Best Gifts to Buy in Playa Blanca for Every Budget

The most common gift question we get at the counter comes from someone with a taxi booked in two hours and a long list of people back home. So we've had plenty of practice. This is what we suggest, sorted by budget, with prices and a few honest warnings about getting things home in one piece.

We're a wine, spirits and craft beer shop, so everything below is drinkable. If you want ceramics or aloe vera creams, you'll find those at the markets and souvenir shops around Playa Blanca. If you want something that actually tastes of the island, read on.

What to buy in Lanzarote as a souvenir

Lanzarote is known for its volcanic landscape, and that includes the wine. The vines in the La Geria area are grown in pits dug into black volcanic ash, which is why a bottle of local wine makes a better souvenir than another fridge magnet. It has a story behind it, and it gets drunk rather than sitting in a drawer.

The island also has a decent craft beer scene for its size. Malpeis is brewed in Tinajo and NAO comes from Puerto Naos in Arrecife. Both are small, local and properly made, which is exactly what you want from something you bought on holiday.

Gifts under €10

Don't underestimate the small stuff. A single good beer is a perfectly respectable thank-you for the neighbour who feeds your cat.

• Craft beer bottles at €5.00. If you're buying for someone who likes beer, pick something with a Lanzarote story rather than something they can buy at home. Malpeis La Fresca (a 4.5% session IPA) or NAO Marinera Blonde Ale (4.8%) are easy choices for people who aren't sure what they like.
• NAO Cactus, 44cl can, €6.50. A 4.9% session IPA made with prickly pear. It's an easy gift because the can travels well and the fruit gives people something to talk about.
• TF Brew'n IPA can, €6.50. TF stands for Twin Flames, a craft brand headquartered in Malta. It's a 5.6% IPA, and the can is a sensible option for a suitcase.

Cans are the safe choice if you're nervous about glass. They're lighter, they don't smash, and they sit happily wrapped in a t-shirt.

Gifts from €10 to €25

This is the sweet spot for most people. You're spending enough that it feels like a proper present, but you're not agonising over it.

A bottle of Yaiza wine

Our Yaiza blue bottles are €21.50 and the Yaiza Tinto is €25. The blue bottles come in different styles: rosado, seco (dry), semi-dulce (off-dry) and afrutado (fruity). That matters for gifts, because the main mistake we see is a dry wine bought for someone who only drinks sweeter styles.

If you don't know their taste, ask us. Someone who says they like a bit of sweetness will be happier with the semi-dulce than the seco. Someone who drinks red at Christmas and nothing else should get the Tinto.

A mixed craft beer set

Pick any four bottles at €4.50 and you've spent €18. Six is €27. A mix shows off what the island's brewers are doing, and it makes a better gift than a single bottle. A few combinations we like:

• For someone whose taste you don't know: Malpeis La Fresca (4.5%), NAO Lanzarote Lager (4.8%, gluten-free) and NAO Marinera Blonde Ale (4.8%). Nothing too bitter, nothing too strong.
• For the IPA person: NAO Mucho IPA (6.5%, gold at the Barcelona Beer Challenge in 2023) next to Malpeis Chiasss! Hazy IPA (6.2%).
• For the dark beer fan: Malpeis Lapilli Imperial Stout at 10%. It's a sipper, not a session beer, so warn them.

One honest note. Malpeis beers are unfiltered and unpasteurised, so they prefer to be kept cool. If they're going home in a hot hold in August, tell the recipient to drink them fairly soon after you land rather than putting them in the cupboard for a year.

Here you can start to build something that looks like a proper gift without needing a ribbon and a basket.

• Two bottles of Yaiza. A Yaiza blue bottle (€21.50) plus a Yaiza Tinto (€25) is €46.50 and gives you a white or rosé alongside a red. It suits couples, parents, or anyone you want to impress without it feeling like a big gesture.
• Wine and beer together. One Yaiza blue bottle and four craft beers comes to €39.50. It works well for households where one person drinks wine and the other won't touch it.
• A bigger beer selection. Eight bottles at €4.50 is €36. Mix Malpeis and NAO and you've put together a tasting night for the beer fan in your life.
• Cans for the suitcase. Four NAO Cactus at €6.50 is €24, and adding two TF Brew'n IPA at €6.50 brings it to €37. All cans, so nothing to break.

They're also popular with people who want to surprise someone staying in a villa or apartment here, whether that's a birthday, an anniversary or a welcome for arriving family.

The rules are simple, and we'd rather you know them now than be disappointed later:

A couple who like red wine gets something different from a group of friends who like beer.

If you're planning a surprise for someone on a particular day, give us a bit of notice. A planned date is easier for us than a last-minute request, and it means we can get the choice right.

Gifts you share on our terrace

Not every gift has to go in a bag. If you're travelling with family or friends and want to treat them, a sit-down on our terrace at Marina Rubicon works well, and it costs less than most people expect.

• Wine tasting, €14. Four glasses. Choose the Yaiza Board (rosado, seco, semi-dulce and afrutado) or the Red Board (Yaiza Tinto, Volcano, Ribera and Rioja).

It's also a useful way to find out what you like before you buy. Plenty of people try the Yaiza Board on the terrace, decide which style suits them, then take a bottle home. It saves you buying the wrong one.

Getting it all home safely

Bottles belong in your hold luggage, not your hand luggage. Liquids over 100ml can't go through security in a carry-on, so plan accordingly. Anything you buy airside at the airport is a different matter, but that's not what we sell.

• Wrap each bottle in clothes and put it in the middle of the case, away from the edges.
• Use a shoe or a rolled towel as extra padding around the neck of the bottle.
• Choose cans for anything you're particularly worried about.
• Check your airline's hold allowance before you buy. Wine is heavier than it looks, and a bottle weighs around 1.2kg once it's full.

If a bottle turns out to be faulty when you buy it, we'll replace it or give you store credit under Canary Islands law. We don't give cash refunds, so have a look at what you're buying before you leave the shop.

Quick picks by person

• The neighbour or house-sitter: one or two craft beers, or a can of NAO Cactus.
• Parents or in-laws: a bottle of Yaiza, with the style matched to what they drink.
• The beer fan: six or eight mixed Malpeis and NAO bottles.
• A couple: a Yaiza blue bottle and a Yaiza Tinto together.
• You, on the last day: a tasting board on the terrace.

Find us at Marina Rubicon

You'll find Brunchi.shop at Calle El Burrugo 44B, Marina Rubicon, Playa Blanca. We're open Monday to Saturday, 10am to 3pm and 6pm to 10pm, and we're closed all day on Sunday, so if you fly on a Monday, do your gift shopping by Saturday evening. Florin or I will reply as soon as we can.