Swimming in the Canaries?

Advantages: Great for watersports and parties.
Disadvantages: No knitting circle for grandma.

...I like active holidays and the Canary Islands have to be about as good as it gets for a beach holiday. I surf and windsurf with more enthusiasm than talent, and enjoy checking out the places I end up in. I have visited Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, and had a good time on both islands - here is what I have experienced: Climate. I have always travelled in autumn - September/October time and I have encountered consistently warm weather. Not too hot, just nice and warm in the daytime and pleasantly cool in the evenings and early mornings. It's often cloudy on one side of the island too, although with a car you usually seem to be able to drive somewhere sunny. The water is surprisingly cool - cooler than most places in the Mediterranean - and with the consistent winds a thin wetsuit is necessary if you are planning on spending a long time...

jimh1 20.09.2005 · Read review
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Review of General: Canary Islands

Yellow canary creeping up your wall

Advantages: pretty will cover that fence in flower
Disadvantages: none

...Have you got a dull wire fence or a gloomy wooden trellis? .If so this bright canary creeper will brighten it up. The canary creeper Tropaeolum peregrinum is a climbing relative of the nasturtium. It has divided blue green leaves a bit like those of a fig. This creeper will flower July through to September. The flowers are really bright. . Fairly small and numerous. They are a bright yellow these will brighten up your garden. These flowers have pretty fringed petals. The canary creeper will grow to about 12 foot 350 cm. Growing a canary creeper is easy. You can buy the seeds in many garden centers on or off line one address you can buy some from is http://www.suttons.co.uk/Shop/Flower+Seeds/Canary+ Creeper they cost about £1.50. You can grow this seed from Feb to May best to start in pots inside. I have more success...

mumsymary 23.05.2009 · Read review
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Review of Canary Creeper

Wild west in the Canary Islands!?

Advantages: Good few hours out, good selection of animals, recommend if you have children
Disadvantages: Lack of shade, too expensive, good effort with bird shows but weren't up to scratch, white tigers?

...Rancho Texas is a themed park which can be located on the most easterly Canary Island, Lanzarote. You'll probably notice Rancho Texas advertised around the island - in leaflets and even on the luggage trollies at the airport! It is situated on the outskirts of Puerto Del Carmen and can be reached easily by car or bus. As the name suggests the park is based around the state of Texas and has a wild west theme. This paragraph is taken from the Rancho Texas website "In 1731, Canarian emigrants established the city of San Antonio in Texas. 40 of these emigrants were from Lanzarote. They were the first ascendents of the actual State of Texas, USA. The first mayor was a man from Lanzarote. Many Canarian descendants fought and died in the historic Battle of Alamo, together with Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie. Rancho Texas Park, Lanzarote...

karalouk 18.05.2009 · Read review
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Review of Rancho Texas Park, Lanzarote

Sun, Sea and Sangria

Advantages: Virtual year round sunshine and only 4 hours away
Disadvantages: Some areas rather built up - full of fish and chip shops, singlets and neon signs

...Think of the Canary Islands, and what do they say to you? English breakfasts served all day, large groups of sunburnt English chavs wearing too little and drinking too much, timeshare touts and mass tourism? And yes, it's true, far too many of the larger resorts on the Canary Islands are buried under a mass of towering hotel blocks, KFC signs and loud flashing neon lighting. However, it's not all bad. What you do have is almost year round sunshine located only 4 hours away from cold and draughty Blighty. Large swathes of the Canary Islands remain charming and well worth a visit. My first visit to the Canary Islands was back in 1981, and since then I have visited all three of the main islands (Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote) more times than I can count on both hands. I've stayed in some of major built up resorts of the islands...

Bollinger28 05.08.2005 (14.09.2007) · Read review
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Review of General: Canary Islands

The Quiet Canary Island

Advantages: Quiet, charming, friendly and not too comercialised
Disadvantages: Might not be enough to do for kids

...If you tell most people that you are going to Fuerteventura they will ask you "where's that?" Those that have heard of the island and have never been there will tell you that its windy; and it is. However, this is not Blackpool sea front in November windy. In the off-season when temps are in the seventies/eighties the wind can make it feel a little colder than it is but temperatures are still very high in our winter months. During the summer, temperatures can reach up to and over a hundred and then the breeze is very welcome. The island is the second largest of the Canary Islands after Tenerife and lies just south of Lanzarote. Fuerteventura has four main resorts: Corralejo in the north of the island; Caleta de Fuste in the middle and closest to the airport and the neighbouring resorts of Playa Jandia and Costa Calma located in...

Ork1927 25.08.2002 · Read review
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Review of Fuerteventura (Spain)

Puerto Rico Town

Advantages: Warm, all-year-round holidaying venue
Disadvantages: A bit manufactured and artificial

...= There are myriads, and I reckon all are safe enough to eat in.! Most represent better value than we get at home, specially if you love your meat in big quantities. But most disappoint if you are looking for something truly typical of Spanish cuisine. Canary potatoes are the nearest that most will offer to anything really 'local'. 'Oscars' on the sea front, is Scandinavian, and serves quality food to a full house 6 nights of the week. This is melt-in-the-mouth meat, served beautifully. La Taberna is under new management this year, and is expensive by local standards - but is gourmet cooking that is a real treat. Go to Arguinegan harbour and you can enjoy wonderful fish fresh from the fishing boats, or nearby find some genuine tapas bars. If you want an extended review on the eating experience in the area, I have another review on Gran...

trevorbrock 29.09.2005 · Read review
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Review of General: Canary Islands

The canary that would not be caged

Advantages: baased on true story, well written, enjoyable
Disadvantages: Not available in paperback until May

...When it comes to wartime history it is the ordinary person’s story that I am interested in. I have read the stories of many people affected by the Second World War from British evacuees, to Polish resistance fighters and concentration camp survivors and have been fascinated by the tales they tell. However I had very little knowledge of the war in the Nordic countries. This was rectified when I read Hitler’s Canary by Sandi Toksvig. Hitler’s Canary by Sandi Toksvig is a delightful children’s novel based on her father’s experiences during the German occupation of Denmark. Bamse is an ordinary nine-year-old boy with an extraordinary family when the Germans invade Denmark in 1940. His father is an artist and political cartoonist whilst his mother is one of Denmark’s leading theatre actresses...

duskmaiden 26.12.2005 · Read review
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Review of Hitler's Canary - Sandi Toksvig

Best way for getting to the Canary Islands

Advantages: Fly from Heathrow, cheap fares
Disadvantages: no food or drink included

...Wanting a cheap sunshine break in the canaries, I wanted to save as much money as I could. I found flights with Iberia from London Heathrow via Madrid which for 2 adults and 1 child was £350 cheaper than companies such as Thomson and thomascook. Done deal. So what was the experience like? Check-in We were unable to check in online prior to departure. I work in the travel industry and called Iberia to find out what the problem was. I was informed that it might be because we were not flying direct, however he would check and call me back. No call came. We got to terminal 2 about 2.5 hours prior to the flight. The check-in didnt open until 2 hours but we hoped being at the front of the queue would allow us seats together as travelling with a 4 year old. Check-in was painless we were issued our boarding pass through to Las Palmas...

cass30 05.10.2008 · Read review
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Review of Iberia - IBE

The 12 Islands of Gocek

Advantages: Lovely boat, fantastic views, gorgeous food, great value for money
Disadvantages: None for me

...All excursion boards claim the 12 Island Tour of Gocek is the most popular excursion, and based on the fact these tours are offered by almost every single tour operator on a daily basis this claim cannot be disputed. Format of the day The day commences with a bus journey (transfers are included from your hotel) from Dalyan to Gocek harbour, which is approximately half an hour away. Once in the harbour you are shown to the boat and introduced to Sammi, the captain, and his assistant. Whilst the assistant carries out all the relevant checks etc. the captain serves traditional Turkish tea (you can choose from normal, apple or strawberry) and some Turkish wafers (not dissimilar to those available in England in taste or texture). Once all the checks are complete the anchor is raised and the boat sets off around...

yackers1 21.09.2009 · Read review
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Review of Göcek 12-Island Cruise, Mugla

All alone on an island

Advantages: Fun family film
Disadvantages: Unrealistic, poor acting from Jodie Foster

...A pleasant little film this one, not the greatest children's adventure film ever made, but a reasonable effort. Synopsis Nim is an 11 year old girl who lost her mother when she was a toddler. He father who's a writer and marine biologist told her she was swallowed by a blue whale which was on the run from a ship called the Buccaneer. Nim and her father Jack live on an island they discovered after sailing around the world for several years. They are the only inhabitants, unless you count a collection of animals which Nim has befriended, included a sealion, a bearded dragon and a pelican. Occasionally they receive parcels from the mainland which contain items they can't produce for themselves, some of Nim's favourite items are books, particularly those of the great adventurer Alex Rover. Across the other side...

Fiver29 25.10.2009 · Read review
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Review of Nim's Island