Despite the current economic climate and a downturn in visitor numbers that has affected all Spanish sunspots the Canary Island of Lanzarote still expects to welcome hundreds of thousands of tourists this winter. As the island remains a popular and affordable winter sun destination.

Timanfaya National Park

The dormant volcanoes and twisted lava fields of the Timanfaya National Park are undoubtedly Lanzarote´s number one tourist attraction. Created by a massive series of eruptions in the 1730´s this entire area – which covers around one third of the island – was declared a National Park in the 1970´s.

The surreal scenery here attracts close to 900,000 visitors every year. Whilst tourists can also enjoy the spectacle of watching their lunch cooked on giant grills by the heat emanating from deep below the earth’s surface.

The César Manrique Foundation

The former home of the island born artist César Manrique gives a whole new meaning to the term housing bubble. As it was built over five chambers in the lava flow below. Resulting in one of the most unusual properties imaginable.

Visitors descend from the upper floor house into cave like chambers that have been painted a brilliant white – creating an almost igloo like feel. Before touring the main gallery where visitors can view the best of Manrique´s paintings. Alongside works by his contemporaries such as Picasso.

The Jameos del Agua

This was one of Manrique´s first major projects on Lanzarote. Designed to prove that the island could develop tourist attractions that worked with Lanzarote´s volcanic terrain rather than against it.

The Jameos is basically a huge lava tunnel in the surrounding flow. Manrique ingeniously transformed this space into a concert venue, restaurant ad nightclub. Replete with tropical gardens and a breathtaking swimming pool that is apparently reserved for the sole use of the King of Spain.

The Valley of 1000 Palms

The Valley of 1000 Palms is the ideal antidote to the arid southern half of the island. Here villagers have long followed a tradition of planting a palm tree for every new born baby. Creating an incredible oasis that now surrounds the villages of Haria and Mgauez.

The Cactus Garden

This celebration of the spiniest species in the plant world was created by the ubiquitous Manrique along with the help of some eminent botanists. And showcases over 1000 different cacti from around the world.

The Cactus Garden is symbolically located in Guatiza. Which is where locals used to harvest the cochineal beetle that lives on the tunera cacti. Exporting this natural dye stuff to markets such as Britain, where it was once used to colour the red coats of British soldiers.

Lanzarote is a small island making it easy to explore. Car hire in Lanzarote is also very affordable with rental rates starting from just €13 per day.

Spain holidays offer incredible variety, and just a short drive from most beach resorts in Spain lies the real authentic country. Also you don’t need a big budget to visit Spain because the prices are affordable. The online is full with Cheap Holidays In Spain offers.

Spain holidays

You will not be spoilt for choice as Spain holidays offer accommodation to suit every budget including, simple self catering, bed and breakfasts, private villas and Luxury all inclusive. There are many options for locating cheap holiday deals: rentals, villas, apartments, hotels espagne. 

Cheap Spain holidays usually means extra planning, reservations made on time or finding last minute deals, self catering villas, condominium or 2-3 stars hotels. Spain offers a year round reliable climate, great beaches and wide variety of hotels, villas and self-catering apartments.

Beaches

With sun-bleached beaches and a favorable rate of exchange for most travelers, it’s easy to see why Spain is one of the Europe top attraction. The spectacular beaches with secluded coves scattered with lush palm trees have been popular with holiday makers for years.

Lying on the eastern coast of Spain, the Costa Blanca draws millions of tourists each year to its turquoise waters and miles of white sandy beaches.  With sandy beaches a warm climate and plenty of cheap flights, hotels & resorts, Costa Dorada is an ideal place to holiday.

Of course the great beaches of nearby Costa del Sol are what have made Malaga one of the most visited regions of Spain. 

The diverse landscapes and beautiful beaches make the tourists return year after year.

Tapas are small, appetizer size portions… of almost anything.  They can be a small plate of ham and cheese, or tiny sandwiches, or a plate of olives, a small skewer of pickled vegetables or seafood or… the list goes on and on.  Some bars will serve one small tapa for free with your drink, but most bars charge for them.  

Many bars only list raciones on the menu.  These are larger portions.  You might want the larger portion if two or more of you are sharing the appetizers, but you can always ask for tapas size or even a 1/2 racion (media-racion) or for a portion somewhere in between.  Some bars don’t serve anything smaller than a racion, but it’s worth asking.  You’ll run into these especially in the tourist areas.

If you wander into a bar and you see half a dozen or a dozen different types of food under glass on the bar, it’ll be easy.  Choose a couple, order a small glass of wine or beer and enjoy.  You’ll be charged accordingly when you ask for the bill.  The first time we did this, we were unsure of the price, so we asked for the bill after a beer and a couple of tasty choices…. the bill was so reasonable that we stayed and enjoyed more.

You’ll find that there are different prices depending on where you choose to eat and drink.  If you stand or sit at the bar, you’ll get the best price.  Sitting at a table will cost you a little more, and if you eat out on the plaza for the view, you’ll pay the most.  So sitting outside on the Plaza Mayor in Madrid having a racion of Serrano ham and cheese will be the most expensive way to go… but it could be worth it. 

On the other hand, if you want to get a little more intimate with Spanish life, find a little bar on a back street, stand at the bar and take in the swirl of life around you.  A smattering of Spanish will definitely come in handy for this!

Don’t necessarily go looking for a particular bar that you’ve read about.  The small snacks that they offer change all the time.  Just find a bar that looks lively and that you’ll be comfortable in.  Sometimes you can order a small sampler plate.  This isn’t how the locals do it, but it might make it easier your first time or two.

Some tourists talk about hopping from bar to bar in the evening.  It’s fun to do that, but you’ll find Spaniards enjoying these small plates of appetizers any time of the day.  Going to the local bars is part of the social scene to meet friends.  Tapas are part of this scene. 

Remember that in Spain, dinner is eaten late at night.  Spaniards love their tapas, however they generally don’t eat them in place of a meal….  But if you’re not up for dinner at 9, 10 or 11 at night, you can certainly make a meal of them.

Buen provecho!

You can visit these cities on day trips, but to really soak them in, consider renting a car and driving.  This loop can take four to five days depending on how long you linger.  Combine it with a visit to Madrid, and you have a great week vacation. 

We don’t recommend driving in the city, but getting a rental car in town and driving out is pretty straightforward. 

The sprawling complex of the El Escorial Palace is worth a stop.  This combination monastery and palace is about an hour drive from the capital.  There are furnished rooms to visit, and a great library to see, but the highlight of this complex is seeing the final resting place of four centuries of Spanish Kings and Queens… the Royal Pantheon. You can make this a mid-day stop, see the palace, have lunch in town or at the Palace cafe, then continue on to Segovia.

Segovia is fifty miles from Madrid.  This town perches on a hill and represents a couple of eras of Spanish history with both a fairy tale castle and a Roman aqueduct.  The town was started by the Romans.  What is left of the aqueduct is 2,500 feet long and 100 feet high.  It’s double arches anchor one end of the town.  Have a dinner of suckling pig (cochinillo asado) in a restaurant next to the arches of the aqueduct. 

Stroll the narrow, mostly pedestrian streets to the other end of town to see the Alcazar castle.  It looks like a fairy tale castle because it burned in 1862, and it was rebuilt in this exuberant style.  There are historic furnishings inside and a great view of town from the tower. 

Segovia is well worth spending a night.  Just be aware, it can be crowded on weekends.  Parking is scarce, so make sure to secure parking along with your hotel.

Avila is a city which could be overlooked…  but if you’re into city walls, you shouldn’t miss it.  The walls are intact, complete with 90 towers.  It dates back to the 11th century.  The city was the birthplace of Saint Teresa and is an important pilgrimage site.  Once you’ve seen the museum and the Convento de Santa Teresa, head for the city walls.  The lively section of town is just outside the main gates.  Sit and have tapas and enjoy the view. 

Now head for Toledo which is about an hour south of Madrid.  This former capital of Spain sits on a hill, surrounded by it’s city walls and the Tagus River.  It has retained its medieval charm with city walls and winding streets… and lots of hills….  It’s a fun city to wander and get lost in. 

See the Cathedral and the Iglesia de Santo Tome where El Greco’s painting El Entierro del Conde de Orgaz is on view.  Discover more of El Greco all over the little city.  Wandering will uncover bits of Toledo’s Roman, Moorish and Jewish history as well.

To complete your tour, find a Parador to stay in for one more night before you return your car.  Paradores are historic buildings that the government has converted to hotels. 

Siguenza Paradore of El Cid fame is a castle turned into a hotel and is about an hour outside of Madrid.  From here it’s easy to get back to the airport and catch your flight home.

And whilst these figures could well fall back during the course of this year the Island of Fire still offers excellent value for money for anyone planning an overseas holiday on a budget during 2009.

Thanks to the fact that a number of low cost operators such as Monarch and easyJet operate services to the island from all major UK airports the price of flights to Lanzarote remains competitive. With Thomas Cook, for example, currently offering returns from Gatwick for as little as £100.

Factor in the fact that the cost of living on the island is also low – regardless of the pounds recent fall against the euro – and you have all the right ingredients for a budget break.

The best value holiday villas in Lanzarote can be found in the island’s southern most resort of Playa Blanca. Which little more than a decade ago was a small fishing village but which has now emerged rapidly to become the second most popular resort on the island. Thanks to the fact that it enjoys the best microclimate on the island. A factor which attracted property developers and Spain’s largest hotel chains in droves.

Many overseas investors have snapped up property in and around Playa Blanca too, for the purpose of generating income from holiday rentals. And as a result this has created a good level of competition which keeps prices relatively affordable. For example, a two bedroom villa, with private pool is available from £350 per week. Factor in cheap flights and it´s possible to create a holiday break in Lanzarote for four people from as little as £187 per person.

For those operating on a tighter budget Lanzarote holiday apartments offer an excellent, low cost option.

Puerto del Carmen, Lanzarote´s oldest resort, boasts a wide selection of apartments to choose from. As despite the fact that this is still the most popular destination on Lanzarote the resort is still serviced by only two main hotels. With apartment complexes accounting for the bulk of tourist beds.

Here it’s possible to rent a one bedroom apartment on a well appointed complex such as Plaza Palmeras from just £170 per week. Which is centrally located to all of the main bars, shops and restaurants in the resort.

But Lanzarote boasts much more in the way of attractions than just sunshine and beaches alone. As the island is home to some incredible natural beauty spots as well as some of the most innovative tourist sites imaginable.

Back in the 1730´s Lanzarote was submerged beneath a sea of molten lava which devastated around one quarter of the island and which forced the migration of many Lanzaroteños to pastures new in destinations such as Latin America and Cuba. Today however the Timanfaya Volcano Park is Lanzarote´s best known and most popular tourist attraction. Drawing in close to one million visitors every year.

Here tourists can witness the molten lava flows and twisted spent volcanic peaks up close on tour buses that wend their way through the Park. Before disembarking passengers at the aptly named Devils Diner – where they can enjoy seeing their food being cooked on a huge open grill powered by the heat from the volcano below.

The optimum route through the volcano park was discerned by the well known Lanzarote born artist Cesar Manrique. Who had a hand in shaping tourist development on the island. And who sought to unite the raw nature of Lanzarote with his own artistic aesthetic to illuminate an alternative path for the evolution of the island. Decrying water parks and golf courses in favour of attractions such as Timanafya and the Jameos del Agua, where he converted a collapsed lava tube into an incredible underground auditorium.

Lanzarote also boasts a number of other breathtaking volcanic vistas – such as the Green Lagoon at El Golfo. An emerald green lake set against a black sand beach that is so striking that it has been used as a location for numerous sci-fi films, such as One Million Years BC, which starred Raquel Welch in a fur bikini.

And Manrique´s own former home – now the Cesar Manrique Foundation. Surely the most unusual property in Lanzarote, built into five underground volcanic chambers.

For a small island – measuring just 58kms long by 34kms wide – Lanzarote is also very big on contrasts. As just half an hour from the arid lava fields of the south lie green verdant valleys in the north. Such as the Valley of 1000 Palms – where villagers once planted one palm tree for the birth of a baby girl and two for a boy.

This old country was once the center of one of largest empire in the world. During the highest point in its history, its territory is so vast that it has acquired areas in the Americas, Africa and even Asia. However due to many factors like countless wars, uprisings and political maneuvers, All but few of this territories remain today.

First time visitors to Spain often visit its major cities first. Madrid, which is the national capital, is the country’s arts and financial center. Located almost at the heart of the Iberian Peninsula, it is home to excellent museums, a busy night life and the largest bullring in all of Spain. Barcelona, the second largest city, is a major sea port and commercial center. It’s full of modernist architecture and is considered to be one of the major cultural centers in the country. Other major cities include Bilbao, Cadiz, Córdoba, Granada, San Sebastian, Seville and Valencia. All in all, the country offers historical and modern buildings, beautiful beaches, exotic cuisines, enjoyable holidays and people that are friendly, fun – loving and religious.

Getting there is quite easy. If you are from far locations, you can travel by plane to the many airports that are present in the country. Other forms of travel include by train, by bus, by car and by boat.

Visiting Spain can be a really memorable experience and is definitely not a waste of time and money. Whatever the reason is, spending time in this wonderful country it is really worth repeating.

Lanzarote is the most easterly of the Canary Islands and is located some 1500 miles south of the Iberian Peninsula, just off the coast of Africa. On the same line of latitude as the Bahamas and parts of Florida and Mexico. A privileged position that delivers spring time temperatures and sunshine throughout the year.

Add in four hour flights to Lanzarote from the UK and Ireland, over 90 beautiful beaches and a host of unique tourist attractions and it’s little wonder that this small island has long been a big hit with sun starved tourists from Britain and Eire.

Unlike some of the larger Canary Islands such as Tenerife and Gran Canaria, Lanzarote has also remained relatively unspoiled. Despite the advent of package tourism. Thanks to the efforts of a locally born artist called Cesar Manrique, who fought against over development during the 1970s and 80´s.

Manrique believed that Lanzarote´s future would best be served by preserving the island’s natural beauty intact wherever possible. A philosophy somewhat at odds with the property developers and hotel chains that were submerging much of the Spanish coastline beneath a sea of high rise hotels at this time.

Fortunately for Lanzarote however Manrique had friends in high places – as his family had a long standing relationship with Pepin Ramirez, who was had of the island government during this period.

Sympathetic to Manrique´s views Ramirez worked hand in hand with him to ensure that high rise buildings were banned and advertising hoardings outlawed. Lanzarote´s three main resorts were also well contained.

As a result visitors to the island today are often surprised to find that Lanzarote has been left largely as nature intended. Despite the fact that the island still welcomes over 1.2 million foreign tourists every year.

The bulk of these tourists head for the two most popular resorts of Puerto del Carmen in the centre of the island. And Playa Blanca in the south – which has the best selection of good quality hotels and holiday villas in Lanzarote.

Costa Teguise to the north is the best resort for those seeking to explore the islands unique attractions, which include the Cactus Garden, the Mirador del Rio and the Jameos del Agua. All of which were created by Manrique as sustainable alternatives to the water parks and golf courses springing up elsewhere in Spain.

Rural tourism has also started to grow in popularity and there are now a number of good quality country houses and rural hotels catering to the growing demand from tourists keen to connect with the ‘real Lanzarote’.

Spain is a country of large geographical and cultural diversity, often a surprise for tourists who are expecting to find a country mostly known for beach tourism. Travel to Spain and you will find everything, from lush meadows, green valleys, hills and snowy mountains in the Northern regions to almost desert zones in the South.

A complete Spain tour begins from the famous beaches to an unlimited amount of cultural experience.

Before going in a Spain tour read the online Travel Guide Spain. It will give you a lot of suggestions and tips.

Food

Robust olive oil, garlic, coriander, and saffron flavor the cuisine, complemented by local wines-deep reds from Spain’s Rioja, and Portugal’s sparkling vinho verde and velvety Port. You’ll enjoy colorful presentations of seafood, veal, grilled fish, and of course Spain’s famed paella, gazpacho, and endless variety of tapas. Wine in Spain is popular and each region has its own specialty.

At the fancy tourist restaurants, eating in Madrid prices are comparable to those in New York, London, or Paris, but there are also many inexpensive, off the beaten path taverns and corporate restaurants.

Shopping

Not even the tax-free shops at the airports can compete with prices in the Canaries. Liqueurs, tobacco, cameras and film cameras, tape recorders, transistor radios, watches, are all cheaper here than in the countries of their origin.