Late October sun? (With something to do)

[Pulse]

Where would you recommend, PH? Me and a mate are looking to go away, ideally with something to do. I can't stand being on a beach, poolside, or just drinking beer all day / night long.

Ideally it'd be somewhere we could do one or more of the following things:

- Something to see / do all week (tourist attractions, etc.)
- Decent driving
- Mountain / road biking
- Walking
- Anything active, really

[trickywoo]

Budget?

Time away?

[Jaguar steve]

Furteventura, Gran Ganaria and to a much lesser extent Lanzarote all have superb mostly deserted driving roads and mountain scenery inland away from the popular resorts. Hiking and mountain biking as well as buggy and jeep safaris and kite and wind surfing all on offer too.

Car hire is cheap compared to the rest of Euroland and it'll be warm and sunny in late Oct.

Go self catering or small hotel away from the big resorts to avoid the hordes of beer and chips in the sunshine football strip wearing Chavs having it large.

[Adenauer]

Jaguar steve, I posted a thread like this last year and never got around to going, however I remember that you gave some great suggestions back then for me. I think you suggested Fuerteventura.

Looks like we are actually going to one of the Islands this September though and if you can spare a few minutes, where would you suggest please?

We would want to stay in a Hotel, not self catering.

We'd like:

Great beach.
Not in the middle on nowhere, so maybe a gentle stroll to some bars & restaurants.
Not Chav city central - we don't need fish & chips or football on the television.

Thanks

Sorry for the brief hijack, OP.

[Jaguar steve]

Adenauer said:

Jaguar steve, I posted a thread like this last year and never got around to going, however I remember that you gave some great suggestions back then for me. I think you suggested Fuerteventura.

Looks like we are actually going to one of the Islands this September though and if you can spare a few minutes, where would you suggest please?

We would want to stay in a Hotel, not self catering.

We'd like:

Great beach.
Not in the middle on nowhere, so maybe a gentle stroll to some bars & restaurants.
Not Chav city central - we don't need fish & chips or football on the television.

Thanks

Sorry for the brief hijack, OP.

No worries...

You'll struggle to avoid Chavs anywhere in the Canaries but it can be done. Difficult if you're thinking of a hotel and I'd certainly avoid cheapest deals and anywhere that offers all inclusive for a start. We nearly always go self catering now and pick a villa in a village away from the large resorts. Tripadvisor is your friend here.

Best beaches by a very long way are in Furteventura. Anything from massive sand dunes through miles and miles of sand to small isolated coves. All pure white sand, much of which has blown in from the Sahara. Absolutely fantastic IMO and a added bonus is they are mostly very quiet. All are clothing optional - I'll leave you to decide if that's a good thing or not. Furteventura is popular with Germans and Scandanavians who generally tend to behave themselves and is much more biased towards self catering, probably because of this there's a good selection of restaurants in Corralejo which has had a lot of money invested on tidying up and improving the roads and shops.

I'd avoid Calletta aka Callette de Fuste myself as it's right under the flight path and very dirty and run down in places but there's another PH'er who likes it. Jandia in the south is a bit of a mission to get too even on the new roads and I've not been there for a few years now.

Lanzarote is way too English for me. It's rather like Clacton but with sunshine although there's a good selection of big chain 4* hotels in Playa Blanca and a long seafront if you're after a stroll. Resort is very popular with elderly long stayers, my mum spends much of the winter there. Beaches are OK, the best are the Papagayo bays just outside PB. Pretty inland especially in the north and the volcanic Timanfaya national park is a must see. Very, very beer and chips with everything in Teguise and Puerto del Carmen - I'd rather stick wasps up my arse then stay in either.

Gran Canaria is different again. It's probably the prettiest of all three inland with great mountain scenery and roads ideal for a little light hoonage. Beaches with the exception of the dunes at Maspolomas are man made and often very crowded. You might not want to let your mum or your kids to wander off in some areas of the dunes though... Playa del Ingles is a sthole.
I can recommend the Cordial Mogon hotel in Puerto Mogon. Expensive but worth the money IMO. The resort itself is small with a pretty harbour ideal for a stroll.

Ideal Canary holiday for me is a detached villa in Villaverde, La Olivia or Lajares near Corralejo, chilling on the beach or ambling about in the car with no destination in mind. I love cooking different things and trying new food - there's a excellent Mercodina supermarket way better than most in the UK with really good fresh local fish in town or eat out every night rather than scoff mediocre hotel grub somebody else has tried by licking the spoon then putting it back in the dish on a hotel buffet.

[Adenauer]

Jaguar steve said:

Ideal Canary holiday for me is a detached villa in Villaverde, La Olivia or Lajares near Corralejo, chilling on the beach or ambling about in the car with no destination in mind. I love cooking different things and trying new food - there's a excellent Mercodina supermarket way better than most in the UK with really good fresh local fish in town or eat out every night rather than scoff mediocre hotel grub somebody else has tried by licking the spoon then putting it back in the dish on a hotel buffet.

Thanks for all of that, and I don't fancy sticking wasps up my arse either.

Are, Villaverde, La Olivia or Lajares near Corralejo, in Fueteventura?

I might have a look at some villas then.

Edited by Adenauer on Thursday 27th April 12:56

Edited by Adenauer on Thursday 27th April 13:00

[Jaguar steve]

Adenauer said:

Jaguar steve said:

Ideal Canary holiday for me is a detached villa in Villaverde, La Olivia or Lajares near Corralejo, chilling on the beach or ambling about in the car with no destination in mind. I love cooking different things and trying new food - there's a excellent Mercodina supermarket way better than most in the UK with really good fresh local fish in town or eat out every night rather than scoff mediocre hotel grub somebody else has tried by licking the spoon then putting it back in the dish on a hotel buffet.

Thanks for all of that, and I don't fancy sticking wasps up my arse either.

Are, Villaverde, La Olivia or Lajares near Corralejo, in Fueteventura?

I might have a look at some villas then.

Edited by Adenauer on Thursday 27th April 12:56

Edited by Adenauer on Thursday 27th April 13:00

I would. Chav factor is way too high IMO to risk a big hotel or apartment block - either that or I'm getting even less tolerant of other people in my old age

They are about a 10/15 min drive away. There's a few rentals in Villaverde and la Olivia and a lot more in Lajares which has been morphing over the years from a everyday Spanish village to a bit of a hippy come surf dude hangout with trendy shops selling hippy stuff and a couple of bakers and bars and small supermarket.

You can always try a direct payment to the owner in cash rather than going through an agency.

Stunning beaches at El Cotillo 10 mins the other way. More rentals there with some on the beach.

[Adenauer]

Dankeschön