The summer holidays are here and millions of tourists are packing their suitcase to jet off to the sun. With Lanzarote, in the Canary Islands, one of the most popular destinations.
Lanzarote is located close to the Tropic of Cancer and on the same line of latitude as parts of the Bahamas. So the weather and climate here are favourable for holidaymakers whatever the time of the year. Summer is high season, but winter and Easter are also very popular too. During the summer months tourists can expect temperatures in the 30´s Celsius, mitigated by a cooling breeze that wafts across the island from April though until August.
All Lanzarote flights touch down at Arrecife airport, which is the island’s only international air terminal. And which first opened for business back in the 1940´s. The busiest arrival days are Thursdays and Mondays, which is when the bulk of British tourists fly in to Lanzarote. Once in the arrival hall they will find that there are no shops or banks. Anyone seeking a Lanzarote car hire office will be in luck though as there are plenty of vehicle rental offices here.
Lanzarote is quite a small island so the three main tourist resorts are located within a forty minute drive of the airport. There are three main destinations, Costa Teguise, Puerto del Carmen and Playa Blanca. Whilst some visitors from the Spanish mainland head for the capital city of Arrecife. Where they will find some of the best hotels in Lanzarote, such as the Arrecife Gran.
Lanzarote really is an island of surprises. It´s interior is home to the weird and wonderful scenery of the Timanfaya National Park, a 200km square area dominated by volcanoes and lava fields that really is out of this world. Visitors here tour the park, one of the most popular in Spain, on coaches before being deposited back at the Devils Diner, where they can enjoy watching the lunch cook over barbecue grills fuelled by the heat emanating from a dormant volcano below.
The island is also home to some surprisingly historic towns and villages, such as Teguise. This was the official seat of island government until 1852 and its quiet cobbled streets are lined with some very old buildings, some of which date back to the 1450´s. Tourists can visit the Palacio Spinola, a wonderful house museum. As well as the Castillo Santa Barbara, which dates back to the 16th century.