Travel Destination News

Where can tourists find the best hotels in Lanzarote?  Playa Blanca is located at the southern most tip of the island and is Lanzarote´s newest resort.  Having expanded rapidly from the archetypal small fishing village to the second most popular destination on the Island of Fire in little over a decade.  Quadrupling the size of the town’s population in the process.

 Thanks to Playa Blanca´s southern situation the resort enjoys the best microclimate on the island – which means that visitors here can generally expect to enjoy higher temperatures and more sunshine than other parts of the island. Factors which are obviously of major importance to holidaymakers when it comes to selecting their preferred destination.  Especially during the winter months where there can be a good deal of variation in temperature between the north and south of Lanzarote.

 Playa Blanca also boasts some of the best beaches - not just in Lanzarote but in all of the Canary Islands.  With the five white sand coves at Papagayo (or Parrot Beach) being the best known.  Playa Blanca also boasts a variety of beaches, which the other main resorts cannot really match.  Encompassing the attractive beach at Playa Flamingo, the excellent and family friendly sands at Playa Dorada – and the smaller, picturesque little town beach right in the centre of the resort. Little wonder that the resort is called white beach in Spanish.

 Playa Blanca is also the gateway to the neighbouring island of Fuerteventura – located just 8km away across the Bocaina Straits.  Which provides an atmospheric backdrop – especially at night – when the lights across the water shimmer away like stars.

 As a result of these factors Playa Blanca started to attract the attentions of property developers and the major hotel chains back in the 1990´s – as tourism was really taking off on the island.  Resulting in the creation of a resort with four and five star hotels at the core of the blueprint.  Whilst by comparison there are only two major hotels in Puerto del Carmen, Playa Blanca´s closest competitor –and still Lanzarote´s largest and most popular holiday destination.

 Today therefore visitors to the island are able to select from a wide range of good quality hotels.  Such as the five star Gran Melia Volcan – which is located slap bang next to the relatively new luxury development of the Marina Rubicon. As well as a number of highly popular four star establishments such as the Princessa Yaiza, the Hesperia Playa Dorada and the Lanzarote Princess – operated by the well known Spanish hotels group H10.

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The Caravan Club (www.caravanclub.co.uk) has reported that advanced bookings for 2009 that are up by 40% on 2008.

2008 was a record year for UK site bookings for The Caravan Club, and advanced bookings for the 2009 season are up by 40% on the previous year. A massive 50,623 bookings were made in five days alone during December with Club members planning and booking their holidays for 2009.

Nearly 55,000 households joined The Club in 2008 and 1,311 families joined in December alone. The Club represents the interests of one million caravanners, motor caravanners and trailer tenters.

The Caravan Club offers a choice of some 3,000 destinations UK-wide and people are making the most of this choice and ensuring their bookings are already made for the 2009 holiday season.

Quarterly travel and tourism figures released by the Office of National Statistics show that the number of visits abroad by UK residents was down by 6% for the three month period between August and October 2008 compared with the previous quarter; and in a recent survey by VisitBritain, the majority said they would consider British holidays.

Caravanning is the most popular paid-for holiday option, with a 19% share of the market – second only to staying with friends and family. Although the UK offers many different options for those wishing to holiday here, records show that in the previous 12 months, sales of caravans and camping accessories have reached levels never achieved before. An annual 10% increase in membership applications for The Caravan Club at October’s International Caravan & Motorhome Show 2008 at the NEC is indication that, despite fears of national recession, the UK’s domestic touring and caravanning industry is in great shape.

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Absorb the amazing Azores archipelago with a guided ‘Geological History Tour’, learning the secrets of these lush islands formed from the upper sections of ancient volcanoes.

Let the enthusiastic English speaking geologist blow your mind, rather than your top, as you discover Sao Miguel’s explosive volcanic past through seeing, touching and hearing how these fantastic geological structures came to be today’s undulating green paradise. And, for those who want to dig a little deeper, there’s an added option to go caving!

A seven-night holiday to the Azores, staying on the main island of Sao Miguel, starts from £270 pp including return flights (Gatwick), transfers and seven nights’ accommodation with breakfast at the Talisman Hotel. The one-day Geological History tour costs £44 pp for children and £60 pp for adults.

Call Sunvil Discovery on 020 8758 4722 (www.sunvil.co.uk).

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The Hotels.com Hotels Price Index (HPI) has revealed that the prices paid for hotel rooms in the UK have fallen for the first time in four years. Prices dropped 4% in the third quarter of 2008 to £97 per room per night, compared to £101 being paid during the same period a year earlier.

Prices fell across many of the major UK cities in the third quarter of 2008 as hoteliers - particularly those in Scotland - looked to ensure that occupancy levels were maximised.

Leading the falls in Scotland was Inverness, where prices fell 15% to an average of £94. Inverness was closely followed by Aberdeen, where prices fell by 11% to £96 on average. In England, Birmingham was the city most affected by price falls, experiencing a 13% drop in prices from £75 to £66 per room per night.

However, a notable exception to the national picture was in the UK’s most expensive city, Bath. Prices here were up by some 13% in the third quarter of 2008 compared to the same time in 2007, to an average of £142 per night.

Prices in London also fell by 3% year on year to average £116 per room per night in quarter three of 2008, but are still the second most expensive in the UK.

The HPI from Hotels.com also revealed that Edinburgh was the third most expensive city for hotels in the UK at £106 per room per night, despite experiencing a 5% drop in prices.

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Virgin Holidays have announced a 10% Online Discount Offer to kick off the New Year.

From 8AM on the 31st December to 10PM on 1st January, ALL online sales will receive a 10% discount.

More information here.

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Exclusive member offers for Virgin frequent flyers include, private transfers and special extras at hotels…all these treats are available for Frequent Virgin Club members. Frequent Virgin Club members are able to receive a host of freebies and special services just for being part of the club. This also includes a member’s only website with destination information, priority phone line details and specifics on all the benefits available. Members also receive a quarterly magazine – Rock & Roam – packed with ideas on what destinations to try next with Virgin Holidays expert tips.

Frequent Virgin Club members are also entitled to complementary V ROOM passes for maximum luxury and chill out before travel. Virgin Holidays V ROOM at Gatwick Airport includes complementary breakfast a couples chill out area and tonnes of activities for kids to keep them entertained right at the start of the holiday when the excitement is at its peak!

To check out the latest Virgin Holiday deals visit www.virginholidays.co.uk, click on the banner below or Call 0844 5573 875

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