There are seven islands in the Spanish owned chain known collectively as the Canaries, the best known of which are probably Tenerife and Gran Canaria.
But little Lanzarote, located close to the coast of Africa is also a real hot favourite with holidaymakers – and little wonder as there are scores of golden sandy beaches to explore here as well as a wealth of cultural attractions.
Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain
Year Round Sunshine
Lanzarote can be reached in about four hours from Northern Europe and there are flights to the island from most of the main airports in the UK. The climate however is obviously a world apart, as temperatures on the island regularly reach into the 30´s Celsius in summer and the mid 20´s during winter, making Lanzarote the ideal holiday choice all year round.
Breathtaking Beaches
Brilliant beaches are of course the root cause of Lanzarote´s popularity, there are some 90 beaches to explore around the island´s coastline and nearly all of them are made of dazzling white sand, unlike the black sand beaches more typical of other Canary Islands.
Where can you find the best beaches on the island? Lanzarote only measures 60km by 35km so you´re never far away from the sea, but most visitors believe that the best beaches are found at Papagayo in the south, close to Playa Blanca and at Famara in the north. Other locals favour the all natural playas of the Caletones Blanco, which can be found on the road from the Jameos del Agua to Orzola.
Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain
Great Places To Stay
As well as offering a host of hotels there´s also a wide range of self catering accommodation available for rent on Lanzarote. Many visitors now prefer to book an apartment or villa direct and local companies such as Lanzarote1 and Lanzarote Breaks offer plenty of interesting options. For example, try booking Villa Mare in Puerto del Carmen if you´re looking to bust the budget, as this huge 5 bed, 5 bath property is available from £3,700 per week. There are plenty of other options too for those seeking a good value vacation.
Amazing Attractions
We´ve all had that horrible holiday experience of landing on a hot and dusty island in the middle of nowhere and there is simply nothing to do. Well that fate will not befall you on Lanzarote as this island has a cluster of cultural attractions all of which were created by one man, a local artist called Cesar Manrique. Who developed a whole raft of amazing sights such as the Cactus Garden and the Mirador del Rio which still delight tourists to this day.
Cactus Garden, Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain
Surreal Scenery
Lanzarote´s most popular attraction though is the Timanfaya National Park, home to scores of volcanoes which erupted in the 1730´s, leaving a lava covered wasteland in their wake. This is the must see sight on Lanzarote as the scenery here really is out of this world.
