Lanzarote Winter Holidays

Tue, Sep 29, 2009

The Canary Islands are Europe’s only genuine winter sun destination. Located around four hours flying time from the UK, off the coast of West Africa. Providing an all year round holiday retreat for sun starved Northern Europeans.

After Catalonia the archipelago is the second most visited region in Spain. Welcoming close to ten million guests last year alone. Yet these seven islands are by no means all birds of a feather. As each enjoys it’s own unique identity and character.

Lanzarote is the most easterly of the islands and is hugely popular with tourists from the UK, Eire and Germany. With over 1.5 million foreign visitors booking Lanzarote holidays during the course of 2008.

The island is best known for its unique volcanic scenery – forged by a series of eruptions in the 18th and 19th century. As well as the work of a highly creative local artist called César Manrique. Who successfully campaigned against over development on Lanzarote. Resulting in an outright ban on ad hoardings and high rise buildings.

Getting There
Leading low cost airline Ryanair has just switched their focus to the Canaries and will be running 15 new services to the island this winter. So helping to reduce the cost of flights to Lanzarote as competition on these routes hots up. easyJet. Thomas Cook and Monarch all offer reasonably priced returns too – with departures in November starting at around £100 return.

Places To Stay
It’s possible to book all types of accommodation – ranging from basic studio apartments through to chic rural hotel breaks. Self catering accommodation has also grown in popularity over the last five years – in tandem with the growth of internet usage. And now many visitors prefer to book their own Lanzarote villas and apartments online.

Holiday villas in Playa Blanca are the best bet during the winter months – as this is the southern most resort on the island, with the best microclimate.

Getting Around
Car hire in Lanzarote is cheap and affordable – with rates starting from as little as €13 per day. Whilst petrol is also, much better value than in the UK, at around 0.70 centimos per litre.

The island is very small – measuring around 58km by 38km – so it’s very easy to tour and take in all of the key sites. Which encompass not only the Timanfaya Volcano Park but also the various creations of César Manrique. Who worked with Lanzarote´s volcanic terrain to create some unique visitor attractions around the island.