This post about Lanzarote is thanks to a gifted trip with Jet2holidays.
There’s something particularly mood-boosting about getting some warmth in the bones in February. And while this outdoor lover might not seem like the kind of lady who’d go for a package holiday, I am recently back from exactly that. I spent a long weekend in Lanzarote last month, enjoying some outdoor fun in a very different landscape to the one at home.
It’s been a few years since we started our annual trips to explore the Canary Islands. First up was Gran Canaria in February 2019, followed by Tenerife in February 2020. And then, well you know what happened almost as soon as we got back home from there, I shan’t dwell on that. Anyway, Lanzarote was to be the next in our series of holidays to these beautiful Spanish islands off the coast of Africa, it just took us a few years to make it there.
This particular winter sun trip was a collaboration with Jet2holidays, who provided a four-night package holiday to help me unwind and relax. For me, this of course meant exploring what this Mars-looking island has to offer – I wanted to lap up those enormous vistas, walk across lava fields, and with any luck, climb a volcano. It was a lovely way to spend a long weekend, to escape the cold for a few days, and to add some more big views to the memory bank.
Lanzarote
Think of Lanzarote and you will conjure up mental views of pointy volcanoes, lava fields, weirdly shaped rocks, black sand, red earth, and blue sky. And that sentence is the very reason travelling to this island was on my list. I can confirm, it has all those things, what a weird and wonderful place it is.
Yes, there are lively tourist resort towns – I stayed close to one of them, but there are also tiny villages with whitewashed houses, and empty barren landscapes that make you feel like you’re deep in the wilds.
With an average annual temperature of 24 degrees Celsius, sitting at 18-20 most days in February, and a short-haul flight time of around four hours from the UK, Lanzarote is a very popular holiday destination for those of us living in cold and damp Great Britain. You can’t blame people really, can you?!
Volcanic Landscapes
The easternmost of the Canary Islands, sitting just a handful of miles from Fuerteventura – to which it was once joined – Lanzarote is actually one large volcano. Locally called Timinfaya, the volcano is 3,200 metres high, with just a little bit poking out from the Atlantic Ocean.
The highest point on the island, Penas del Chache, is just 672m above sea level, and is unfortunately off-limits thanks to a military base. I’m told scientists believe that one day there will be a large eruption which will join Lanzarote and Fuerteventura back together again. The last eruption was only back in 1824, which isn’t that long ago when you think about it…
The land is dominated by volcanic rock, of course, which not only created mountains and craters, but also protected coves and natural pools on the coast. The geology of this 40-mile-long island is utterly fascinating – it’s a desert in that there is very little water and only the hardiest of plants and animals can survive here. Although, the locals have done a pretty good job at working out how to grow grapes for wine!
The entire island has been declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, and Timanfaya is said to be one of the most regulated National Parks in the world. Lanzarote really is a beautiful and captivating place to visit.
Outdoor Lover Does Package Holiday
I don’t need to use Splodz Blogz to sell the virtues of package holidays, I’m sure. Some of you will love them, and some of you will steer clear. But while you might have a particular view on what a package holiday to Lanzarote might look like, I’m here to tell you that such things can provide a most excellent way to explore, learn, and get outside.
It would be easy to book a package holiday to a hotel such as the one we stayed in, and not leave the comfort of the complex at all. And if that’s your bag then great, go for it. But I always recommend making an effort to get out and discover the local area. Even if just for a day or two.
The benefit of being on a package break was that everything other than how we spent our time was taken care of, so we could concentrate on our two primary aims for the long weekend: some much needed rest, and that all important exploration.
Flying from Birmingham Airport
We – my husband and I – started our holiday from Birmingham Airport. I don’t mind admitting that I find travel days to be a combination of stressful and boring; while some people feel like the trip starts from the airport, I struggle to feel in the holiday spirit until I am successfully checked into my hotel. Thankfully, the airport was quiet, the Jet2 staff were efficient and friendly, and it was an easy journey.
As an aside, if you’re looking for decaffeinated tea in Birmingham Airport then you need the big Costa Coffee in the main departure lounge; they don’t have it anywhere else – although we overheard that it will soon be a Starbucks. And if you want to buy sandwiches to take on the plane because you ran out of time to make your own before you left home, then they sell M&S sandwiches at normal M&S prices in the Costa by the gates.
Hiring a Car
To allow us the freedom to get out as we pleased, rather than relying on public transport or spending extra money on arranged excursions, we hired a car. This cost us just under £100 for the five days, so it was reasonable enough.
We’d collected the keys to our Citroen C3 (not really a drivers’ car but no real complaints) before our bags made it to the carousel, which meant as soon as we’d got our cases, we could leave the airport. We didn’t, therefore, use the included coach transfer, instead we drove ourselves the 40-ish minutes down to the H10 Rubicon Palace we’d booked as part of our Jet2 Holidays package in Playa Blanca.
I’ll come back to the hotel and resort-life towards the end of this post, as I want to share some of what we got up to first. I’ll just add that we found the hotel and its free parking without any difficulty, and appreciated the friendly welcome.
Volcanic Views in Lanzarote
We only had three full days (four nights) in Lanzarote, so we couldn’t do everything by any stretch of the imagination. I was also keen to make sure we used the opportunity to get some quality rest and recovery time. But even within those confines, I reckon we were able to get a real flavour of what the island has to offer.
We did go to some of the big hitters, but we also purposefully missed some of them out. Having a hire car meant we had the freedom to choose our own itinerary, and could make and change plans based on the weather – something we did need to do thanks to the high winds we experienced during the weekend.
You’ll notice from the list I’m about to share that we didn’t visit Timanfaya National Park. Highly regulated, you can’t actually look around the National Park on your own; you have to join the bus tour – which is a look-out-of-the-window-only affair, or hire a guide to go hiking.
Instead, we chose some places to drive to for our own walks, meaning we got away from the crowds and got to see some of Lanzarote’s vast volcanic views up close. If we’d have been in the country for longer, we’d have paid the 12EURO to visit, as it looks like an utterly fascinating place to see. But as we only had limited time, we chose to do our own thing.
Big Waves at Faro de Pechiguera
The walk to Faro de Pechiguera was an easy 20-minute stroll from our hotel along the Avenue Maritima (the seafront promenade), and was the perfect antidote to our travel day.
The Pechiguera is an active lighthouse. Actually, there are two here. The original lighthouse, which opened in 1866, is just ten metres tall, and was decommissioned in 1988. The new lighthouse is built from white stone and stands at 50 metres tall. Its light can be seen for 17-miles out to sea, and marks the narrow La Bocayna strait that separates the islands of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura.
Punta Pechiguera is a barren headland made from volcanic rock, of course. Once completely isolated, it is now very nearly on the edge of the built-up Playa Blanca. The promenade is paved almost all the way to the lighthouse, the walk is lovely, and the views across to Fuerteventura are beautiful – especially at sunset.
The best reason to visit this spot, in my opinion, is to see and feel the waves crashing on the rugged shoreline. There’s nothing more grounding than watching the power of nature noisily smash over rocks.
Castillo de las Coloradas
It was forecast to rain on our first full day in Lanzarote, so we chose to stay close to the hotel. And while we woke up to some massive puddles on the ground and a bit of dampness in the air, it actually turned out to be our best weather day of the trip. You live and learn!
This time we left the H10 Rubicon Palace and turned left, walking with the sea to our right all the way to Castillo de las Coloradas – four miles away. On the way we enjoyed checking out Playa Flamingo, Puerto de Playa Blanca, Playa Dorada, and Puerto Deportivo Marina Rubicon.
Perched on a hilltop above the beach, Castillo de las Coloradas (also called Eagle Tower), was originally built in the 18th century to defend against pirates who might have wanted to attack the island. It looks a bit like the Martello Towers you find on the Kent coast, and is the only defensive structure in the south of Lanzarote. The watchtower’s bell – which is no longer in place – was rung to warn against intruders approaching the harbour.
The views out to sea from this high spot are unsurprisingly stunning – as are the views across Playa Blanca itself, it’s a great vantage point. You can climb the steps up to the door of the tower, but the building itself it’s not open to visitors.
It’s possible to keep going to Playa de las Coloradas and then some if you wanted to, but we got distracted watching some Olympic-hopeful sailors on the first day of their qualifying regatta – an added bonus on our day of local wandering.
Salt and Sand at Playa de Janubio
Lava flows on Lanzarote didn’t just create pointy mountains and empty craters – it also created walled-in natural lagoons such as the ones at Playa de Janubio. Just a few miles north of Playa Blanca, we spent half a day road tripping around this part of the island, stopping at a bunch of places to see some black sand beaches, rugged rock formations, and enjoy the salty air.
Salinas de Janubio is a working salt manufacturer – you can see the pans clearly from the main road between Yaiza and Playa Blanca. The salt flats were first created here in 1895, and the waters from the natural lagoon are evaporated to yield up to 15,000 tons of salt per year. We didn’t do a guided tour and tasting at the salt flats, but this would be on my list should be revisit Lanzarote.
The beach, which is really the reason we stopped at this spot, is striking – possibly the most arresting beach we saw on Lanzarote. It reminded me of Dyrholaey in Iceland, with its black sand and craggy cliffs. It’s not a beach for relaxing or even swimming, thanks to the strong winds and even stronger tides, but it is a magnificent place to visit, and we spent a bit of time exploring the coastline here.
Los Hervideros
Just a little bit up the from Janubio (although that bit of the road is currently closed and has been for some time, so you have to drive around via El Golfo), Los Hervideros is one of the big hitters when it comes to places to visit in Lanzarote – a must-do if you have a hire car.
Translated as boiling pots, the reason to come to Los Hervideros is to watch and hear the full force of the sea. The craggy volcanic cliffs and sea caves lead the sea to swirl and the waves to crash, with a suitably impressive soundtrack of loud whooshing noises.
There are plenty of narrow paths to wander through the cliffs, with balconies overlooking caves. Apparently, you’re best coming here on a full moon at high tide – we didn’t quite plan our holiday in Lanzarote to that detail, but it was very impressive none-the-less.
Much of the site is easily accessible, and as such it was one of the busiest places we visited (with the exception of central Playa Blanca!). It’s worth waiting your turn to get up close to the waves.
Green Lake at El Golfo
El Golfo is a lovely little village on the west coast of Lanzarote just outside the southernmost tip of Timanfaya National Park, with a few seafood restaurants and some fabulous sea views. The reason we came here was to see the famous green lake, a small bay which is, well, very green indeed.
The half-moon shaped lake is actually the top of a crater of a volcano (of course it is!), formed in the 1700s, which has filled with sea water. It’s green thanks to the high concentration of sea grass algae and sulphur, so there’s no taking a dip – but it’s well worth seeing. There are a couple of viewpoints high up above the lake, and you can also get down on the beach, which is dotted with little fishing boats.
Also called Charco de los Clicos, after the shellfish that used to fill the lake, this particular spot is well used in Spanish films. It’s a stunning spot, well worth a short visit.
Hercules’ Arch
While the green lake at the southern end of El Golfo is busy with people, the footpath that stretches out from the northern part of the village was more-or-less empty. You’ll need to put a bit of effort in to reach Arco de Hercules, but it’s well worth the short there-and-back hike.
We parked up at the far end of the village (a dead-end road), and walked along the Ruta del Litoral coast path to this large natural arch. We absolutely loved our walk here, it felt wild and rugged and rural. The path was beautiful in itself, winding along the cliff tops, and taking us over and through the black volcanic landscape. This is what I’d hoped to get from Lanzarote, it was perfect.
We missed the Arco de Hercules on the way out, as we got a bit distracted with the hexagonal rock columns (SO much like Dyrholaey in Iceland!), and just kept going. It didn’t take us long to realise we’d walked a bit further than we needed to, and thankfully the arch was easy to spot on our way back. We walked for a little over an hour in total, along the winding and rocky but easy to navigate black footpath.
Technically this is inside the national park, so this is one legal way to walk inside Timinfaya without a guide. You’ll want good shoes for this one as walking on volcanic rock is hard on the feet!
Caldera de los Cuervos
This is one of the Lanzarote hikes I recommended in my Six Short Hikes in the Canary Islands post last year – an easy going 2.5-mile walk around and into the crater of a volcano. Surely, getting to see inside a crater is one of the must-dos when visiting this particular island?
Better known as the Cuervo Volcano, this hike is within the Volcanoes Natural Park. This was the first volcanic cone generated during the Timanfaya eruption, which changed the landscape of Lanzarote, giving it an almost lunar appearance. It is not only a classic example of a simple crater, but it is also a symbol of the transformation of Lanzarote.
The lollipop-shaped walk takes you along a well-made stony footpath around the perimeter of a volcanic crater, and right inside it. There are information boards all along the route, and plenty of weird and wonderful rock formations to keep things interesting. Even though it is short and with relatively little ascent or descent, this really is a fantastic hike.
Caldera Blanca
I mentioned at the top of this post that one thing I really wanted to do while in Lanzarote was to see a volcano – from the top. That is, climb up the side of a volcano cone, and look down into the crater. My volcano of choice this time was Caldera Blanca.
We parked up at Aparcamiento ruta Caldera Blanca at the end of a dirt road near Tinajo, and set off to hike a simple six-mile route I’d found online.
Caldera Blanca – or White Crater – is an extinct volcano known as one of the largest on Lanzarote. The lollipop route begins in the lower part of the Caldera before skirting around and uphill to the ridge at the top of the volcano.
Sadly for us, it was a particularly windy day, with a lot of dust in the air. We got around a third of the way into the hike, but as the ascent got steeper around the back of the mountain, we made the call to abort the climb. Blowing a hoolie doesn’t come close, and we weren’t anywhere near the top. We might have been okay, but sometimes you have to make the sensible decision.
It was still a really good 4-mile hike, with some stunning scenery – different to what we’d already seen while exploring the island. There was also opportunity to see inside another crater, which was really lush and green. I’ve used stunning a lot in this post, but it really was.
I’d highly recommend this one to you if you’re heading to Lanzarote, you’ll have to tell me what the view was like from the top! For now, standing atop a proper-looking volcano cone remains on my bucket list. Maybe next time.
Los Ajaches
The Playas del Papagayo are part of a protected area called the Los Ajaches Natural Monument, located on the southern-most tip of Lanzarote. Having abandoned our hike to the top of Caldera Blanca, we instead headed here for a coastal walk.
The 2.5-mile access road is one of the bumpiest dirt roads I’ve come across (and I’ve ridden my motorcycle in Iceland…), but our hire car – and the hire cars of the other tourists we followed in and out of the area, seemed to deal with it well enough. There was a small 3EURO entry fee, but it was well worth the price and effort.
We parked up at Playa Mujeres and walked a mile or two over the white sandy cliffs to Playa Caleton San Marcial and Playa del Pozo. The cliffs and the beaches here were utterly splendid – no sign of the black sand here, just soft yellow sand sloping off into the sea. It was still super windy, so the waves were once again demonstrating their power as they came crashing onto the rocky shoreline and against the cliffs.
There were miles (and miles) of trails in this area, you could easily base yourself in Los Ajaches for a whole day.
Not Getting Wet
If you have a bit longer than we did, or are heading to Lanzarote in summer when things are a little warmer, then there are two things on my list I have to recommend here, even though I didn’t get to do them myself.
The first is the famous underwater museum – Museo Atlantico Lanzarote. Creators of this other-worldly place have sunk sculptures by Jason deCaires Taylor at Europe’s only underwater museum. This is really is a unique dive site that can be accessed by beginners as well as experienced scuba divers
We’ve been diving before, but as it’s recommended you don’t scuba dive within 48 hours of flying, due to the pressure of each activity on the body, it was off the cards for us on this occasion. Had we been there for a week we’d have absolutely booked it, it looks super interesting.
And the second is surfing in Playa de Famara, which is said to be some of the best surfing in the Canary Islands.
In fairness, we ran out of time to explore any of the northern part of Lanzarote, which included getting up to see this stunner of a beach. That also meant we didn’t see the Mirador del Rio, La Cueva de los Verdes (which us meant to be superb), or see La Graciosa or the other islets.
I guess this must mean there has to be a next time!
Resort Life
The H10 Rubicon Palace is one of those sprawling resort hotels on the seafront, designed to bring travellers in and keep them in. It’s part of Jet2holiday’s luxury holidays listings, and they really do have everything covered. There are restaurants, a bunch of pools (some heated), a spa, organised activities, shops, kid’s clubs, various sports, and even a diving centre. It’s not my usual style, and while the scale was a bit overwhelming at the start, resort life was pretty decent.
I mean, while I do love to relax when on holiday, I’m not kind of person who spends her days sitting on a sun lounger, ordering cocktails from a swim-up bar, or joining in with hotel-organised quizzes or aqua aerobics.
However, as a base to explore the island of Lanzarote, a package holiday based in a resort like this really is a great way to do it. We were well looked after, had access to lots of facilities, had breakfast and dinner included, were close to town to explore, and there was free parking for our hire car.
And while the hotel might do their best to keep you within the walls, it’s very easy to get out and explore. It wasn’t like we were – or felt like – prisoners!
Our Room
Our room was large, quite possibly one of the largest hotel rooms I’ve stayed in Europe, with a massive bed, sofa and coffee table, television (with some English channels), tea making facilities, fridge (in which we put proper milk for our tea… so British), and a large shower room. There was air conditioning, not that we needed it this particular weekend, and a large private balcony with loungers and a small dining set.
Our enjoyment of the holiday was, in part, helped by the fact our room faced outwards, away from the resort. We could see the sea, over some other smaller properties, and had a clear view of the Faro de Pechiguera mentioned above from the balcony. We weren’t overlooked by any other rooms, and had no noise from the pool areas or restaurants, meaning we could combine our exploring with plenty of peaceful downtime. Should I stay somewhere like this again I will definitely request a room like that, to avoid being disturbed.
In all, the room was very comfortable. I liked the amount of space, even if we didn’t quite need all the furniture, and am probably now spoilt as I know most hotel rooms aren’t this big. We slept well, had room to stretch out and relax, and it felt nice to return here after our days getting out and about.
An Overwhelming Buffet
I must mention, though, that the buffet restaurant was something I have never experienced in my life, and to be honest was not the highlight of my trip. While the food was decent enough, albeit mass catering and for all tastes, having to fight with every other person staying at the hotel to get a few potatoes on my plate was not what this introvert wanted to do at dinner time. Okay, so that’s perhaps a little dramatic, but you get my drift.
We were staying half board, which meant we had food in the morning and the evening sorted; a benefit of a package holidays that shouldn’t go unsaid. It was much easier the second night when we knew how things worked, and we certainly made the most of the buffet food both at dinner and breakfast, not least the excellent dessert options. But still, far too frantic for my liking.
We ate in one of the other onsite restaurants on one of the evenings – which was included in our stay; a nicer experience in terms of setting. Of course, we could have chosen to go out and check out the local food scene, which we would normally do when on holiday, but that feeling of “it’s included” was too strong to counter.
I guess this is just the part of resort holidays that isn’t for me. Although I should add that the serving and waiting staff in that heaving restaurant were utterly fantastic; I don’t know how they managed, I certainly couldn’t do their job.
All About the Views
I don’t think Jet2holidays will mind me saying that the best things about this holiday was the fact that I got to explore new-to-me country, got to roam in the rugged wilds of a volcanic landscape, and spend hours taking in the powerful sea views. Lanzarote is famed for its volcanic scenery, very much like Iceland but warmer, and the weird and wonderful panoramas provided the perfect backdrop for a short break to catch some winter warmth.
While it would have been easy to get my One Hour Outside even if we had stayed within the resort walls in traditional package holiday style, it would have been a real shame not to get out and see the postcard views for myself. This package holiday from Jet2holidays really did provide me with a stress-free base from which to get out explore.
The only real disappointment on this trip was not having longer. We could absolutely have done with a full week (and perhaps less windy weather), in order to make the most of what Lanzarote had to offer a couple of outdoor lovers. There’s always a next time.
I am very grateful to Jet2holidays for this opportunity to explore a new country embrace the volcanic landscape and have a nice holiday.