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Canary Island Excursions


Freeman3030
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Hi all,

I'm going on cruise B809 which goes to the Canary Islands in April. Having never been, I was wondering if anyone has any 'must do' excursions whilst visiting the islands?

 

I quite like the look of the cable car ride up Mount Teide in Tenerife, but its £108 for two people which seems rather expensive. That said, its probably quite nice, so I'd imagine its worth it.

 

Any advise much appreciated.

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I'm glad you think it's worth it and will certainly visit it! Having pondered on it a bit since posting, I've thought about trying to hire a car to drive there and it'll also give us some flexibility to have a look around the island by car which would be quite nice! The next problem i'm faced with is finding a reliable car hire company.

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IF you are fit and able think about the excursion that does a jeep safari in Madeira (if you call in there) It was brilliant. We also did a Grand Canarias excursion up a volcano and then wine tasting. The walk in the crater was very hard work but the wine tasting after was brilliant !!!!

Would do the volcano in Tenerife as it was good but not enough time on the top of the vocano

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Not sure of itinary but I too can recommend trip to top of Teide amazing views great guide worth every penny.

Gomera an absolutely beautiful island a trip through the National Park not to be missed.

La Palma did island tour from ship very interesting guide who made the trip.

Enjoy

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We love the Cesar Manrique Fundacion. It's about 3 miles from Arrecife and last time we went it cost about 10 Euro in a taxi to get there. Fascinating place and how he had the vision to fashion a home from 5 ash-filled lava bubbles is amazing.

 

Love http://fcmanrique.org/casas-museo-visitas/fundacion-cesar-manrique-tahiche/?lang=en

 

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Cesar+Manrique+Fundacion+pictures&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b&gfe_rd=cr&dcr=0&ei=9oVSWqa6LKustgfD1LHgCQ

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I'm glad you think it's worth it and will certainly visit it! Having pondered on it a bit since posting, I've thought about trying to hire a car to drive there and it'll also give us some flexibility to have a look around the island by car which would be quite nice! The next problem i'm faced with is finding a reliable car hire company.

 

The traffic up and down Mount Tiede can be very busy so make sure to factor in time for that for getting back. There is a lovely Parador at the top which is nice for a bite to eat or a drink.

 

I love Timofya (sic) in Lanzarote, the visitor centre is interesting and the landscape in the Park like no where else I have visited. Would recommend this. As Kruseeka says the Cesear Manrique foundation is also well worth seeing, in fact any of the Manrique centres are, there are several across Lanzarote.

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If you are exhausted doing trip after trip a relaxing day in Lanzarote is what you need. Take shuttle bus then stroll along the front to the tall green hotel. You can’t miss it. It is the only high building on the front. Take the lift to the top floor bar/bistro. Magnificent views and nice coffee and cake. You are above the planes taking off at the nearby airport. There is a small sandy beach nearby too.

We have done the cable car and Toboggan ride in Madeira as well as we did a Tukxi tour. On another visit we did a tour to Nuns Valley.

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In Funchal, Madeira, a trip on the cable car up to the Monte Tropical Gardens is reasonably inexpensive and well worth the money. Price includes a sample of madeira wine. Catch the ship's shuttle to the centre of Funchal, short walk to the cable car, fab views of the bay. From here you can also do the wicker toboggan run if you want. We were there on a Sunday and the day before a major public holiday, so the toboggan wasn't open, nor was the church at Monte. You can also visit wine lodges, with tastings, in the town centre (again, being Sunday, they weren't open during our visit).

 

If you're stopping at La Palma and want a lazy day, Bajamar beach is very nice. It belies its looks - despite being very near the port and surrounded by industry, the beach and water are spotlessly clean (it's a blue flag beach), there are basic facilities which are also clean, a little café, it's lifeguarded and frequented by locals who were very friendly. No loungers and only a few parasols though.

 

For excursions on Teide I can highly recommend John Reid from Tenerife Private Tours http://tenerifeprivatetours.com/ and/or Guillermo and Maria from Montes de Tenerife www.montesdetenerife.com. We tried to book with John, but he was on holiday, so he arranged for Guillermo and his mother to take us on a tour of Teide and other parts of the island, including a great lunch stop (extra charge). The tour was 6-7 hours and we had the best day. Guillermo and Maria were charming, kind, funny, informative and looked after us really well. Last August, on the day we went up Teide the union which operates the Teide cable car was on strike, so people who had purchased cable car excursions were unable to go up. I think it also depends on the weather conditions. Also it gets very, very busy - long queues for the cable car and packed at the key sites. Guillermo and Maria set off early and did things in a certain order so that in all but one place we avoided the crowds.

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Not at all sic: the spelling is Timanfaya, aka the Fire Mountain in English. Still well worth a visit however you get there: http://www.cactlanzarote.com/en/cact/montanas-del-fuego-timanfaya/

 

I meant that I knew the spelling I had (quoted from a ticket) was wrong but if I move out of CC to check anything half way through a post then for some reason the post gets cleared - does that happen to anyone else?

 

However it is spelled, it is a great place to visit:)

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I've thought about trying to hire a car to drive there and it'll also give us some flexibility to have a look around the island by car which would be quite nice! The next problem i'm faced with is finding a reliable car hire company.

 

I can recommend http://www.cicar.com. They are a large set-up in the Canaries, do not require pre-payment and are easy to cancel. At Tenerife, we walked maybe a quarter of a mile from the ship (but still 'on site' at the port) and found it to be a professional organisation. We would definitely use again.

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As a change from siteseeing and culture, if you are in Lanzarote on a Sunday, take the trip - P&O do one, to the HUGE market that they have each week. (Can't remember the name). Hundreds of stalls, street food and drink as well as shops, restaurants and bars.

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I meant that I knew the spelling I had (quoted from a ticket) was wrong but if I move out of CC to check anything half way through a post then for some reason the post gets cleared - does that happen to anyone else?

 

However it is spelled, it is a great place to visit:)

Ah, 'sic' means 'thus' which is the opposite of what you meant. My experience of browsers is largely limited to those running on Mac OS or iThings, but all of them support tabs which allow one to have more than one view of the web open at the same time. If I'm accessing CC in a browser rather than an app I can look stuff up in one tab while CC is open in another tab.

 

Having arrived at Santa Cruz de Tenerife last month on a wet Sunday I can imagine how many people must feel when arriving at Arrecife, i.e. 'meh' at best, unless all one is interested in is free wifi from one of the cafes/bars around El Charco de San Gines near where most cruise ship shuttles seem to tip off. The essence of Lanzarote is elsewhere and the Cesar Manrique monuments/art installations, including Timanfaya, are the best places to 'get' the island if time is limited.

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As a change from siteseeing and culture, if you are in Lanzarote on a Sunday, take the trip - P&O do one, to the HUGE market that they have each week. (Can't remember the name). Hundreds of stalls, street food and drink as well as shops, restaurants and bars.

That's Teguise, the old capital of the island in the days when being well inland provided some protection from pirates. A substantial subset of the market stalls pitch up at other locations on other days, ie at Playa Blanca on Wednesdays and Saturdays. There are also Saturday markets at Haria and in Arrecife, although the Teguise Sunday market is the one best served by local bus/coach tours and presumably cruise tours.

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Ah, 'sic' means 'thus' which is the opposite of what you meant. My experience of browsers is largely limited to those running on Mac OS or iThings, but all of them support tabs which allow one to have more than one view of the web open at the same time. If I'm accessing CC in a browser rather than an app I can look stuff up in one tab while CC is open in another tab.

 

Having arrived at Santa Cruz de Tenerife last month on a wet Sunday I can imagine how many people must feel when arriving at Arrecife, i.e. 'meh' at best, unless all one is interested in is free wifi from one of the cafes/bars around El Charco de San Gines near where most cruise ship shuttles seem to tip off. The essence of Lanzarote is elsewhere and the Cesar Manrique monuments/art installations, including Timanfaya, are the best places to 'get' the island if time is limited.

 

Yes sic means thus or so but iI had always understood that t had a completely different meaning when used with brackets as an editing term.

 

I can open another tab no problem but when I go back to the original tab the post, quotes etc have been cleared. I have learned this the hard way when lengthy posts have been wiped out.

 

I would agree that anything Cessr Manrique gives a real flavour of Lanzarote.

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As a ling time visitor to Lanzarote, I must say that I quite like Arrecife. A proper working Spanish town, without loads of shops selling the usual tourist 'tat', no bars offering cheap beer and all day breakfasts etc. There are some decent restaurants and bars, where you will be expected to speak Spanish, and everywhere [more or less] closes for siesta.

Like most smaller cruise ports, the whole ambiance of the place changes when 3000+ cruisers descend on the place, so we make sure not to visit when any cruise liner is in port.

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As a ling time visitor to Lanzarote, I must say that I quite like Arrecife. A proper working Spanish town, without loads of shops selling the usual tourist 'tat', no bars offering cheap beer and all day breakfasts etc. There are some decent restaurants and bars, where you will be expected to speak Spanish, and everywhere [more or less] closes for siesta.

Like most smaller cruise ports, the whole ambiance of the place changes when 3000+ cruisers descend on the place, so we make sure not to visit when any cruise liner is in port.

 

We stayed for a fortnight in Arrecife last year and it is indeed completely different when the ships are in. Gaggles of tourists talking loudly in English (or German). I actually sometimes feel guilty that at other times and in other ports I am part of the throng ;)

 

We found many good restaurants for lunch and the food in the hotel was excellent as well. Lovely island with really friendly people.

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We stayed for a fortnight in Arrecife last year and it is indeed completely different when the ships are in. Gaggles of tourists talking loudly in English (or German). I actually sometimes feel guilty that at other times and in other ports I am part of the throng ;)

 

We found many good restaurants for lunch and the food in the hotel was excellent as well. Lovely island with really friendly people.

Glad that I am not alone in my opinion!

 

Sent from my SM-T700 using Forums mobile app

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I'm glad you think it's worth it and will certainly visit it! Having pondered on it a bit since posting, I've thought about trying to hire a car to drive there and it'll also give us some flexibility to have a look around the island by car which would be quite nice! The next problem i'm faced with is finding a reliable car hire company.

Have a look at CICAR they are one of the most reliable car hire companies in the Canaries. They have offices at all the ports.

 

Car hire and petrol costs are reasonable in the Canaries.

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Have a look at CICAR they are one of the most reliable car hire companies in the Canaries. They have offices at all the ports.

 

Car hire and petrol costs are reasonable in the Canaries.

Make sure you avoid Goldcar at all costs. Do not book your car through a broker. If you go on the Lanzarote forum you will find lots of recommendations.

 

Sent from my SM-T700 using Forums mobile app

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