Well, we went to the Canary Islands once again, this time to the third one in the row, Lanzarote. To tell the truth, we were a bit sceptical, when we were buying plane tickets. Why? Because when we read weather forecast for Lanzarote in May, we always ran into wind… And we get it, big time – there it was – wind, wind and more wind 😃 But this was not gentle sea breeze that cools you down while walking in the hot sun. There were quite strong winds, sometimes over 60 km/h. How much is that? Sometimes that much, that Liam was tossed back and forth 😁 but you get used to it quickly.
Lanzarote is the fourth largest island among the Canary Islands, which was mostly shaped by volcanic activity and hides many interesting things. This time we didn’t waste our time for lying on sandy beaches and swimming in hotel pool, but we rather took a car and drove across the island.
We book our hotel (link) or we should rather say accommodation on the far south side of the island, in the area of Playa Blanca, less than 30 km away from the airport. It is the place with a larger marina, from where you can also board to a ferry and visit one of the better-visited Canary Islands, Fuerteventura. The Playa Blanca is also a great starting point for exploring the island. On the west you got the Timanfaya National Park, the famous green lake El Golfo and the salt flats on the beach of Playa del Janubio. On far north is viewpoint Mirador del Rio and, on the way, there, you can also visit sights like Jameos del Aqua, Jardin de Cactus and many others.
Where to start? We were adjusting our initial itinerary according to weather and “current feeling” 🙃 We were certainly positively surprised by the view over the vivid green coloured lake Lago Verde also known as Charco del los Clicos, which gets its distinctive colour from a special type of algae. There are smaller cliffs nearby, among which Los Hervideros definitely stand out. Over there is a well-maintained path and smaller viewing platforms. On the way to the south of the island you can easily stop over the salt flats of Salinas del Janubio.
How to cheer a child? Take them to the zoo! There is also one on the Lanzarote, called Rancho Texas, a theme park in the style of the American Wild West, which, in addition to many animals, including dolphins, tigers, sea lions, birds and reptiles, offers also tons of fun in the water park. It’s funny, but after walking around the zoo and enjoying the shows with dolphins, sea lions and birds, you can, at the end, cool off in the pool area, or get the adrenaline rush by taking some rides on the water slides. The ticket price is 36€ (price in May 2024) and includes a visit to zoo, all the shows and also entry to the water park.
Many attractions on the island are related to the work of the famous painter, sculptor and architect César Manrique, whose works can be admired almost at every step of the island. One of these is the Jardin de Cactus, a small botanical garden that includes over 500 different types of cacti from all over the world, totalling as many as 4,500 specimens. The garden was designed by the architect on a former dump and is really something special. The ticket price was 8€ (May 2024).
If you like to enjoy the views, you can go to the extreme north of the island to Mirador del Rio, from where you can admire the smaller island of La Graciosa. Despite the fact that it is only a view from the cafe, the entrance fee was 8€ per person, and the building is also one of Manrique’s works of art.
From man-made artificial ones to the wonders created by nature. The main attraction on the island is the Timanfaya National Park – it is an area with many volcanoes, where underground activity is still detected in some places. A visit to the park costs 20€ per person, but we unfortunately missed the opportunity to enter (the last entry was at 3:45 p.m. at the time). Nevertheless, you have the opportunity to drive on the main road across the wider area of the park and admire the landscape formed by the lava.
We also visited the capital of the island, Areciffe. But we were disappointed, to say the least. Maybe because we were there on a Sunday and we were walking the streets alone or simply because there is practically nothing much to see. Maybe that’s why you can save a few kilometers and time and go somewhere else instead.
Oh, we almost forgot about the beaches. We visited some of the more famous ones, among which we particularly liked Playa Flamingo, which was located near our hotel, and Playa Grande in Puerto del Carmen. It is another tourist town with hotels, apartments, shopping center and similar things.
That’s it. Despite the “worse weather”, we enjoyed ourselves, saw a lot of wonderful and new things and spent a great week together. If it was windless and sunny all the time, the whole thing would be kitsch anyway 😁
S & B & L
