Elite Travel Group picks Lanzarote for conference

If you want to know where to choose for a family holiday, have a look at where the travel agents go. Elite Travel Group, a consortium of nearly 150 small independent UK travel firms, is to hold their 2008 conference in Costa Teguise.

Visitors to Sands Beach Resort hotel will already be aware of the charms and community feel of this family friendly village, less then half an hour from Arrecife airport. The annual get together will run from October 16th to 20th, and is a major boost to the ever growing pulling power of Lanzarote. In 2007, there were 814,000 UK visitors, and Lanzarote looks well on course to push that figure even higher in 2008.

The delegates will be spoiled for choice as they check out the many excursions across the island, from rural villages and vineyards to Timanfaya National Park and it’s volcanic landscape, and of course the many secluded and welcoming beaches.

Taste the winning wines of Lanzarote

You will find plenty of fine wines on the menu in the restaurants and bars of Sands Beach Resort hotel, many of them produced locally. Many assume that the dark volcanic soil is not good for growing vines but it contains rich elements that help to create the award winning flavour.

Award winning wine

The latest award has gone to the Bodega los Bermejos in the La Geria district, just inland from Costa Teguise. Canarian newspaper Diario de Avisos, in their 2007 Gastonomy Aawrds picked out the bodega as the best example in the Canary Islands of a working vineyard.

Bodegas are a distinctive sight across Lanzarote as the vines are grown in a small hollow in the soil surrounded by a low stone wall, called a Geria, that protects them from the North East Alisio wind. There are many bodegas that welcome visitors around the island, you can see the wine making process, learn a little about the history and of course, taste the wine and take a few bottles home. Ask at Sands Beach Resort reception and they will give you details of excursions that include a bodega visit, and when you order your wine in the Soleil bar or La Hacienda restaurant, try a local bottle, Lanzarote really does taste as good as it looks.

Family thrills in the Lanzarote Grand Prix

Do you fancy yourself as a budding Alonso or Hamilton? If you feel the need for speed, Lanzarote has just the thing for you, one of the biggest karting race tracks in Europe. Just inland from Puerto del Carmen is Gran Karting Club a 2,346 metre race circuit that caters for all skill levels and all ages.

All revved up and ready to go

The track has all the safety facillities you will need and authentic pit areas and electronic readout boards so you can check your race laps and speed. Off the track, they have food and drink areas so even if you are not racing, you can relax and watch the show.

The on track action is what makes this really special, and the 10 metre wide track is perfect for safe overtaking and real racing. There are different categories for different ages, with power and speed restricted accordingly. Infant karts are for between 5 and 10 years old, junior are for 10-16 and above that are seniors with engines that can reach 80 km per hour.

All thrills and no spills

Full safety gear is worn at all times and experts will make sure that drivers have all the thrills without the spills. For groups of six people or more, free transport will come and pick you up from Sands Beach Resort hotel, but otherwise, pick up a leaflet from reception and it will give you directions to the track. 

Olympic hopefuls are Lanzarote winners

The Lanzarote triathlon season began with a flurry of action in Playa Blanca on Saturday March 8, as two members of the Spanish Olympic squad for Pekin emerged as winners from a field of 140 competitors.

The rugged beachfront and sturdy modern roads through the volcanoc landscape proved to be the ideal testing ground for a 750 metre swim followed by a 20 km bike ride and lastly a 5 km run. Ainhoa Murua was the forst woman home in a dashing one hour 4 minutes and 59 seconds, while Jose Miguel Perez was top man in 55.36 minutes.

 If that sounds impressive, wait until the annual Iron Man event gets underway on May 24 in Puerto del Carmen, there will be 1,200 taking part and it gets really tough with a 3.8 km swim, 180 km bike ride and a 44.2 km run.

If you are lucky enough to be in Lanzarote for the week leading up to Iron Man 2008, you will soon get swept up in the build up and social events that go to make it the sporting highlight of the year. Sands Beach Resort hotel is ideally placed in Costa Teguise, about an hour along the coast, to act as your base for the big event.

Pedal power in Costa Teguise

Cycling is popular for exercise and competitive sport in Lanzarote and one of the islands biggest events takes place on Saturday March 29 at Costa Teguise beachfront.  Playa de los Charcos, next to Sands Beach Resort hotel, is the starting point for the 9th annual bike marathon.

Last year attracted 80 competitiors, and at least as many are expected this year. There are different categories and for some the race will count towards the championship of the Canary Islands, they will be doing the full 85 kms against the clock. Juniors will ride 30 kms, cadets 40 kms and adults 85 kms. The course will pass through most of the council district of Teguise including Famara, Tiagua and Caleta de Caballo as well as small detours into the neighbouring region of Haria. 

Family fun on wheels

Lanzarote is perfect for leisure cycling as there are plenty of good flat roads through amazing scenery, and if you want to push yourself, there are plenty of demanding hills inland. Just a 10 minute walkalong the main road from Sands Beach Resort, near the post office, you will find the Bike Station, they are experts in all types of cycling and hire out bikes and safety equipment, arrange tours and even advise on routes. You don’t need to be a racer and you wont need to squeeze into the lycra shorts.

Government discounts in Lanzarote

 

Holiday makers are always made to feel welcome in Sands Beach Resort hotel, and the government of the Canary Islands like to do everything they can to encourage more tourists.

The government has just launched the new Excellence Club discount card, which brings savings at 2,000 outlets across the 7 Canary Islands, including many in Lanzarote. The free card can be picked up at tourist information offices or via the phoneline 902105480 or the website www.turismodecanarias.com and comes with a map and a guide book to where the card is accepted.

Every time you use the card, a point will be added to your card account number and this can build up towards free gifts. All the major car hire companies in Lanzarote are covered with their offers ranging from 10% discounts to a free vehicle upgrade.

There is no expiry date for the card, so you can use it for future holidays with your family. Lanzarote will soon weave it’s spell on you and you ill be eager to return to Sands beach resort and your piece of beachfront heaven.

Lucky escape from helicopter crash

 

The 3 man crew of a helicopter, filming a television advert in Yaiza, escaped with minor injuries after the chopper clipped a road sign and crashed into the ground early yesterday morning.

The crew were filming in a remote area of Hervideros and had swooped low to get their shots for a car advert, it was the lack of height that prevented the damage from being much worse.  The crew, 2 Spanish and one German, were taken to Molina Orosa hospital where 2 were treated for minor knocks and the other needed longer treatment for non life threatening injuries.

Lanzarote is a popular location for television and movie filming due to it’s amazing volcanic landscape and clear skies.

A wild time for families in Lanzarote

Adventure and animals, a perfect combination to thrill the family, and on a Lanzarote holiday, Rancho Texas Park, can offer both of those and much more. Just a few yards down the road from Sands Beach Resort hotel, a free bus will pick you up to take you the short distance to Puerto del Carmen and the biggest theme park on the island.

Based on the wild west, the park has an Indian village and a goldmine, a lagoon, a cave and a farm. Add to that regular shows featuring birds of prey, parrots and sealions, and you can see that there is plenty to please the whole family. Water rides will offer another alternative and there’s a strong element of art and history to learn from while having fun.

At night the park stages wild west thenme nights, complete with cowboy action and barbecue food and drink. In the day the sunshine of Lanzarote helps to show off the animals and shows in their full glory at this busy park. Open every day from 9.30am to 5.30pm, it’s very much a family favourite. 

Lanzarote, an island in bloom

Palm trees offering cool shade around the pools and plazas of Sands Beach Resort hotel, can easily be taken for granted, just like the other varied species of plants and flowers that give Lanzarote such a colourful landscape. Once you and your family start to explore, you will soon discover a garden of natures wonders, blooming in front of you.

Many people assume that only palms and cactus plants can grow in the dark volcanic soil of Lanzarote but the mineral rich lava deposits help to nurture all sorts of growth. Starting with those 2 most obvious species, we have the palm tree, in it’s traditional form and also the Washington palm with larger spanned leaves. The best place to find a large collection of both types of palm is Haria, in the north, it’s called the Valley of the 1,000 palms. Cactus also come in 2 main varieties, the upright prickly pear and the squat round mother in laws seat, to use it’s common nickname. Both played an important part in the economic history of the Canary Islands, as they were home to the Cocheneal beetle that produced a clothing dye that was the islands main export before bananas.

For prettier flowers, nothing catches the eye like Bouganvillea, the climbing purple flowering plant that clings to walls and buildings. How about the Yucca, distinct with it’s white flower produced from it’s spikey leaves, or the Poinsettia, with it’s bright red flower, used to adorn roundabouts and roadsides, always a particular favourite at christmas.

These are just the tip of a wealth of plants and shrubs that you can find all over Lanzarote. Admire and enjoy them but please don’t pick them, take a nice picture, and savour the beauty at your leisure.