Off to Lanzarote end of January - tips?

[nct73]

Have booked a week in a flat in a fishing village in the north of Lanzarote for me, DP & DD age 2. I am soooo looking forward to it. First holiday since DD was born. We will be hiring a car. We are not swimming, sporty types - hence not in resort. Any tips from others who have visited of good places to go with toddler?

Found apartment through holiday-rentals.co.uk which was recommended on here. Great options for narrowing search. Ta.

Has nobody been to Lanzarote with a little one? Not big island & have car so recommendations and also attractions to avoid across the island are welcome.

Can't help as though have been several times since dd born and to Feut as so lovely and breezy for her (she was 2 on monday) we stick to well known hotels so everything on tap that we need. Came back on 22nd Dec and was fab!

Oh lovely! north of the island is best if you're not resort types.

Get in your car (VERY easy driving: good roads) and go to everythine created by Cesar Manrique (guide book or google in advance if you need to). It really only takes an hour from one end of the island to the other.

Esp Jameos Del Agua (volcanic cave cafe/bar - really! down some treacherous steps but wonderful); the volcano park; the cactus garden; the art gallery in Arrecife; the Manrique foundation which used to be his house.

Up at the north end near you are Haifa (sp?) which is a lovely, arty village with nice cafes/ galleries etc, and the Mirador, also designed by Manrique and great for looking round and having coffee etc.

El Golfo v dramatic and the 'sea tubes' just near there. Lots of nice fish restaurants on north East coastal towns (forget the names though)

I think on the north side there is a wildlife park or zoo but we didn't go there.

The most resorty places you can completely avoid but the nicest is Puerto Callero which is kind of yachty and has nice boats coming in and out, nice little cafes, good harbour walk. There is a big hotel there if you're in need of luxury.

These things pretty much took up the whole week we were there. I thought it was marvellous and I am a total anti-resort snob!

All really beautiful

Glad to hear that about the driving. Neither of us have driven abroad before and remember Tenerife & Spain being a bit scary on the roads as a passenger but nowhere as bad as coast round Naples/Sorrento - even all the police cars were battered all up the side.

We are staying in Punta Mujeres. I liked the look of a trip to Haria esp on market day as sounds a bit calmer than the one at Teguise. The art gallery is in a castle so DP will love that. Have read mixed opinions of whether Mirador worth the entrance fee - you say yes? The caves sound wonderful but DD has only just turned 2. I worry about negotiating "treacherous steps" with her. There seem to be another set of caves which feature more tunnels but worry she will freak out half way along the tour. DP failed to be convinced by the sound of the cactus garden.

I have now invested in a Rough Guide as seemed to cover whole island rather than just the resorts. I am a bit of a resort snob I guess but more it's the fact I would be paying for lots of facilities that we just would not use as prefer to get out and about and explore. DD & DP are red heads so sunbathing is out. I like to sample local food. I am really looking forward to lots of fresh fish. I find the resorts esp SC (which I find best with LO as gives you more freedom for when & what to eat) are often far from the actual town/village for shops & restaurants other than their own. I prefer to rent an apartment in a town or village so have better access to such things & have to do less driving. Also can afford 2 bedrooms this way rather than have to share with DD which would not be a holiday.

Remember it can rain there!
In fact it is now

But have a great time. It is a beautiful place.

None of the tunnels are really, erm, tunnelly. All pretty open. Jameos Del Agua really worth is as stunning inside and there's a pool with tiny albino crabs. We negotiated the steps with our then 2 yo (just carried him): only the first bit, the rest is fine!

Cactus garden is stunning. But then I like that kind of thing! And a good place for a run about for little one. The vineyards in centre of the is also stunning but we didn't do the tour.

I also liked the Mirador. All these places have little cafes IIRC so even though you pay (and god, it wasn't a lot) you can hang out for a bit. I love art and they're all little galleries in their own right. The thing is most of them are places to enjoy as artistic spaces, and maybe sit in and appreciate, not with lots of stuff to 'do' or poke or be entertained by. If you like architecture and contemporary art then you'll love it.

Yes, art gallery is in a castle but it's a fairly lowkey Port type castle. Also a good restaurant there.

Haria: yes (Haifa in Israel? )

I have discovered the joy of hiring an automatic car when abroad - so much easier...

can't really provide any more recommendations as everything has been mentioned already. However just to say we were pleasantly surprised by Lanzarote, lots to see and do and even the resort we were in Costa Teguise had a great selection of restaurants and bars.

Oh we hired our car when we got there. It was going to cost 40 Euros to get a taxi to the resort, versus 140 to hire one for a week. We used it quite a lot.

Thanks Cies,you really know how to bring a girl back down to earth! It's back to sun again now but there is quite a bit of fog forecast. However even when raining it was 19-21 degrees compared to below freezing here and that will do me.

just come back from a week in Playa Blanca and loved it. Oh and the weather forecasts said rain and it was sunny most of the time so they are rubbish !!

Definitely go to anything to do with Manrique, lovely spaces.

El Golfo is great, get down on the (black) beach and dig for 'treasure' - little bits of (green) peridot that are everywhere. DD(5) and DS(just 3) loved doing this (as did DH and I when we went on our own pre-children) Take a small container to transport the treasure home.

Timanfaya was great with our 2 who were VERY into volcanoes by then. We didn't do the coach trip this time though it is spectacular but we did have chicken for lunch that had been cooked over the volcano. Might be lost on a 2 year old but I doubt they will charge you for the children anyway.

Go to the beach at night and just run around on your own - we don't do beaches much for similar reasons to you but we had a fantastic time most nights.

I won't tell the children, they are desparate to go back
Have a lovely time.