Canary islands? Nice parts and advice please. Is Lanzarote nice now?

[thinkingmakesitso]

I took the dc alone to Valencia this year and while it was fantastic, I did feel a fair bit of time was lost going from town to beach etc. I thought next year a 'proper' beach holiday would be nice, but I don't want to lose entirely the cultural aspect of being abroad.

Ideally I would like nice beaches within walking distance of the hotel/apt, a pretty little town to wander around with cafes with local food aplenty etc, a market, boat trips. I know such places are available, but each time I find somewhere that seems great, a reviewer will start raving about the fish and chips/English breakfast/Irish bar and I really don't want that. I am aware I don't have to go in them, but it does alter the atmosphere if the place is full of them. Ex and I went to Malia (Crete) years ago on a last minute break and hated it and spent the whole time waiting for (limited) buses to get out of there, so I don't want that again. I am also not sure that dc2 especially would use kids' clubs, and really don't want to be by a pool all day or to be all-inclusive.

People at work have raved about Lanzarote having no high rises etc but everywhere I have looked at seems catered to the above. I am on a budget and really want to fly from East Midlands, which limits choices further, though there is plenty to Lanzarote...

There isn't much cultural stuff in Lanzarote but you would need a car to access what there is. It offers a pleasant beach holiday but not much more. We went at Christmas with extended (grown up) family and it was nice enough. Stayed in Playa Blanca, which is supposed to be the more upmarket resort. The main pull is guaranteed good weather - Christmas Day on the beach was fab.

I preferred fuerteventura - we stayed in Correlejo (sp?) where there was nothing really to do at all, but a lovely seafront and nice beaches, and some excellent restaurants, and perfect weather in April. Still got the Brits abroad vibe to some extent though - don't think you can avoid it in the canaries IMO, as it is primarily a tourist destination. We went because we needed to relax on a cheap break with guaranteed sun. Wouldn't rush back though, as we generally prefer to hire a car and do a lot of exploring and cultural stuff on holiday.

Both holidays we avoided all inclusive resorts as they are our idea of hell, and did a great villa with family (pool, table tennis, BBQ, etc) and a boutique hotel as a couple. Needed a car with the villa.

Malia is the club 18-30s type resort on Crete - pretty much anywhere else on the island would be nicer! I think you could get what you want in Greece generally, if you avoid the binge drinking destinations.

Barcelona has the perfect blend of beach and culture I think! Portugal also worth considering.

I've heard that Playa Blanca, in the south of the island is nice. We're actually going there ourselves for new year, so I hope it is!

Looking at the list of destinations from E. Midlands there seem to be several options. Barcelona would give you access to the coast around Cadaques, which is lovely. The beaches can be a bit rocky, but the towns are really charming and not full of English pubs and fish and chips.

Carcassonne would work if you wanted to stay in Argeles or Collioure (southern France near Spanish border), which is also really nice. The beaches at Argeles are sandy and lovely and Collioure is a really charming town with shops and a great weekly market.

Then there are flights to Faro, which would also work. Some of the Algarve resorts are very English, but many aren't. There was a whole thread this summer on Carvoeiro, which a lot of MNers seems to like.

Hated Lanzarote even though we stayed well away from tourist traps. There aren't pretty old villages there, in fact it's a desolate island with very little to do.

We have had many holidays like you describe wanting and most have been on Greek Islands. In fact we have had two fantastic Cretan holidays! We were near Chania though. South of France is always a safe bet and Corsica is worth looking at.

Also Sagres in Portugal is supposed to be lovely and unspoilt.

We went to Lanzarote a week before christmas. It did what it said on the tin. A weeks chill out time with some sunshine ( very windy island) before the madness of Christmas.

Highlight of our holiday was watching the planes fly overhead ( literally) as we stood near the beach next to the airport fence.

Sort of says it all really. That was outside of punta del carmen . I much prefer Tenerife .

Oh yes the wind. The incessant wind. It's hard to relax with constant wind in your face.

...but it shouldn't be hard to find a sheltered spot?

OP you picked one of the half-dozen kiddy-drunk resorts in Greece. There are SO many other places which will fit what you want. Get a Rough Guide from the library and do some reading.

for reference, the brat places are Malia, Faliraki on Rhodes, Laganas on Zante, Kavos on Kos and one or two others. Anywhere else on the same islands is fine.

There's quite a bit of cultural stuff in Lanzarote. Certainly enough to add interest to a week's holiday.

Volcano park
Cesar Manrique (loca lartist) a couple of galleries/properties
Cactus garden
Vineyards
Caves
Boat trips to Fuerteventura and another island to the north
Some of the inland villages are lovely, as is the ferry port village at the northern tip. You got the feeling they saw about one English person a year if that. No english translations on the menus for example.

Plus excellent snorkelling and scuba diving. Good bus service or easy to drive around.

We like a Tenerife. We ususlly stay in Costa Adeje. It's lovely.

We went to the Azores and loved it. Stayed on the island of S??o Miguel Island.
We hired a car for the 2 weeks we were there, the roads are so quite only thing to watch out for are cows!!!!!
We went swimming in natural hot springs in the forest, one hot spring flowed into the sea so you can swim in warm water.
There are beautiful picnic spot all around the coast in garden with bbq to use. We went to see how tea is grown and pick and also tasted it.
We loved the town of Furnas. There is a botanical gardens there with a natural hot spring swimming pool in the gardens, a great place to swim in the the sea is Ilheu Vila Franca
We also went whale and dolphin watching.
Campogreat.www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Tourism-g189134-Sao_Miguel_Azores-Vacations.html

I agree with Worktolive that there is plenty of sightseeing on Lanzarote.

I would avoid Costa Teguise as it is completely devoid of any character and tends to cater for the Brit who likes all day English breakfasts, drink in bars selling English beer and watch English football.

I have heard that Playa Blanca is nice and if I wanted to visit Lanzarote again that is where I would go.

" Ex and I went to Malia (Crete) years ago on a last minute break and hated it and spent the whole time waiting for (limited) buses to get out of there "

I would recommend Agios Nicoloas, along the coast a bit from Malia. Why on earth would you go to Malia? Its had a name as a drunk idiots resort for years!

We stayed in Sissi last year. It is about 4 miles along the coast from Malia and about as far apart from it in character as you can get. It is quiet and low key.

While we were there we visited Aghios Nikolaos and hated it. It was far too busy and full of traffic.

oh really I liked Ag Nik!
But anyway there are lots of lovely places along there, such as Sissi or Elounda. Malia is nasty!

We went to Playa Blanca and liked it. You can avoid the tourist type restaurants - there were a few nice tapas places. I liked the caves, Cesar Manrique house, black beach etc.

Interestingly, the locals hate that Malia has just a bad reputation. They said it only gets rowdy during the school holidays, but the reputation it has puts off the quieter holiday maker, so outside of school holidays it is really quiet because it doesn't even attract the type of holiday maker they want.

We love Puerto de Mogan in Gran Canaria. Sounds exactly as you describe. Quiet market town with locals own restaurants, beautiful beach, boat trips, harbourside and no roudy nightlife. We stayed in Cordial Mogan Valle. These are apartments with enormous balconies. They have a sister hotel Cordial Mogan Playa which is more upmarket. Both highly recommended and 5-10 minute flat walk to restaurants and beach. Beside beach is a nice swingpark for children and nice ice cream parlours. We love it there and go back again on Tuesday.

Lanzarote is lovely with plenty to see and do. We went one Christmas and hired a car. There's all the places mentioned above plus some lovely galleries with wine tasting, some great restaurants and an area not far from playa blanca with all fish restaurants.

Playa Blanca itself isn't bad, the beach is very nice, there are a few excellent restaurants, the marina rubicon has a nice craft market and upmarket shops and some lovely outside caf??s. As far as a Brits abroad resort it's far and away one of the best. Was very pleasantly surprised by lanzarote as an island. It's far nicer than Tenerife