This is our first ever trip that was booked with the main purpose of relaxing and unwinding and not running around like blue-arsed flies exploring everything we can. After all that happened since the beginning of lockdown, we decided we needed some time off. We only booked 4 nights not wanting to get bored. Who would’ve thought we’d enjoy it so much…

The Canary Islands are the southernmost region of Spain and the largest and most populous archipelago of Macaronesia. Lanzarote is one of the 8 islands of the Canaries. Of the 8 islands, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura are the only two dessert islands. And they are really, really windy. There was not a moment without the wind throughout our holiday.

Mars-like, desolated, dead-like. Volcanic rocks and sand prevail with minimal vegetation and no animals. Plants that do grow and thrive here are cactuses, palm trees, and oleander. We found the last one mostly in gardens. Oh, and there are clouders of stray cats milling around in towns.

The east coast is taken over by massive hotels that look like pigeon coops; big cement blocks with hundreds and hundreds of balconies looking out on the beach and the outside pool.

We stayed in Costa Teguise and the small town was mostly catering to tourists with many restaurants and little shops with knick-knacks. On the way there we passed through another town or two and they vary from ones with quite a few dilapidated buildings and houses to freshly refurbished ones.

The residential areas seem to be mostly inland leaving the coast to the tourists. However, this could’ve just been the town we stayed in. The buildings are predominantly white, contrasting with the black and brown background of the landscape.

Length of stay

We booked off 5 days. With flights and all, it equated to 3.5 days of holidays. Yup, not enough. At first glance, there was not much to do around the island so I figured this would do us, especially as it was our first ever holiday where we would just chill on the beach/by the pool. However, I failed to take into account the 4+ hour flight. If flying for 4 hours or more, You definitely need a full week.

What to do on the island?

I only had time to properly check the island and what it has to offer about a week or two before the trip. This is called poor planning XD. In my defense, we were looking for a budget-friendly beach let’s not do anything holiday so I wasn’t really looking at places with loads to do. In the end, my nature took over and I ended up looking for experiences we can do in case we get bored.

Big mistake! Why? There looked like loads to do and I booked off too little time!

As mentioned, Lanzarote is a volcanic island with a Mars-like landscape; there are buggy experiences to go around the dormant volcanoes, you can go camel riding or just plain hiking! There are also volcanic caves, some of the longest in the world.

There is an option to go horseback riding. You can choose from the desolate landscape of the Timanfaya National Park or you can take the horses to the beach and gallop through the shallow water, even go in the water (this is for more experienced riders).

I mentioned volcano caves – one of them has a restaurant next to an underwater volcanic lake.

If this all seems boring or too inland – you can go do a day trip to La Graciosa, a small island up on the north. This can be just a ferry over or you can take a catamaran sailing trip (we did that one, it was brilliant!). Or you can go to a different type of museum, one underwater – Museo Atlantico Lanzarote

In conclusion, we can definitely “survive” a relaxing, do nothing holiday, without getting bored. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely couldn’t do it every year or for 2 weeks like some people do, but I could be persuaded to do it every two years or so for a week max (and that is with a few day trips included).

When was the last time you had a “leave me alone” holiday where you just enjoyed your time off in good company?