I will be flying from Birmingham to Lanzarote to arrive on the Tuesday at 15:45. The accommodation is around a 20 minute drive from the airport. If you are on the same flight or around at a similar time, I am happy to share a taxi, otherwise will let you make your own way there, we can check in from 3pm. We will be staying in a guest house which, assuming we are fully booked, we will be taking over for the week.
Setting off through the picture-postcard town of Teguise, we climb up to the highest point on the island, then down to Haria, in "the valley of 1,000 palms" for an early lunch. In the afternoon, we carry on to the northern end of the island to take in the view over the island of La Graciosa, before heading to Jameos del Agua to check out the spectacular venue. We then head for home, going through the beach town of Arieta, stopping off at the Stratified City if time allows.
Heading south, we'll first go to the town of Yaiza for a coffee break, then on to El Golfo and the Green Lake, before heading up to Las Brenas to look around an unusual museum. Lunch will be at the tourist mecca that is Playa Blanca before heading for home, passing through (and stopping at?) La Geria the main wine region on the island.
If there is interest, I will organise a walk: probably to Caldera Blanca which is, in my opinion, one of the best hikes on the island. There is also the possibility of visiting some local caves. Otherwise, I leave you to your own devises: Timanfaya is not too far away, or you could take a surf lesson at Famara beach, or of course you could just laze by the pool..
Today we will head to Tinajo for a coffee break before heading down to (Club) La Santa and on to Famara for lunch and perhaps a swim. In the afternoon we climb up to Teguise before heading for home via Tahiche.
First we'll head to some unique passageways eroded into the side of one of the volcanos before heading down through Tias to the coast at Puerto del Carman. This is the main tourist area on the island and normally somewhere that I would avoid, but it's all part of the Lanzarote experience and there is a cycle path which hugs the coast for miles and miles to the north. We'll grab some lunch somewhere along it, perhaps in Costa Teguise, before heading inland through Tahiche back to Teguise and it's castle, now a museum. Teguise is the ancient capital of the island and the castle is high up on the rim of a caldera, worth a visit. From there it's back to the guest house.
What we do on our final day depends on everyone's travel arrangements. My flight doesn't leave until 8pm, so assuming that I am comfortable that everyone can leave when they need to, I am happy to do another day's cycling. As a fair-well, I have planned the biggest climbs on the island! - From Arieta at sea level up to the highest point on the island! There are some breath-taking views, and we may take a look at "The Rocks for the Pyramids" quarry on the way, though it does involve a short ride down a dirt track.
All luggage can be left at the guest house during the day even though we will have officially checked-out. We can also take showers when we get back. I will share a taxi to the airport with anyone leaving around the same time.
Land Only - £600
Deposit to be paid on booking, final payment by 15-Dec-2024
Written Notice Received:
Cancellation Charge:
15-Dec-2024
£100 (deposit)
Date of departure
Full amount paid
Online booking form
The price of £600 is based on a minimum number of 5 people taking part in the holiday. If there are insufficient bookings by Sunday 15th December 2024, we will contact you and return all monies paid.
We will be staying in a guest house in the centre of the island near the town of Mozaga. It is in a non-tourist suburban area. The nearest shop (convenience store) is around a mile away, as is the nearest bus stop and restaurant.
Assuming that the tour is fully booked then we will take over the place for the week. Our hosts are really nice and speak fluent English. They live on site and you will no doubt see them around, they may join us for dinner at some point.
There are 5 bedrooms: 1 double, 3 twin or double and 1 twin. Anyone wanting a single occupancy room will almost definitely get a double. Some rooms are on suite. There is a pool, but be warned that it may not be very warm!
There are a selection of toiletries such as shampoo and sun cream that you are free to use.
There is wifi throughout the accommodation.
Breakfast will be cereal and/or fruit based. Let me know what you like and (within reason!) I willl get it if I can
We'll get lunch on the road. This will be in cafes and bakeries where available, otherwise restaurants. Lunches are not covered in the price of the tour.
I am planning to have communal dinners, cooked by ourselves. Exceptions to this will be on the first day, when we will likely get takeaway pizza, and one other day when we will go to a local restaurant, both or which are covered in the price of the tour. However, if anyone would like to opt out of this on any (or even all) days, that is fine.
Although I am happy to prepare evening meals, I would appreciate volunteers to help and hopefully take charge on some days.
Although our main reason to be there will be cycling, there is no compulsion on you to cycle all day or every day. If you decide that you would like to do something else one day, or head home early, that's fine as long as you are comfortable taking care of yourself and getting yourself home.
This is a holiday designed to allow us to explore the island by bicycle, utilizing a comfortable base. Most days we will aim to start cycling at 9am after breakfast. We will either cycle as a group or at your own pace and we will regroup every 16km or so to take on water or snacks, which you need to carry with you, or we shall use local but basic cafe stops. Every day will include something to see which will sometimes be our lunchstop as well. We will aim to arrive back at the finca (guest house) by 4:30pm, though this may vary. I encourage people to stop and look because that's why we have come: we won't necessarily cycle as a closely grouped bunch and as many of you will have GPX routes and route instructions, you are free to explore at your own pace, though I do encourage us all to meet up at periods during the day. This is not a race, it is an experience.
The tour is 'land only', i.e. flights are not included, and it will officially start and end at the guest house. Having said that, I am more than happy to travel with anyone taking the same or similar flights to me. We will taxi he approx. 10 miles the guest house from the airport and likewise on the return.
My flights are:
Birmingham to Lanzarote: 11:40-15:45
Lanzarote to Birmingham: 20:00-00:05
Note there is no timezone difference with the UK.
The tour will use tarmac roads, but there may be short sections of unmade roads to get to the attractions where these are the only option. We will use quieter roads wherever possible, but inevitably will have to use some busy ones where necessary.
Maximum number: 10. Minimum number: 5
Firstly, please note that Lanzarote can be windy. Wind speeds of 15 mph or more are not uncommon. This can be annoying if you are fighting against it, uphill at the end of the day
Temperate is fairly predictable and does not vary much - It's unlikely to go much below 20 degrees in the daytime or above 23 degrees. I usually wear (cycling) shorts and T-shirt, occasionally long sleaves. Although Lanzarote is generally very arid, it does sometimes rain so a waterproof jacket is advisable, but a lightweight one would be best to avoid getting too hot. However the evening can get (relatively) cold, so long trousers and at thickish jumper (or similar) are recommended, e.g. what you will likely be wearing to leave the UK!
Using sunscreen is strongly recommended.
You are of course welcome to bring your own, but personally I always hire as it is convenient and (depending on your choice of bike) cheaper than paying Ryanair.
If you do want to hire and you want me to take care of it for you, please select one form https://www.bikesensations.com/en/lanzarote/our-bicycles/ . I have used them a few times and they are decent bikes, but the main benefit that that they are one of the few bike hire places who will deliver. I will likely take one of the cheaper road bikes, but a 'city bike' will be fine if you prefer flat bars. If you want to use an E-bike, that's completely fine too.
If you hire and you want to bring e.g. saddle or peddles, that's fine, though they can provide most pedal types.
Helmets are mandatory, bring one or hire as you like.
Every hire bike comes with a pump, tyre levels, a spare tube and a lock. I will have a puncture repair kit and some basic tools. If you do bring any tools, I would recommend ones that you are prepared too lose - I lost my favourite multitool to Customs a year or two back :(
Lights are recommended - it is unlikely we will need them, but better to be safe than sorry.
You will need at least 1 water bottle, noting that most of the hire bikes only come with one cage.
I will provide .gpx files a week or so before the tour starts. If you would like them in any other format, let me know.
Lanzarote is part of Spain, so Spanish rules apply.
I would recommend bringing ~100 euros cash for emergencies as some places do not take cards. Note that ATMs can be (in fact, in my experience are always) expensive. I recommend bringing a visa/mastercard and using that whenever possible. Personally I have a Postoffice card that I can top up with euros easily from a phone app.
I will get most of the food in the form supermarket deliveries. The rest I will get from the local convenience store at the end of each day. I will more than happily take you to the store and/or take orders as you like.