My parents have owned a time share in Lanzarote for as long as I can remember. Up until I was around 16 I visited at least once a year. I class it as my second home!

Some people might have put off a holiday to Lanzarote by thinking it is dare I say it..a 'chavy' holiday destination. This is mainly due to the likes of Stacey Slater (Eastenders) holidaying there! I can happily confirm this is not the case. It's an extremley beautiful island that is generally visited by a mixed bag of respectable and cultered people.

Lanzarote is one of the Canary Islands and is situated 79 miles off the coast of Africa. Even though the islands are close to Africa, they are actually Spanish islands and the language spoken is also Spanish. There are seven canary islands and Lanzarote is the fourth largest even though the island is only 37 miles long and 12 miles wide.

Lanzarote has all year round good weather and only has 5.5 inches of rainfall each year! The daytime temperature typically varies between 21 and 29 degrees depending on what time of year you visit. The wind picks up in the evenings though so don't forget to take a jacket out with you!

Whilst the volcano erruptions made a big affect on the surface, they also affected below the surface. The Cave of Los Verdes is well worth a visit. It is the longest volcanic tunnel in the world (6km long, 15 metres high and 15 metres wide). I have included a photo but sadly photos can't really capture it. You have to be there to really appreciate the giant molten looming caves and sheer size and beauty.

Costa Tequise is where I stay when I visit. It is a quiet town, on the east of the island and around a 15 minute drive from the airport. There are plenty of shops, resturants and sandy beaches there. It is nearby Teguise which is a small, traditional town with lots of cobbled streets, old buildings and churches to discover. Every Sunday morning Teguise is home to a huge, traditional market where you can pick up pretty much anything.

A must do is Timanfaya National Park which is situated on the north west side of the island. I took this paragraph from discoverlanzarote.com - "The Montañas del Fuego (Fire Mountains) were created between 1730 and 1736 when more than 100 volcanoes, covering more than 50 km², rose up and devastated this part of the island (including several villages)".
You drive right out into the volcanos and the first thing you come across are camel rides. The camels have a seat either side of their humps so you don't have to ride alone. I used to love this as a kid! Then a short drive away you discover just how hot it is just a few metres below the surface (temperatures reach between 400°C and 600°C). Demonstrations include watching food being cooked on a grill which is placed over a hole in the ground (there's also a resturant where you can eat the food), dry bush being placed into a hole in the ground and catching fire almost immediatley and putting water into a hole in the ground only for it to spit out seconds later in a mist! Next up is a coach ride which takes you round the 'fire mountains'. It's full of crators and things you will have never seen before. Many people have described it as looking like another planet. The tour also features audio commentary in different languages.

If you are interested in the marine life but prefer not to go snorkelling then you can visit Lanzarote Aquarium, situated in Costa Teguise. There are lots of tropical fish, rays and sharks to see (you can also swim with them for around 120 euros) and touch pools for everybody to touch and learn about certain marine life. Lanzarote Aquarium is not an all day attraction, so why not spend the rest of your day at The Cactus Garden nearby Guatiza where there are over 1000 different species of cactus!

If you are looking for the best place to find shops and resturants you should find everything you need in Puerto Del Carmen. This is probably the 'livliest' town on the island.

Pretty much every hotel and apartment block has a swimming pool, plus there are lots of beautiful beaches to visit. I would personally recommend the long, sandy beaches of Puerto Del Carmen. Other beautiful beaches can be found in Playa Blanca (south of the island) but beware there are a LOT of nudies..I found this out the hard way! Big waves can be found in La Santa (north west of the island) which is good for surfing, whereas windsurfers would prefer Costa Teguise. Jet skiing, snorkelling and parasailing is also available at many beaches.

The best way to get the most out of your holiday is to rent out a car. However if you don't want to there is a very good bus service which runs all over the island. Taxi fares are also fairly inexpensive.