Lanzarote is a small Volcanic Island, sitting in the Atlantic Ocean just over 100km off the West coast of Africa. You can count on good weather pretty much all year round (bar the cloudy days that we were there – typical!) and as well as some beautiful beaches including dramatic black volcanic rock beaches, white washed villages and beautiful fishing ports. The island is so much more than your average sun, sea and sand holiday destination, and during our blogger trip to the Canadian Volcanic Country, we found so many reasons to give the popular Canary Island a visit this year.
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1. An Incredible Climate
The Canaries have a sub-tropical climate, which, most of the time means lots of sunshine, very little rain and a very comfortable annual daytime temperature of around 23°C. If it’s a tan that you’re after then Lanzarote is a fail safe option, even though we visited on what were probably the cloudiest days of the year, we all left with glowing tans and enviable tan lines!
2. A Short Haul flight for Long Haul weather!
Lanzarote is just a four hour flight from the UK, plus Thomas Cook Airlines offer a range of affordable flights at convenient times from London, Birmingham and Manchester.
3. Other Worldly Landscapes
A visit to the Timanfaya National Park is an other-worldly experience, with lunar-style craters, volcanic lava fields and mountains jutting out from the ocean, you can expect to see some out of this world landscapes in Lanzarote, as well as the white sand and azure seas. As well as Volcanic landscapes, a visit to Lago Verde (left) is essential – the mysterious lake, visible from a short trek up a sandy track, glows a bright green colour, made all the more dramatic by the ragged mountainous backdrop.
4. Great Value for Money
With tourism being the island’s main source of income, you can get plenty for your pound in Lanzarote. All inclusive resorts like the Sentido are particularly popular for holiday makers on a budget, and there are also a selection of higher end options if you fancy treating yourself!
5. Visit a Volcano
At Timanfaya National Park you can tour around the island’s centuries-old lava fields, catch a glimpse of this in my first video about our trip to Lanzarote, but don’t worry – the tour buses are much better equiped at the hill starts than our little bus was!! The Montañas del Fuego (mountains of fire) were created when over 100 volcanoes erupted to form the dramatic landscape that you’ll see there today. Be sure to drive to the top where you’ll see mini geysers that explode from the heat pressure under the ground.
6. Beautiful Beaches
There’s no shortage of beautiful beaches in Lanzarote, from breathtaking views to miles of sand for bathing and baking. Thanks to the Atlantic winds creating a constant breeze, there’s plenty of action to be had on the beaches too, you can try your hand at surfing, kiteboarding and windsurfing, as well as visiting Puerto Del Carmen for scuba diving, and exploring the underwater museum.
7. Fresh Seafood Cuisine
Fresh squid and octopus, garlic prawns, and seafood paella are plentiful in local eateries, all accompanied with sides of Canarian salted potatoes and a feast of tapas. We visited Restaurante Casa Torano to enjoy the freshest seafood (we could literally see them catching the evening’s fish while we enjoyed our lunch outside).
8. Enjoy some Local Wine
I admit I wasn’t expecting the local wine to be anything spectacular in the Canaries, but I was wrong! Lanzarote is home to many commercial and private vineyards, which sprung up in the 18th century after the volcanic eruptions meant that little else would grow in the lava fields. We visited Bodegas Rubicon Vineyard for a scrumptious lunch overlooking the vineyards before taking a tour around their grounds and discovering the wine making process.
9. Discover the César Manrique Foundation.
This was a personal highlight of our trip, as the island is full of César Manrique’s creations – we visited what was once his private home, designed and built around the natural formation of volcanic bubbles which create bright and unusual living spaces. The peaceful atmosphere and maze-like architecture made it an enchanting place to spend a warm afternoon.
10. Visiting Cueva de los Verdes
Translating as ‘green cave’ – the Cueva is one of the world’s longest volcanic tunnels, including a 1.5km stretch under the ocean. The lava tubes are best discovered with a local guide, who showed us an incredible optical illusion (see more in my Vlog) as well as providing us with facts about the formation and historical past of the lava tubes.
11. Yoga on the Beach
With our hotel just a few minutes walk from the beach, each morning we threw on our activewear and headed to the beach for some breathing and stretching. With the gentle hum of the waves and the long expanses of volcanic sand beach it made the perfect location for yoga with Phoebe (Wood & Luxe).
12. Enjoy the Vistas
Lanzarote is a dramatic landscape seen best from at height, so visit the Mirador del Rio – the island’s best viewpoint for a different vista of the rugged coastline, panoramic views towards the volcanoes and Isla Graciosa.
We travelled to Lanzarote from Birmingham Airport with Thomas Cook Airlines, as part of the #TCAinLanzarote blogger trip. Check out the hashtag to see more about what we got up to!
I created 2 videos of our trip, watch them here!
xoxo