Puerto del Carmen or Corralejo for a family holiday with pool?

[gameoverman]

Need some help please! I am torn between Puerto del Carmen (Lanzarote) and Corralejo (Fuerteventura) for a holiday with DH and DS12.DS hates sand but loves spending all day in a great resort pool.
We want to visit Rancho Texas or Oasis Wildlife but want to avoid the rowdy strip vibe. We don't want it too quiet though!
Which town would everyone go for?
Any hotel recommendations that are within walking distance of pubs/Restaurants but won't get too noisy?
TIA 🍷

I didn’t like Corralejo at all. I’ve been loads of places in the canaries that I’ve loved. It was tatty and shabby.

Perot del carmen is much more like what you are looking for

we stayed in the riu pariso

Thanks for your reply. 😊I was looking at PC but heard lots of mixed messages.

Puerto del Carmen definitely of those two

So PC isn't too rowdy? Has it got traditional pants? Thanks

PDC has a lovely harbour area.. it’s not just ‘the strip’. In fact you can do a lovely coastal walk from the harbour to Puerto Calero which is lovely. We really like PDC for a holiday, the beaches are lovely as well.

Thanks for replying. That's good.
.We wanted to make sure that we could avoid the strip but that it would still feel busy enough of an evening iyswim.

The older part of PDC westward from Playa Chica is nicer. Lots of lovely restaurants in the marina area and plenty of life in the evening.

We were in PDC and were really disappointed- a strip full of Irish bars / English pubs etc.
Not our scene but we didn’t have a 12 year old with us.
I don’t know about Corallejo.

Not what you asked I know but we really like Playa Blanca which is also reasonable travel distance to Rancho Texas. The marina area is lovely & I wouldn't say it has a traditional strip. It is a bit quieter than PDC though.

That's why I said you want to be west of Playa Chica, to avoid the strip of Irish bars and English breakfast places.

Playa Blanca is nicer though.

@BjorkdiditWe were up by the Fariones end of PDC, is that the opposite end to Playa Chica ?

I've been to both and Playa Blanca.
PDC does have a "strip" but it also has a long promenade, nice beaches an old town and some fabulous walks. It doesn't have big resort type hotels, for those you'd need to be slightly out of town.
Corralejo has a great selection of hotels. It has amazing beaches but if you're not interested in beaches that's irrelevant. It also has a "strip" and an old town and a water park. Away from the strip it's a maze of little streets with lots of bars and restaurants and the thing I like best is live music everywhere (not tribute bands).
Playa Blanca is my least favourite but it's popular. Lovely long promenade, marina with restaurants, good choice of hotels, small water park. The beaches are small and man made so not very nice imo.

Not been to Coralejo, but we went to PDC last year and it was nicer than we thought it might be. We stayed Los Pocillos end, which is close to Rancho Texas (although we didn't go there). It had a 'strip' and Irish bars, but you could take or leave that, loads of choice, and if you stay either end (Los Pocillos /Matgorda one end or near Playa Chica and port the other, you are away from the main strip bit. We got a (cheap) taxi to Playa Chica one morning which was lovely for swimming and snorkeling but I know you said you didn't want that. We also enjoyed hiring a car for a couple of days and seeing the volcanic area, one of the Manrique houses etc, lots you can do in a half day and still have time for a swim! And we did a lovely dolphin watching catamaran trip. I don't think PDC has any water parks apart from Racho Texas where you are also paying for the zoo though. We ended up going to Playa Blanca for one instead as we had a discount through our hotel.

We stated at the Riu near PDC, it was near Los pocillos end. It had great pools, we loved the food, we walked to rancho texas. We hired a car and went all over the island. It was a great holiday.

Thanks for everyone's contributions... They have been useful, I just need to make my mind up now!.

We had a lovely holiday in puerto del Carmen, we don’t usually like big resorts but we enjoyed it, it’s not tacky and the beach is beautiful.
Enjoyed Rancho Texas too!

That sounds good 😊 ,been looking at apartments, quite a few don't have AC which surprised me.
Where did you stay? Would prefer somewhere away from noise

If u want access to puerto del carmen without having all the mad hustle and bustle, stay in matagorda.
Much nicer vibe but easy access to all the good bits of pdc.
I didnt like playa blanca at all.
Fuerte is waaay to windy for my liking.

Puerto Del Carmen definitely love it there

The nicest apartments I ever stayed in were the Velasquez in PDC. Situated below the promenade in front of the sea. Absolutely beautiful and quiet yet close to everything. We had a two bedroom apt with two bathrooms kitchen, living room and tiny utility.

Costa sal in matagorda.
Gorgeous spot.

I thought I would chip in with a positive view if Corralejo. We had a week there last year, my first thoughts from the airport was not good. The island is very brown. Hardly any vegetation from the trip from the airport. Its not a pretty place. But we got to love it as the week went on. It seems to have areas for everyone. Along the beach there is an area popular with surfers and the vibe to suit, it has beach bars suited to different nationalities, seems popular with Scandinavians as well as Brits. The harbour is very much a working harbour. Behind the tourist area it seems like a bustling, busy town. If you like live music, there are venues everywhere, people playing in the street. Not a lot to see on the island, but a lovely village a short bus ride away, El Cortillo. The sand dunes are impressive. The main road in the town has an area with proper shops, getting more touristy as you get closer to the centre. We liked the atmosphere, and will probably go back. We like Lanzarote too, but prefer Playa Blanca to PdC.

Been to both those places. PDL is quite loud with lots of bars. Correljo is pretty but too quiet for me. Personally I love Puerto de Mogan. Beautiful and has a lovely vibe. Stayed at Raddisan a few years ago when dc were younger and it was fab. Not been there in a few years though.

Ive been to puerto mogan 7 times and i wouldnt think its suitable for a 12yr old tbh. I think he wld be bored.

I was in PDC this year with an 11 and 13 year old. We stayed the Los Pocillos/Matagorda end. Much nicer for a family that end and only 10 mins from the airport. We went into the main PDC area one day and didn't like it - tacky and a few drunks falling about during the day. The beach and promenade was nice though. We were AI so didn't have to go out for meals but there seemed to be plenty of choice near us. Rancho Texas is brilliant for that age. We also hired a car one day and drove to the lava fields, lava beach etc which was really good.