NB Whisper

Archive for April, 2010

Lanzarote is a small Spanish owned island which is part of the Canarian archipelago.  The popular vacation destination second only to Catalonia in terms of the number of tourists it attracts.  With a wonderful climate that delivers sunshine all year round.

This climate is key to Lanzarote´s popularity – allied with very low rainfall figures.  And last year the island received over 1.3 million tourist visitors – despite the economic downturn.  Making Lanzarote the third most popular island in the Canaries.

There are three main holiday resorts in Lanzarote – along with a fast emerging luxury marina.  And rural tourism is also gaining ground as a growing number of visitors seek out the more authentic side of the island.

The largest resort is called Puerto del Carmen – named after the local saint of fishermen.  And is situated very close to the main airport at Arrecife which is just a ten minute drive away.  Making transfers very quick and easy.  Puerto del Carmen was a small coastal village called La Tiñosa until being transformed by tourism in the 1960´s.  When the first hotel on the island the Los Fariones opened its doors for business.  And has since grown enormously – to encompass two main zones, The Old Town and the New Town.

The New Town boasts the largest selection of hotels and holiday villas in Puerto del Carmen – and runs parallel with the main beach of Playa Grande.  Whilst the Old Town is more residential in terms of its accommodation and revolves around the harbour which lies at its heart.  From where visitors can also enjoy boat trips along he coastline and across to the neighbouring Canary Island of Fuerteventura.

South of Puerto del Carmen lies Playa Blanca – or White Beach – an apt appellation given the fact that the stretches of sand here are amongst the best on the sand, if not the Canaries.  There are some fine hotels and villas in Playa Blanca available for rent – often at prices a little cheaper than in Puerto del Carmen.  And tourists here can also expect to enjoy excellent weather whatever the time of the year thanks to Playa Blanca´s favourable microclimate.

The third resort is called Costa Teguise – and it is located to the north of the island beyond the airport at Arrecife.  This is a quieter resort and is ideal for anyone seeking a more peaceful break on the island.  With plenty of good quality villas in Costa Teguiseavailable for rent.

I had wanted to go to Florida my whole life. I had had years of my parents telling me that it was too far away, that it was too expensive, that it wasn’t to their tastes. When I left home I had all of my friends telling me that Europe was just as good, that they couldn’t afford the air fare, that Disney in Paris was just as good. It was never any use me explaining the romance for me to visit the original Disney, that I had dreamt for as long as I could remember about travelling to America.

Luckily, shortly after my 25th birthday, I met the girl of my dreams. She was fun, beautiful and most importantly of all, she was obsessed with Disney! I knew within weeks that we would stay together, and two years later we got married. And where do you think we planned to go on our honeymoon?! Of course, Florida.

It wasn’t easy for us though. We didn’t have all that much money and we spent weeks trying to find the best deal. We were checking teletext, looking in the papers, checking travel agents in town, but in the end we came across a great deal for some Florida holiday packages on the internet. I was almost annoyed they were so cheap! I had spent so long being told by so many people that going to Florida was so expensive that I had almost given up on the idea myself! Luckily I persevered and when it came to it, it really didn’t cost an arm and a leg to get package holidays to Florida

It’s safe to say that the trip was a wonderful two weeks, the best of my life. We will now celebrate every year with a return trip to our favourite place, the beautiful Florida.