"Isla de Lanzarote" Isla de Lanzarote by annemariebyrne

In January 2010 I visited Lanzarote in the Canary Islands for the first time. The reason for the visit was to celebrate my mother’s 80th birthday on January 11th. My 2 sisters and I wanted to take our mother somewhere warm, not too far away and with something to suit all our diverse tastes. We were also accompanied by my niece who was a Godsend as she elected to be our chauffeuse for the week!

view from our front door

Lanzarote proved to be the perfect choice. We stayed at the Barcarola Apartments in Puerto del Carmen, a well located, well run complex halfway between the centre of PDC and Matagorda. A feature of this complex is that it is almost like staying in a Botanical Garden there are so many beautiful specimen trees and plants all around the apartments and pool area. We were blessed with perfect weather during our stay and our location was entirely flat unlike many of the complexes in PDC which are situated on hills. We had a selection of excellent restaurants on our doorstep and some lovely quiet beaches nearby.

Volcano ahead!

Having a car and a competent driver at our disposal meant we could get out and about to explore the amazing landscape of Lanzarote at our leisure. A highlight for us was the Timanfaya National Park with it’s incredible volcanic landscape and the visitor centre created by local artist Cesar Manrique. We also visited the tiny nearby island of La Graciosa but I intend to do a separate page on that! The capital city of Lanzarote is Arrecife and I feel that it is a location that is regerettably ignored by many visitors who remain in their resorts while on holiday in Lanzarote. It is a compact and attractive city with clean beaches and a lovely harbour on its doorstep. The relationship between the city and the ocean is palpable and a walk all along the seafront is a must for any visitor. During my visit I encountered fishermen unloading their catch from tiny rowing boats and selling to the highest bidder on the quayside.

• Pros:Great weather, amazing scenery, lots to see and do.
• Cons:4 hour flight to get there, often delays and problems at airport
• In a nutshell:Much more than a cheap package holiday destination.