This was Abi’s first ever holiday abroad and her first time on an aeroplane. We flew from Cardiff airport to Arrecife in Lanzarote.
We went with TUI and stayed at the El Trebol Apartments in Costa Teguise on an all inclusive basis. Lanzarote has many stray cats, which the islanders take good care of. They seem to be welcomed in the hotels and it’s not uncommon to see bowls of food left out for them.
Costa Teguise is a short transfer from the airport and features several golden sandy beaches.
During our stay we crammed in several day trips:
Arrecife (the capital)
Lanzarote has strict rules about the height of buildings, there is only one high rise on the entire island and that is the Grand Hotel in Arrecife. At the top of the building is a public cafe with full glass windows giving views of the island and the sea, it’s well worth a trip up and the cafe is very reasonably priced.
Behind the bus station is some wasteland with a huge colony of wild Cattle Egrets.
LagOmar Museum
The LagOmar Museum is an architectural delight designed by César Manrique. It’s an amazing house built in 1989 into the side of the volcanic quarry.
It was once owned by Omar Sharif who famously lost it in a card game. It’s quite unlike any other house I’ve ever seen, a maze of tunnels and corridors through the rock. In true Lanzarote style it comes with plenty of stray cats.
Submarine Safari
We did the Submarine Safari that runs from Puerto Calero. It’s a 40 minute excursion where you are taken out to sea in a real submarine. Everyone gets their own window to look out and the send food out of the side of the submarine to encourage the fish over whilst you look at several ship wrecks on the ocean floor. IT was a really good excursion and on the way out you are welcome to site in the cockpit and take photos. Abi also enjoyed the funfair train ride that was in the marina.
Costa Teguise Aquarium
Right next door to our hotel was the Aquarium, so we decided to pop in. It’s only small and an hour is all the time it takes. It has a range of fish, sea turtles (which they rehabilitate), and a shark tunnel you can walk through.
Rancho Texas
We had a day in Rancho Texas which is an animal park with a small waterpark. The waterpark was not heated and it was just too cold to enjoy, although Abi did manage the baby slide…..eventually.
The park features various shows including sealions, parrots and dolphins.
There’s also a small play area in the shade.
Timanfaya National Park (Volcano)
No trip to Lanzarote would be complete with visiting the island’s active volcano in Timanfaya National Park.
Your admission price includes a coach tour around the volcano, note this is the only way to get up close to it.
At the visitor centre staff demonstrate the geyser spewing out the hot water and there is a restaurant where you can watch the chef cook the meat over the volcano’s heat.
