1. Celebrate the Carnival. The dates vary from year to year, but it's usually in February or March. The most impressive fancy dress parades and processions of elaborately decorated floats can be found in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

Continue reading... Top 25 Things to do in the Canaries

What is your favourite comic book? And what would you wear if you were to dress up as one of the characters? All travellers who have booked flights to Gran Canaria between 3 - 21 February 2012 will have to ask themselves these questions before packing their suitcases. Why? Because between these dates, the entire island will be celebrating Carnival and the official theme of the Carnival is Comic Heroes! If you want to experience this festival to the full, we recommend donning a fancy dress costume. Don't worry if you don't fancy making a public appearance your Spiderman pyjamas or shiny Superman leggings. When it comes to outfits, pretty much anything goes, but for those need some inspiration, we have listed our top 10 comic characters. We'd also love to hear your ideas for Carnival costumes!

Continue reading... Top 10 Cartoon Characters - what to wear to GC Carnival 2012

Comics will be the central theme of Gran Canaria's famous Carnival in 2012. If you want to see Spiderman, Cat Woman, The Joker and other superheroes in real life, hurry up and book your flights to Gran Canaria soon, as the carnival will take place from the 3rd to the 21st of February this year. In order to make the events more intense, the organisation has decided to host the festival for only 3 weeks rather than the usual 4. If you enjoy a good street party, you especially don't want to miss the Gran Cabalgata parades in Las Palmas. During the final weekend of the Carnival (18 and 19 February 2012), more than 200,000 Canarians in comic book costumes will dance to Latin music in the streets, covering a route of 7 kilometres from north to south.

Continue reading... Gran Canaria Carnival Calendar 2012

Fuerteventura hosts a large number of festivals and these are popular with a wide variety of people. There are a lot of people that use the flights to Fuerteventura as they can join in with the festivities. This carnival allows people to experience the party atmosphere of Fuerteventura. There are carnivals hosted within most of the cities, towns and villages throughout Fuerteventura that host their own carnivals and these take place between January and April. These carnivals all feature a range of musical, sporting and cultural events. Another event that forms part of all of these carnivals is a procession of floats that involves a wide range of wheeled vehicles, which are all colorful and most of them also play some type of music.

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There is a vast amount of different festivals and events that are held within Tenerife and a lot of these are held on an annual basis. One of the largest events that are held in this area is Santa Cruz Carnival and this is amongst the most spectacular events that are held anywhere in the world. This large event is popular with both locals and tourists and it is normally held during February. This carnival event can be classed as a historical event and it has the ability to attract millions of people every year and these people come from a wide range of places. This carnival is classed as the second most popular event on an international event. A lot of the tourists that want to experience this event also make the most of the regular cheap flights to Tenerife.

Continue reading... Santa Cruz Carnival in Tenerife

There is a vast amount of different festivals and events that are held within Tenerife and a lot of these are held on an annual basis. One of the largest events that are held in this area is Santa Cruz Carnival and this is amongst the most spectacular events that are held anywhere in the world. This large event is popular with both locals and tourists and it is normally held during February. This carnival event can be classed as a historical event and it has the ability to attract millions of people every year and these people come from a wide range of places. This carnival is classed as the second most popular event on an international event. A lot of the tourists that want to experience this event also make the most of the regular cheap flights to Tenerife.

Continue reading... Santa Cruz Carnival in Tenerife

The culture of Paphos is embedded into its rich history and tradition of celebrating loads of festivities round the year. Being a part of Paphos festival can be great fun and a huge source of relaxation for people coming from various countries leaving their work away during holidays. If you intend to do the same then catch flights to Paphos in February to be a part of the Limassol carnival. Limassol is about 57 km from Paphos and reaching Limassol will never be an issue considering the availability of different modes of transport.

Continue reading... The Limassol Carnival

If you are a resident of Spain you sure may be looking forward to the Carnival of Las Palmas, but if you are a visitor or going to visit Las Palmas, be ready to get shocked and enjoy it too. Gran Canarias party also called the carnival is a grand event of the year. It extends to 3 weeks at a stretch and starts before Lent. You can plan your vacation in Las Palmas in a way that you are able to attend the main events such as the popular Drag Queen Day held in January. Flights to Las Palmas are available from all the major cities of Europe.

Continue reading... Carnival in Las Palmas

Apokrias Carnival in Crete is celebrated to appease Dionysos, the God of Feast and Wine. Traditionally it is supposed to prepare the people for the 40 day fast or Lent, during which there is are no parties, weddings or celebrations of any kind. The carnival is held as a form of last time of celebration before Lent begins, when people are not allowed to have meat or drink wine. It is held over a period of three weeks filled with fun and festivities, more to compensate for the abstinence to be held during the 40 day fast.

Continue reading... Crete Apokrias Carnival

The yearly carnival is a much awaited event in Arrecife-Lanzarote. Every year the processions are held between 3rd February and 9th March in Arrecife. Arrecife, which also happens to be the capital of the island, is visited by tourists all over the world because of the various festivals celebrated with merriment and enthusiasm. The annual carnival is one of the most famous festivals of the Canary Islands. The festival has been in vogue for a very long time. It is not celebrated only by the residents of the Islands but several tourists across the globe joyfully participate in it.

Continue reading... Arrecife Lanzarote Carnival

Rethymno Carnival, which is the largest and surely the grandest carnival in the Rethymno town will happen anywhere in January-February 2011. It is an annual carnival which happens in this town somewhere around the same time. The entry to this carnival is absolutely free though the carnival provides you with ample opportunities to have fun and frolic at this event.

Continue reading... Rethymno Carnival in Crete

Towards the end of August, Mallorca will be hosting several interesting festivals which are great if you want to make the most of your money and time during your holiday in Spain. In order to secure your summer holiday, it might be worth booking your flights to Mallorca around the dates of these festivals. What these festivals have in common, aside from having their roots embedded in religion and traditions, are entertaining dances and dainties which are way too tempting to resist.

Continue reading... Mallorca festivals in August

Gran Canaria is an island famed for its beautiful beaches and crystal clear waters. However, there is a hidden world of exotic festivities and colourful celebrations that most tourists remain unaware of. If you can drag yourself away from the idyllic coastline and head inland for a day or two then you can get in touch with a vibrant local culture that has stayed intact for hundreds of years.

Continue reading... Gran Canaria Fiestas

The resort of Puerto de la Cruz on Tenerife's West coast is the venue for a more unusual tradition that is very popular these days. The annual Canarias Infinity Xtreme Race is a type of obstacle course for adults and is certainly a spectacle that anyone in the area at the time is bound to enjoy. The emphasis here is not on professional sports performance, but having as much fun as possible whilst raising money for local causes.

Continue reading... Mad Race in Puerto de la Cruz

If you were lucky enough to be enjoying a holiday on Mallorca during February, then you might have liked to investigate some of the many carnival events taking place across the island.

Continue reading... Mallorca February Fiesta

One of the biggest carnivals on Gran Canaria has the green light to go ahead having been given assurances by its local mayor that proper finances would be available.

Continue reading... Maspalomas Carnival Get Go Ahead

Beaches and nightclubs may grab most of the holiday headlines when Ibiza is mentioned but during January and March the island's Flower Power and Hippy era is centre stage at two of the island's festivals.

Continue reading... Flower Power On Ibiza

Colourful costumes, street parades, plenty of parties and of course great food and drink are the ingredients for most carnival events and things are not too different on Ibiza. For five days during February the main towns on the island seem to stop work and get down to the serious business of letting their hair down. If you can't quite imagine what goes on there, then think back to the best fancy dress party you ever went to and multiply it by a factor of ten. Everyone, whether part of an organised group in the parade or just watching from the pavements, is encouraged to dress as brightly, even as outrageously, as possible.

Continue reading... Ibiza Celebrations

We've already posted information about several of the big carnival events planned for the Canary Islands and the Balearics but Greece is another country that celebrates at this time of year.

Continue reading... Greek Carnival in Crete

For an alternative winter sun getaway why not consider Funchal on the island of Madeira. The typical winter sun locations like Malta, Egypt or the Canary Islands like Tenerife, Gran Canaria or Lanzarote are all popular destinations for those seeking to spend a week or two escaping from the UK winter weather, but the island of Madeira is also a great option.

Continue reading... Funchal For February

While many towns and cities across Spain are gearing up for their annual carnivals during February and March, the island of Mallorca steals a march on them with its Fiesta of San Sebastian during January.

Continue reading... Celebrate San Sebastian in Mallorca

When you fly to Lanzarote the aircraft will arrive at the island's main airport in Arrecife. The airport is conveniently situated midway along the east coast making transfers to most of the island's main tourist hotspots relatively short, in fact as the whole island is only around 35 miles long, transfer distances are rarely more than 20 miles.

Continue reading... Arrecife Carnival on Lanzarote

Add running to your next holiday. More and more people seem to be turning to the sport of running as a method of keeping fit and healthy. As far as equipment is concerned running comes a close second to swimming for not needing any expensive or specialist kit.

Continue reading... Running on Malta and Ibiza

The Spanish islands of Mallorca, Menorca and the Canaries are not the only places to hold their carnivals in the early part of the year. The town of Rethymno in Crete also stages a spectacular carnival programme that runs throughout the whole of February.

Continue reading... February Carnival in Crete