The Canary Islands are one of the most popular holiday destinations in Europe.
As they enjoy a great climate all year round – making them both a winter and summer sun destination. Welcoming close to 10 million foreign tourists every year.
Lanzarote is the fourth largest of these islands and the third most popular after Tenerife and Gran Canaria. Drawing the bulk of its visitors from the Brtish, Irish and German tourist markets. And boasting unique volcanic terrain that is much drier and more arid than the other islands in the archipelago.
The island was first discovered by a Genovese navigator Lancelotto Malocello nearly 700 years ago and was then conquered for the Spanish crown in the early 1400´s. Before emerging as a useful staging post for galleons crossing the Atlantic to the New World.
Today the island is almost entirely dependent on tourism – with around 1.4 million visitors per year spending their holidays in Lanzarote. The majority of them staying in one of the three main resorts of Costa Teguise, Playa Blanca or Puerto del Carmen. The island is also a very popular cruise destination, with a further 250,000 passnegers a year docking at the port just outside the capital city of Arrecife. But most visitors still arrive on flights to Lanzarote– which take around four hours from the UK.
There are lots of different accommodation options for tourists – ranging from chic hotels in the countryside through to budget studio apartments in the main resorts. Around half of all visitors book a room in one of the islands 250 plus hotels. With the remainder opting for self catering accommodation in Lanzarote apartments or villas.
What are the main attractions on the island? No visitors should miss the awersome and surreal sight of the Timanfaya National Park – home to over 300 spent volcanoes and mile after mile of lava fields. This bizarre scener was created by enormous eruptions in the 18th century which totally transformed around one quarter of the islands surface area.
Away from this region though Lanzarote is much like many other hliday islands with loads of great beaches to explore along with plenty of attractive towns and villages. History buffs should head for the former island capital of Teguise – where they can view buildings dating back as far as the 1450´s. Or take in the picturesque village of Haria – which is nestled in the Valley of 1000 Palms.