Hi All. I may be going to the Canary Islands in mid-February for a long weekend. Which island would you recommend, particularly for range of accommodations and things to do -- including nightlife. I've heard Tenerife has a nice variety of options. By the way, prices seem pretty reasonable for air fare on Iberia and Spanair, with r/t fares running from 90 to 100-plus Euros. Or is it still more economical to go on a package tour? And does anyone know when Carnaval will be in 2003?

Feliz A�o Nuevo!

Hello, I've been to Islas Canarias several times, 3xTenerife, 2xLanzarote, 2xGran Canaria and once at Fuerteventura.
Lanzarote is pretty quiet, one member of this board lives there i think? he/she could tell us more about Lanzarote.
Tenerife has more action, Playa de las americas and Los Cristianos are 2 towns right next to eachother, it's like one town. Great nightlife and lots of young tourists there...

From Gran Canaria I know only Playa del ingles. It has great beaches and good nightlife too. I also took the Island tour which was really great, better than Lanzarote tour...

I'd recommend Gran Canaria or Tenerife.

Hi eduardo, the board is a bit weak on Canary Isle info but with some members like Antti we will soon be on our way.

I went to Gran Canaria 3 yrs. ago and had a great time. Went with ena and met my borther, his wife and my mom there.

My advice, rent a car and drive inland, more authentic that way.

Saludos,
jer...

p.d. member "madsue" is British but has lived on Lanzarote for years, maybe she will pop in andcoax you into visiting her little island

I agree with you Jer. Rent a car and see the island...
At Lanzarote we rent a van and went through small willages and the mountain, dont remember it's name but it was beautiful up there. We went to see Puerta del carmen which was a nice city with many shops and a fine beach.

hi all!!!
Have only today got my computer back from the menders after it was fried in those awful storms!!
Eduardo, I will post something about Lanzarote at the weekend, and give you the dates of Carnaval too.

Eduardo,

I just returned from a week in Tenerife. We chose the island because everyone said that it had the most to do there. I also found the cheapest packages for it. We were never bored as we rented a car for three days and explored the volcano, went to zoos, small towns famous for their wine, and different beaches. We found the rental prices very economical there at about 70 euros for the three days. The nightlife there is supposed to be good and there seemed to be many bars and discos, but most were closed the nights we went into town (Christmas Eve and night). We found enough fun at our hotel bar which had live music, dj and shows.

Your flight price sounds good, but I don�t know anything about hotel prices outside of a package. We stayed at a four star hotel (2 restaurants, 3 pools, gardens, sports) and it was $150 a night outside of the package (high season, and a joke if you compare it to our package price). I visited 5 travel agencies to pick up their package booklets and found Halcon Viajes to be the most economical. I have since thrown the booklet away, but still have info. from one of the more expensive agencies. I see that 3 nights in Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife will cost you $225 at a 3 star apartment-hotel with kitchen, terrace, discoteca, pool, and free bus transport into city. This also includes flight, transport to and from airport, and breakfast. Keep in mind that this is a normal price, and you can still find ofertas.

As for los Cristianos, we went into town for the day, but only ate lunch there as we were very disappointed. I know that the islands are known for tourism, but I didn�t see ANY Spanish people, as it instead seemed very overrun with senior citizens from the UK and Germany. We ate on the boardwalk thinking we would find more young people
our age and we must�ve counted 30 wheelchairs in an hour. Don�t use my words against me, I have nothing against older people. Only that for me, the town didn�t seem very fun (also a LOT dirtier than Puerto).

I�m rambling. If you decide to choose Tenerife and need any more info, let me know.

As promised Eduardo, a little bit about Lanzarote!
There are three main tourist resorts here, Puerto del Carmen, Costa Teguise (a dreadful manmade resort in my opinion) and Playa Blanca. Outside these areas you will find very few tourists. The island is very barren, no trees, and no natural water, so you will hear people say it is an ugly island.

For me the beauty lies in its starkness. The Timanfaya National Park is an absolute must-see for everyone and the coastline around that area is very dramatic. In all there are seven official Tourist attractions to visit, all worthwhile. As the island is only 72km long and about 11km wide everywhere is within easy reach. There are some very pretty villages to visit, the old capital is a beautiful town, and due to Cesar Manrique, there are no high rise buildings and the law states that all houses are painted white, with blue or green paintwork.

Obviously, I love the island but it is one of the poorest of the Canaries. The conejeros are self sufficient, keeping their own rabbits, goats etc and growing potatoes, onions, tomatoes etc for their own needs. Outside the tourist areas life goes on as it always has done.

If you are wanting the high life etc perhaps you would find Lanzarote too quiet. Arrecife, the capital, has lots of clubs and bars, where non-Spanish tourists are not really welcomed!! Here, and in the villages food is cheap, good and wholesome!! Obviously alcohol and cigarettes are very cheap - I pay 7� a carton of cigarettes and about 5� a bottle of vodka. There is not much else to buy!

I can�t help too much on cost of accommodation, a five star hotel in Puerto del Carmen would probably set you back about 40� a night per person, and bed and breakfast in a village about 30� per double room. An apartment maybe 300� a week. Car hire is about 130� a week.

Finally (thank goodness you say!) Carnaval this year will be w/c 3rd March. The main parade in Arrecife on the night of the 3rd, Dia de Carnaval is 4th, Burying the Sardine is 5th, then all the prizewinners travel to the other municipalities until Semana Santa.

Hope this helps a bit

Hello All,

Thanks for the good tips. Sorry for the delay in reply. I was traveling and then came back to find my PC misbehaving (had to re-install everything!).

Welcome back jer!!!!! As soon as I saw you were in Fuerteventura I tried phoning and text messages to invite you both over to Lanzarote, so I could repay some of your hospitality........but no reply :cry:

So.....where did you go, what did you see,

hey madsue, i left my cell at home.

i just posted on our trip HERE

saludos,
jer...