Fact File

How To Get There

By Car

Driving will take 4 days at least, and includes a mammoth trek through Europe to Cadiz in Spain, where you can cross by Ferry to Gran Canaria and then travel again by Ferry to Lanzarote. For a 2 week trip, you would have to be slightly mad to go by car. For an 4 month Canary island summer adventure it might be worth it. But trust us on this one and use a plane.#

By Plane

Flights to Lanzarote can be stupidly cheap ranging from as little as £69.99 on some good deals: www.flythomascook.com

But if you want to go at peak season then expect to pay anything up to £300 especially if you are late to book. Shop around and book early to get a good deal. On arrival to Arricefe, Costa Teguise is only a 20 minute drive away. Hordes of Taxi’s wait to pounce on you to take you to your destination and then shout “arriba los manos, dame dinero, ote mato” (but only in extreme circumstances).

Useful Travel companies:

• Airtours
• Monarch
• Thomas Cook
• British Airways
• www.sportif.travel

When to go

The best wind is in July, but July has the least swell. Spring is better for waves and your holiday will certainly be cheaper outside of school holidays. The wind backs off in the autumn and the swell returns. However, you can get lucky and get a winter week away with awesome wind and waves and it’s a lot warmer than mainland Europe.

Renting a car

If you stay in Costa Teguise and plan to hire kit then a car might not be necessary. The beach is, at the most, a 15 minute walk away from the hotels. However, if you want to explore the many beaches and the features that the island has to offer, then hire a car as it will work out cheaper and more comfortable than a camel.

If you take your own windsurfing kit then a car is essential as you will want to check out some of the other beaches.

Car Hire Companies at Lanzarote airport

• Recordrentacar (from £80 per week),
• Carjet (from £108 per week),
• Direct car (from 18 – 30 Euros per day),
• Carhire Express (from £88 a week)

How The Wind Works

The trade winds that affect the whole Canary Island chain come from the N/NE and hit Costa Teguise in a cross-shore to cross-offshore angle. (The wind is called the Passat in Lanzarote). The wind also has a thermal effect so will be at it’s windiest during the hottest part of the day. Unfortunately, there is a very inconveniently placed hotel right on the beach making the winds as gusty as possible near the beach, even more so in a northerly. Head further out for cleaner winds (see below).

Costa Teguise weather forecast, outlook and webcam

http://www.icanarias.com

The Sailing Spots

Other Spots close to Lanzarote:

Near Costa Teguise

Playa Honda: Freestyle flat and windy, this spot is 3km south of Arrecife.
El Tiburon: The trade winds blow cross-shore to cross-off here, and it is generally quieter than the other spots. The waves are quite consistent.
Playa Matagorda: Similar to Costa Teguise, Matagorda is perfect for flat water blasting and bump and jump.

Further Afield

Orzola: A rocky break that will get good waves. Only for advanced.
Famara: A quiet spot that is dead cross shore in the Passat trade winds and has good waves.Jameos Del Agua: 20km north of Costa Teguise you will find several reef breaks. The launch is hard to get to and will make mincemeat of bare feet even before you deal with the punchy shore break. On an incoming tide you can get waves that you should simply leave to the professionals!

Events

On the 9th–17th July 2005, the PWA will be visiting for the second year with sailors competing in Super X and Freestyle. Last year this coincided with a freakish big swell and the action was pretty insane.

Water State

For Blasting, Cruising and Freestyle…

If you can imagine yourself standing on Las Curachas, the main Costa Teguise beach, in your boardies and looking out to sea, then directly in front of you will be flat and sheltered. The only problem here is that the wind will be very gusty, thanks to a massive hotel that confuses the wind. However, as you look out to sea you will see rolling swell and chop; this is the windsurfers’ playground. Don’t worry about being far out as you will be surrounded by fellow sailors and if you need a rest, there is a conveniently placed platform amongst the fun conditions that a lot of windsurfers use for a quick break or for a heave ho on their downhaul.

For Bump, Jump and playful waves…

A couple of tacks upwind and you will find yourself on the main reef. If the swell is small then you will be having the time of your life in the playful waves which are perfect for a bit of jumping and waveriding. If there is an exceptional swell, as there was when I visited, the waves can be absolutely enormous, bigger than a house. Break your kit on the reef on a big day and you will find yourself questioning some of the decisions you made just 2.5 seconds earlier!

An infrequent but smackable lip…

Even further upwind there is a harbour entrance. On occasions this will produce a very nice short wave and a smackable lip. A lot of locals sail from this harbour. There is a car park and sand to rig on but the launch is a little tricky over a slippery reef. It is the nearest spot to the Sands Beach Villas Resort.

Instruction And Kit Hire

What kit do I need?

When I visited for a week in July, I was battling away with a 4.2 for 4 days and then just cruising on a 6.2 for the rest, so there is a lot of variation. For boards, a 100 litre freestyle board and an 80 litre wave board covered my needs. A little bit of extra volume is useful to get out through the gusts. I’d say 4 sails and 2 boards should do it. If you hire the choice is yours as there is so much to choose from!

There are several hire centres with kit from most of the major brands. It is worth booking your kit early to avoid any disappointment. We recommend the following:

Nathalie Simon Windsurfing Club:

Web Address:		www.sportaway-lanzarote.com
Email:		[email protected]
Tel		+34 928 59 07 31

This club offers kit hire from AHD, Bic, Tabou and Neil Pryde. There are also several instructional courses on offer from beginner to advanced. Owned by the lovely Nathalie Simon it is part of her chain of centres.

Windsurf Paradise:

Web Address:		www.windsurflanzarote.com
Email:		[email protected]
Tel/Fax:		+34 928 346 022 +34 928 346 083

Windsurf paradise is a one minute walk away from the launch at Las Churachas and as an official JP/Neil Pryde test centre hosts the full JP and Neil Pryde range. They offer a rescue service and a full range of instructional courses.

Accommodation

There are too many hotels and apartments to mention; probably the most luxurious is the hotel that messes up the wind right on the beach front! Costa Teguise is a popular tourist area, so accommodation is very easy to find for all budgets.

Sands Beach Villa’s Resort

I stayed at the above resort in a very nice apartment. The resort itself caters for groups and families. It works out to be quite reasonable if you share an apartment between 3 or 4 people. It is far nicer than a lot of the older apartments that I saw. If you book the beachside apartments then you are less than a 10 minute walk away from the sailing area. The resort itself is complete with restaurant, gym, shop, bar, pool and games room.

Prices are in the range of 88 Euros per night based on two people sharing and booked through the internethere.

A useful list of Lanzarote Hotels and apartments can be found here.

Package Deals

Search the Internet. Off-season deals can be had for £180 (250 euros) for 7 nights for flight, accommodation & food. See:

• www.lastminute.com
• www.cheapholidays.co.uk

Food

Eating Out

British food is all over the place and very cheap. It’s as if the Spaniards think you are so homesick that you need a good ole English fry up every morning. Consequently, a fill of bacon, eggs and the rest comes at only 3 euros. There are Spanish restaurants and there are also Indian, Italian and Chinese. I really recommend that you leave the town and go and find a small Spanish village where you can have a typical Tapas style meal and an ice cold Doroda. It is much tastier and so much more Spanish. As with all of the Canary Islands, if you are into seafood then it is the only option for pure taste bud pleasure!

Eating In

The prices are slightly less than the UK and mainland Europe and there are several supermarkets. But unless you eat pasta and sauce every night, eating out is not much more expensive and a lot less hassle. Note: the supermarkets close on Sundays.

Nightlife

If you have been to a Canary Island resort then you will know what to expect from the bars and restaurants; long siestas and late openings. To be truthful, Costa Teguise is not a major night spot. There are plenty of bars for late night drinks and also a few clubs but if you want ‘full-on, all night’ partying then get a taxi to Puerto del Carmen, 15 minutes away.

There is one night spot that you should visit, although I have no idea how to get there or even where it is! It is the old house of Omar Sherif, part of it is a nightclub come bar and is it built into the mountainside caves. It is a very cool place, with very cool music, and until I went there, very cool people!

Bored Of Windsurfing

Surfing

Situated somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic, it is only reasonable to assume that Lanzarote experiences epic surfing conditions. Most of it is over volcanic reef breaks and most will only suit fairly advanced surfers. For the less experienced Playa de Famara is a sandy beach break and less intimidating when the swell is small to moderate.

Learn to surf, or make the family have a go:

• www.surfschoolanzarote.com

For more information on surfing breaks:

• www.wavehunters.com

Cycling

Lanzarote is a popular destination for cycling and mountain biking.

Fire Mountain Biking

Phone:             +34 928 512 267       Puerto del Carmen

Timanfaya Bike Rental

Phone: +34 607 754 876  Puerto del Carmen

Tommy’s Mountain Bike

Phone: +34 928 592 327  Costa Teguise

Parque Nacional De Timanfaya

The centre of the island is host to the Volcano Timanfaya. You can drive to the top and then watch as the guides set fire to wood just a couple of feet below your feet. There is also a guided bus that is not particularly exciting unless looking at volcanic rock is your thing!

Go to Fuerteventura

You can see Fuerteventura from the southern tip of Lanzarote. It is so close you could almost swim it (mind the sharks if you do). To find out about day trips, click here.

Conclusion

I could have done with a bit more time to fully appreciate the conditions of Costa Teguise and Lanzarote in general. I have to admit that I found the winds annoyingly gusty when they came from the North. But when the wind is a bit more consistent and less strong it is a really fun place to sail. Not my favourite location in the Islands, but lets face it, it is cheaper than a week in Cornwall and it’s hot and windy for most of the year! Book a package deal now and you could be there next week! #

Bueno Viaje!

Tourist

Clyde Waite is sponsored by Proof, Naish, Reef, O’ Neill Wetsuits, Skisurf and Fibrespar.