Lanzarote is one of Spain’s most beautiful island destinations. It is one of the oldest of the Canary Islands, administered by Spain, that has it all and it offers beautiful beaches, a cool surf scene and excellent places to stay. Located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, the island is the result of volcanic activity that started over 20 million years ago. Populated for at least 2000 years, according to recent archaeological discoveries, Lanzarote was originally inhabited by Berbers, a people from North Africa. It is a popular tourist destination and even has it’s own international airport
The local inhabitants know the importance of the environment and its preservation. Lanzaroteños are highly environment-oriented people and their efforts to protect the island’s natural assets and being conscious become an integrated part of the lives of the people there. Their established sustainability practices will allow future generations to enjoy the same Lanzarote they live in today.
It is said that Lanzarote is the most volcanic-looking of the Canary Islands. Its landscape is covered in craters, canyons, and valleys of solidified lava.
Lanzarote is not a standard sun and sea destination. It’s an island where the essence of the island leaves a mark on your soul long after you depart. It’s called the Lanzarote Effect.
Check out the video bellow
Its landscapes and structure made it a UNESCO designated Biosphere Reserve.
There are beaches with black or golden sand, you can enjoy almost any time of the year, offering over 300 days of sunshine a year. Places with great ecological value such as Timanfaya National Park, where you can see a huge variety of volcanic formations or the Chinijo Archipelago Nature Reserve, where you’ll find many species of marine birds.
Fantastic water sports and beautiful beaches make a perfect fly-and-flop holiday choice of visit.
Beaches
One of the characteristics of the Canary Islands is the iconic black sand beaches and lava rock outcrops. You can find extraordinary lunar-style seascapes beaches in Lanzarote.
You can enjoy many beautiful beaches, including Playa Grande, Playa Flamingo, Playa del Charco de los Clicos, Playa del Reducto and those are just a few.
Most of the best beaches in Lanzarote offer a local café, bar or restaurant.
The island’s west coast is wilder and rockier – great for surfers. The best beach hotels in Lanzarote tend to be on the eastern and southern coasts. Here you’ll find long stretches of pale-white or sunshine-gold sand.
The island is known as the Hawaii of Europe. The surf, swell, weather and location are almost identical, and even the waves are similar. It can get big, powerful waves firing off its reefs throughout October to March, but is consistent enough throughout the rest of the year. Good waves can be found throughout the year, no matter when you visit.
Lanzarote has many fabulous diving sites for you to enjoy. The best dive site on Lanzarote may be at Playa Blanca. Playa Chica is full of marine life from shoals of bream glistening in the sunshine, the ornate wrasse and damselfish, barracuda, yellowfin tuna and jacks.
If you love the adventure of a drift, wall, wreck or boat dive then there is plenty on offer for you to choose from. If you are interested learning more about the diving options, you can check here.
Timanfaya National Park is a Spanish national park in the southwestern part of the island of Lanzarote, Canary Islands. It covers parts of the municipalities Tinajo and Yaiza. This is the only national park in the Spanish network that is of an eminently geological nature since it is the result of the volcanic eruptions.
The absence of vegetation, the extreme ruggedness of the terrain, the variety of colours, the silhouettes of the volcanoes and the jagged coastline – all these make Timanfaya extraordinarily beautiful.
The best of Lanzarote in beautiful video
If you want to learn more about Lanzarote check our other posts.
The Azores are islands in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean – 800 miles west of Portugal, and about 2000 miles east coast of North America. The Azores are lush, green are volcanic islands situated in an isolated spot of the Atlantic Ocean, where temperatures are mild and change little from season to season. The Azores are known for its excellent tourism quality, especially sustainable tourism.
The archipelago of the Azores is located in the middle of the northern hemisphere of the Atlantic Ocean at the same latitude as the Mediterranean Sea. It is composed of nine volcanic islands in the North Atlantic Ocean about 1,360 km (850 mi) west of continental Portugal.
Is the Azores a Portuguese territory?
The Azores or the Autonomous Region of the Azores is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal along with Madeira. In 1976, the Azores became the Autonomous Region of the Azores.
The Portuguese discovered the nine islands of the Azores archipelago in the fifteenth century and because of their strategic location, the islands became a stopping point between Europe, America.
The Azores has a mild, temperate, humid, maritime climate with a rainy season from November to March. Temperatures range from 14-25° C (55-76° F). The climate of the Azores Islands is subtropical oceanic, pleasantly warm in summer. The water temperature is around 22 °C (72 °F) from July to September.
Best time to visit the Azores
The best time to visit the Azores is summer, from July to August, since it is the warmest and sunniest time of the year. Because of their oceanic climate, the Azores experience a delay in the sea getting warm, which affects the air temperature as well.
September is slightly warmer than June, but the rains become a bit more frequent.
How to get to the Azores?
The best way to reach the Azores is by plane. SATA airlines serve the nine Azores Islands. International flights arrive at the major settlement of Ponta Delgada on the Azores’ largest island, São Miguel or San Miguel. When it is high season, SATA has many flights to the Azores from Boston, Oakland, Porto, Faro, London, Frankfurt, Lisbon, Paris, Dublin, Amsterdam, and the Canary Islands.
In the last few years the flights from the US to Ponta Delgada on the island of Sao Miguel have become more frequent, but it is always good to check SATA’s websites for the latest information, as these departures change frequently.
Renting a car in the Azores is beneficial since there are too many places where you can’t get to with walking or public transport. As an alternative option, you can always join a tour, but that can get often more expensive and it’s more fun to explore on your own.
Unfortunately, renting a car in the Azores isn’t cheap. Booking in advance often can give you a better price. You can book directly to local agency’s websites like Let’s Rent-a-Car, Autatlantis or Ilha, or your other option which gives you a wider view of all the prices offering from big and small agencies is by using websites such as Holidaycars, Rentalcars or Sunnycars. This way you can find the cheapest options for your holiday to the Azores.
Local rental companies offer airport pickup, they have multiple ways of payment, and if you’re traveling to more than one island you can have a car waiting for you at every step of the way.
There is a USA airbase on Terceira
In 1953, the U.S. Forces Azores Command was organized as subordinate Unified Command under the Command-in-Chief Atlantic. In peacetime, the U.S. Forces Commander is assisted by a small joint staff responsible for contingency planning. The command mission would be to support NATO forces in the area, to assist in the local defense.
Is there good wifi in the Azores?
Huawei Marine Networks, a submarine cable network provider, has partnered with Viatel, a Portuguese telecommunications engineering network supplier to enable all nine islands of the archipelago of the Azores to be interconnected, with backbone connectivity to European, African and cross-Atlantic submarine cables.
Most villages have ADSL connections and there are hotspots in Ponta Delgada and at the Airports. GSM internet service is also available or you can use Mobile WiFi router gadgets from websites like My-WebSpot.com, Meo.pt.
The Azores archipelago is famous not only for its natural beauty and landscapes but also for the natural properties and health benefits its thermal waters provide. You’ll find spas with thermal water pools and natural thermal baths located in the Islands. The areas have a highly unusual combination of saltwater and sulfurous spring water which by claims from locals can help with inflammatory concerns like arthritis.
Ferns are everywhere
The Azores were isolated from the other continents Europe and North America for thousands of years and the flora and fauna evolved differently. The landscape is covered with fat aloe and cacti, giant ferns, black sand beaches and mineral baths with their warm water.
Tree ferns are present throughout the archipelago of the Azores but are particularly numerous in São Miguel. Fauna and flora of the Azores. Asplenium azoricum is a fern of the hybrid origin and it lives exclusively in the Azores, and it is a strict endemic Azorean fern.
Bird watching
The Azores are internationally recognized as bird-watching destinations for observing certain groups of bird species. Resident and migratory bird populations of the Azores archipelago are the islands’ most noteworthy fauna. Some 36 bird species are reported to breed in the Azores. Here we can find also the most important nesting populations of Cory’s Shearwaters in the world.
Pyrrhula murina is listed as endangered, with a population estimated at less than 250 birds restricted to islands. Breeding seabirds of the Azores comprise 5 species of Procellariiformes, 4 Charadriiformes, and 1 Pelecaniform, and include Fea’s petrel.
The number of species seen in the islands is close to 400. You can join small groups from the local company Gerbybirding, specialized in birdwatching.
Drinks and food
Food is usually imported from the nearest countries, which causes high prices in restaurants, cafes, and supermarkets, and makes fresh food hard to find. The most famous dish of the Azores that you should definitely try is ‘furnas de caldas’, a stew that’s cooked inside a volcano or a fish baked on hot stones, fresh and unusual salads or fantastic pizza.
Even the most basic supplies are imported and are priced accordingly. But the overall Azores are a great deal. You can try a local brand of ice cream, with unique flavors like coconut and sweet pineapple. To get the best culinary experience, you can book a nine-day food and wine tour across four of Azores’ islands and you’ll have the chance to taste famed Azorean dishes.
Photo Credit: madeinazores.eu
Azores wine is good and cheap
Azorean wines have a great singularity, exclusivity, and History. The vine culture dates back to the 15th century. The vineyards are planted in particular locations called “Currais” where they are surrounded by volcanic rock walls that release heat to the vines overnight and have a quite effective protection effect against bad weather.
The historic vineyards on the island of Pico have been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The wines are made from Verdelho, Arinto, and Terrantez. Most wines are white, fresh and tangy, but there is some good, light red, including some Merlot.
Where to stay in the Azores
There are nine main islands in the Azores and each one of them offers different experiences and things to do. If you only have limited time to visit one island, São Miguel is the largest and it has the most and cheapest direct flights.
For accommodation, there are many options to choose from for your stay at the Azores. You can rent a Holiday home on the Azores at HomeAway or choose a farmhouse or manor house. You can browse through Booking.com to find the best hotel or check out Airbnb and find what fits your budget and style.
They have more than 100 houses, cottages, and apartments for rental or official camping sites on all islands. Or you can check the best-priced Hotels in the Azores at:
In the Azores you will find the only tea plantations in Europe, which produce excellent teas, processing the leaves on vintage 19th-century English machinery.
The plants have to grow 7 years before you can start harvesting. The tea is harvested every 2 or 3 weeks from April until October.
Ribeira Grande, in São Miguel Island, is home to the two tea factories and a plantation–the only such plantation in Europe, courtesy of the island’s balmy climate.
More Nature, Less Beach
Nature is the biggest attraction to the Azores. The largest island, São Miguel has the most versatile scenery: from mountains, lakes, to sandy beaches and precipitous cliffs.
Each Azorean island has its own identity, its own unique landscape, traditions, cuisine, and architecture. Walking around stunning landscape marked by dense coastal woods, play golf of one of the best courses in the world.
Although is not a beach destination, there are very good beaches in the Azores. You can find some in S.Miguel – Praia Populo, Praia Agua d’Alto, Praia Ribeira Quente and Praia Porto Formoso are the most known, and Santa Maria Island. There are 2 great beaches Praia Formosa and Praia São Lourenço.
Azores is full of hiking trails
There are plenty of things you can see and do when you visit the Azores and without a doubt a great place to hike in beautiful landscapes. There are dozens of trails of different difficulty, length and type so you can choose between. All islands have clearly marked official hiking trails. The official tourism website has a section dedicated to trails. You can use the search option and you’ll have a list of all the hiking trails in the Azores that match your preferences. Why not go on an adventure by hiking and climbing along these scenic trails.
When it comes to Sweden we all know places like Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. But bigger portion of Sweden is actually unpopulated, especially up north and you can run into unspoiled nature.
Here are the five best hidden spots in the Sweden.
Jokkmokk is a small town in Swedish Lapland. It’s known for the centuries-old Jokkmokk Winter Market, an annual event that draws thousands for handicrafts made by the indigenous Sami people. You can also enjoy the local food and music or check out the Jokkmokk Alpine Garden.
Jokkmokk, is located the north of Sweden, above the Arctic Circle.
Kalmar Castle present appearance dates from the 16th century, when the Vasa kings rebuilt it in the style of a Renaissance palace, in the town of Kalmar in the ancient province of Småland. The history of this legendary castle stretches back over 800 years. The castle then saw its most glorious period as a stronghold of royal power, although it had already played an important role in Scandinavian politics, particularly as the meeting place for the signing of the Kalmar Union in 1397.
Built over the course of more than a decade in the 13th century, the castle was rebuilt in its current design in the 16th century and is considered one of the most significant examples of northern European fortifications in the Renaissance. Archeologists have found traces of ancient burials from the Stone Age, some of which are on display in the castle.
Living in a tree house is the dream of many a child but in Harads, Sweden you’ll find Tree Hotel, a grown-up version that will blow your childhood fantasies away. Inspired by the 2008 Swedish documentary The Tree Lover, the village of treehouses are suspended four to six meters in the air and each one is unique. From the reflective room (pictured below) to the UFO treehouse, most rooms sleep four to six people and are designed to not just reflect nature but to be fully integrated into it.
It’s not quite as expansive as the Stockholm archipelago — dozens of islands as opposed to thousands — but to those who love it, the Gothenburg archipelago is even more stunning. Technically, there are two Gothenburg archipelagos: the southern archipelago doesn’t allow any cars, making it perfect for a truly remote break, while the northern archipelago has a car ferry and a few of the islands are even connected by bridges. The seal safaris and hands-on oyster shucking are just two of the many activities to try before you wander on foot to soak in the beauty.
Kebnekaise is the highest mountain in Sweden. The Kebnekaise massif, which is part of the Scandinavian Mountains, has two main peaks, which is ice-free at 2 096.8 metres. The mountain is close to Kiruna and Kungsleden, the hiking trails that runs between Abisko and Nikkaloukta.
Although Kebnekaise kan be reached on several trails around the region, the normal approach is to drive from Kiruna to Nikkaluokta, and hike the 19Km to Kebnekaise fjellstation. A ferry might save you 6km if you choose to catch a ride.
