so the outcome turns on how closely you can place the spot and how fast you tell someone.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewellery recovery service that connects people who lost a ring, wedding band, watch or phone on Lanzarote or Fuerteventura with a metal detectorist who can search there. We have searched in Spain before.
Tell us what happened and where. We find a detectorist who can reach the spot, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor.
What to do in the first hour on either island
Before you move, drop a pin on your phone and note the time, because the Atlantic tide moves the water's edge a long way and the time tells a detectorist which sand to work first. Take two photos, one inland and one out to sea, with something fixed in the frame. If the wind is up, mark the spot with something heavy.
Send the pin, the time and a photo of the item to us on WhatsApp, and a search can still be arranged after you have flown home. Say which resort and beach it was.
Places we cover in Lanzarote and Fuerteventura
- Puerto del Carmen
- Playa Grande and Playa Chica
- Los Pocillos
- Matagorda
- Costa Teguise
- Las Cucharas
- El Jablillo
- Playa Blanca
- Playa Dorada
- Playa Flamingo
- Papagayo beaches, Los Ajaches
- Timanfaya, the Echadero de los Camellos and the Islote de Hilario
- Famara
- La Graciosa
- Arrecife and El Reducto
- Corralejo
- Grandes Playas and the Corralejo dunes
- El Cotillo
- Isla de Lobos, La Concha beach
- Caleta de Fuste
- Costa Calma
- Playa Esmeralda
- Sotavento and Risco del Paso
- Morro Jable and Jandía
- Cofete
- Puerto del Rosario
Where rings and jewellery go missing on these two islands
Resort sand in the south of Lanzarote, shell sand in the north of Fuerteventura, wild coast at either end.
Puerto del Carmen, from Playa Grande to Matagorda
The Lanzarote tourist board lists four beaches here, all in Tías. Playa Grande is golden sand with calm water, sunbeds, lifeguards and a promenade, and it carries a high level of use. Los Pocillos and Matagorda run on towards the airport, both golden sand and both flagged as windy. Playa Chica, at the western end, is listed for diving.
Costa Teguise, Famara, La Graciosa and Arrecife
Las Cucharas is fine golden sand with calm water and lifeguards, and the tourist board calls it a favourite of windsurfers. El Jablillo is a smaller beach of golden sand along the same front, about 150 metres long with calm water, and El Reducto in the capital is an urban beach of golden sand. Famara is the opposite, fine golden sand with strong waves, wind and danger signs, inside the Chinijo Archipelago Natural Park along with La Graciosa.
Playa Blanca and the Papagayo coves
Playa Dorada is fine white sand, about 300 metres long and narrow, with sunbeds, beach bars and a promenade. Playa Flamingo, on the west side of Playa Blanca, is about 200 metres of white sand with calm water, listed for swimming and diving. Both sit in Yaiza. The Papagayo coves further east, in the Los Ajaches hills, are reached through a controlled access point with parking and little else. Inland, Timanfaya National Park has camel rides from the Echadero de los Camellos, the Ruta de los Volcanes bus from the Islote de Hilario and guided walks such as Tremensana. Name the stop or the trail, because the ground there is volcanic cinder.
Corralejo, the Grandes Playas and El Cotillo
The Canary Islands tourist board describes nine kilometres of beach beside Corralejo, bordered by the largest dune field in the archipelago, with sand that is fine and white because it formed from broken shell. The beaches lie inside the Corralejo Natural Park, with lifeguards at Burro beach. A short ferry from Corralejo harbour reaches Isla de Lobos, where La Concha is 500 metres of almost white sand curving round calm, clear water, about 10 minutes' walk from the ferry. At El Cotillo, La Concha is a 220 metre cove behind a horseshoe reef, with stone shelters built by residents to sit out of the wind.
Caleta de Fuste and the Jandía coast
El Castillo at Caleta de Fuste is soft golden sand in a small sheltered bay with calm water all year, ten minutes from the airport. South from Costa Calma, two kilometres of white sand joined to its neighbours at low water, the coast runs through Playa Esmeralda into Sotavento and on to Morro Jable, one long beach after another. Cofete, beyond the mountains, is unguarded and marked for strong swell.
What Ring Seekers does for a loss on Lanzarote or Fuerteventura
One person on WhatsApp
You tell the story once, to one person, who sees it through.
The detectorist gets your map and photos
Your pin, the time and your photos go out before anyone sets off, so the first sweep starts on the right sand.
Plain about poor odds
A ring lost in the surf at Famara or Cofete, or along Sotavento with no landmark, may not be worth a search. You hear that first, not later.
We know how this wind and tide behave
On the windy beaches dry sand drifts over a small item quickly, so a marked spot matters more here than anywhere. The tide moves the water's edge a long way, so wet sand is worked around low water.
Costs before anything is booked
We explain the costs before any search is booked.
Sand, wind and tides on Lanzarote and Fuerteventura
What the trade winds and the Atlantic do to a small item.
Sand that moves, and sand that does not
The Lanzarote tourist board lists golden sand at Playa Grande, Los Pocillos and El Reducto, fine golden sand at Las Cucharas and Famara, and fine white sand at Playa Dorada and Papagayo. Clean sand of that kind is good ground for a detector. The difficulty is above it. The AEMET climate atlas names exposure to the prevailing trade winds as one of the two dominant factors in the Canary climate, and the tourist board marks Los Pocillos, Matagorda, Las Cucharas and Famara as windy beaches, so dry sand drifts over a small item quickly.
Real Atlantic tides, not Mediterranean ones
This is open Atlantic, not the near tideless Mediterranean, so the water's edge moves a long way. The Puertos del Estado gauges at Arrecife and Puerto del Rosario give an average tidal range of about 1.7 to 1.8 metres, and more than 3 metres on the biggest tides. At Sotavento a sand bar between 100 and 300 metres offshore holds a lagoon three kilometres long, so a ring dropped inside it lies in shallow standing water rather than in surf.
Surf and water temperature
Calm water is listed for Playa Grande, Las Cucharas, Playa Dorada, Playa Flamingo, Papagayo, Morro Jable and the Corralejo beaches. Strong waves are listed for Famara, for Las Conchas on La Graciosa and for Cofete, which is unguarded and signed for bathing with caution. The sea is at its coolest in late winter and early spring, and cold fingers are how a wedding band leaves a hand.
Questions about Lanzarote and Fuerteventura
I lost my wedding ring at Puerto del Carmen. Where do you start?
With the strip you were on. The Lanzarote tourist board lists Playa Grande, Los Pocillos and Matagorda as separate beaches in Tías, all golden sand with calm water, one after the next along the coast towards the airport. Tell us which hotel or beach bar you were level with, how far down towards the water, and roughly what time. That turns kilometres of sand into a patch someone can cover.
I lost a ring on the Papagayo beaches near Playa Blanca. What should I know?
The Papagayo coves lie in the Los Ajaches hills east of Playa Blanca, and the way in is a controlled access point on a track rather than an open road. The island tourist board lists fine white sand and parking as the only service. Tell us which cove it was and pin the spot before you walk back to the car.
My ring came off in the sea at Famara. Is there any point looking?
Famara is one of the hardest places on either island. The Lanzarote tourist board records fine golden sand, strong waves, wind and danger signs, and it lies inside the Chinijo Archipelago Natural Park. If it came off on dry sand or at the water's edge, tell us exactly where. Beyond the shore break, the odds are poor.
I lost something on the Grandes Playas at Corralejo. Do the dunes matter?
Only for how you describe the spot. The tourist board describes nine kilometres of beach beside Corralejo bordered by the largest dunes in the archipelago. If it came off up in the dunes, where dry sand drifts, tell us how far back from the water you were and which beach was nearest. On the beach itself, tell us which part you were on.
I lost a watch or an Oura ring at Sotavento or Morro Jable. What are the chances?
A watch or an Oura ring gives a detector a clear signal, so the item is not the problem. The size of the place is. Sotavento runs for more than nine kilometres and is a string of beaches rather than one, and Morro Jable runs 4,325 metres beside the Jandía salt marsh. Tell us which stretch of it, or which block of promenade.
I dropped my phone or my sunglasses at Caleta de Fuste or El Cotillo. Is that different?
A phone and metal framed sunglasses read on a detector, so on sand they are easier than a thin chain. Plastic frames have to be found by eye. El Castillo at Caleta de Fuste is soft golden sand in a small bay with calm water. At El Cotillo, La Concha is a 220 metre cove of white sand behind a horseshoe reef, with small rock pools at low tide, so tell us whether it fell on sand or among the rock.
Lanzarote and Fuerteventura
Lost something on one of these beaches? Send the pin and the time
Which beach, which part of it, what time, sand or water, and a photo of the item.
The wind and the tide have moved since it happened, but the spot has not. Tell the lifeguards if there are any, then send us the pin and the time on WhatsApp.