Gran Canaria is famous for its diverse microclimates, stunning coastline with spectacular beaches and sand dunes, inland forests, mountains, volcanic craters, exotic fauna and flora and picturesque towns and villages.

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.

2. Take a trip in a glass-bottomed boat.

3. Go camping in La Graciosa - to reach this volcanic island, tourists have to book flights to Lanzarote, as the island is located only 2km north of Teguise.

Share your ultimate travel picture on your own blog, embed the code at the end of message in the same post and leave a comment with the URL of your blog to enter the competition.

Calling all film geeks: Cyprus will host the 10th edition of Cyprus Film Days between 20th and 29th of April 2012. The international festival will take place between in Limassol (RIALTO Theatre) and in Nicosia (Zena Palace Cinema).

A beautiful way to surprise your significant other is by booking last minute flights to Bodrum for Valentines Day. These days, a romantic getaway can be very affordable and will give you and your lover the chance to get to know each other more intimately or reconnect with each other. We know what we would do to make the most of our Valentine's break in Bodrum... do you?

Growling engines, screeching tyres, fumes of burning rubber, cheering pit girls, the hot sun on the tarmac and a refreshing breeze that smells of the sea... From 15th - 17th of March 2012, Gran Canaria will be the ultimate pit stop for motorsports fans from all over the world. The island will host the 36th edition of the Canary Islands Rally.

Whether you're running on empty already or hoping to hit the ground running this year, the Cyprus Marathon on Sunday 11th of March 2012 might be just the thing for you. Training up for this marathon will help you get in shape, deal with the stresses of everyday life better and give you more energy in general, while the winter sun in Paphos will do you a world of good too.

Flares, tie-dye clothes, platform shoes, kaftans, peace-signs and funky sunglasses - the theme for the 2012 carnival in Tenerife is Flower Power of the Swinging Sixties! If we could relive this brilliant era anywhere in the world, we could not have thought of a better location than the Island of Eternal Spring with its peaceful beaches and exotic flowers. The Carnaval de Santa Cruz de Tenerife is the biggest of the Canary carnivals and is always held during the weeks before Ash Wednesday. In 2012, the official dates are from 15th February until 26th February. If you're in Tenerife between these dates, look for a hotel near Santa Cruz, as this city will be turned into a magnificent circus of colours, costumes, music and light shows.

There is only one great classical music festival during winter in Europe: The Canary Islands Music Festival. With the start of 2012, the 28th edition of this festival took off. Unsurprisingly, this festival is a reason for music lovers from around the world to book flights to Tenerife, Gran Canaria and the other island.

Although almost half of Gran Canaria is under protection from the Red Canaria de Espacios Naturales Protegidos, there are plenty of places on the other half of the island where tourists can pore over the local flora. If you've booked flights to Gran Canaria to admire the pine forests, extensive palm tree groves and laurel woods, we've got a list of our favourite botanic hotspots for you.

Over 41 travellers shared their most embarrassing, endearing and hysterical experiences in response to our Kindle Competition. Bloggers Sally Smith and Azra Dedic are in very good books with the jury, as Sally described a scene in an airplane that could go straight into BBC's comedy Outnumbered and Azra ended up taming a mad Segway in Bulgaria after booking flights to Burgas on a whim. But the jury ultimately voted for An inconvenient trip by Meg Wagman. Meg is a 30-something blogger who abandoned her life in Dallas for the attractions of Manchester - including her husband. The winning story is about a stranger who tried every trick in the book to win her heart. It made the judges smile so broadly their cheek muscles still ache. Congratulations Meg, your new Kindle is on its way to Manchester!

Today, Monday 23rd of January 2012, processions with Chinese drums, grand dragon and lion dances, colourful festive flags and firecrackers will welcome the Year of the Dragon all over the world. The traditional celebrations will last for 15 days, resulting in the lovely Lantern Festival. The Year of the Dragon reoccurs ever 12 years as part of the 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac. Chinese dragons are a symbol of power, strength, good luck and control over water, rainfall, hurricane, and floods. In 2012, the celebrations will be extra special for people who were born in another Year of the Dragon, such as:

The Canary Islands are to botany what the Galapagos islands are to zoology, because approximately 600 plant species that became extinct in the rest of the word during the ice age are still flourishing on these islands. OVer 100 species can only be found on Gran Canaria, which is why flights to Gran Canaria are very popular among biologists from all over the world. Almost half of the island's territory is under protection from the Canary Islands Network for Naturally Protected Areas (Red Canaria de Espacios Naturales Protegidos). The 33 protected sites (667 km2 in total) are divided in six categories:

Cupid is getting ready for his big trip around the globe to visit lovers from all countries the 14th of February. If you want to give your loved one something very special this year, surprise him or her with a minibreak to Aphrodite's Rock (also known as Petra Tou Romiou).

If you're thinking of booking flights to Lanzarote, you're probably looking for a fix of sun, sea and sand. Take it from us: the most north-eastern of the seven Canary Islands won't let you down. Especially Playa Blanca, at the centre of the southern coastline, is a brilliant resort for beach lovers. Because it is sheltered from the wind by the Femes Mountains on one side and Montana Roja on the other, on average, this is the warmest area of Lanzarote. Visitors keep falling in love with the sandy beaches, the picturesque fishing village with its white washed walls and paved lanes, the live music venues, designer shops and high-end restaurants at Marina Rubicon. But... where will you be having your royal breakfasts in the morning, enjoying beauty treatments in the afternoon, resting your head at night or receiving the new friends you met at one of the hip clubs in town? We've selected 3 super-classy hotels that will make your stay at Playa Blanca truly unforgettable.

Whether you're looking for an unforgettable honeymoon or kids holidays that are enjoyable for all family members - if you've booked flights to Bodrum, these boutique and luxury hotels will give you and your loved ones all the glamour and pampering you want. Needless to say, all listed hotels offer individually controlled air conditioning in their rooms.

Whether you prefer the old-fashioned feel of paperback and hardcover books or have moved on to a modern eReader, there's nothing quite like a good novel to transport your mind to another place. Many a traveller decided to visit Thailand after reading Alex Garland's The Beach and Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code inspired hordes of tourists to go to Paris, Rome and Edinburgh. If you have booked flights to Paphos and would like to get in the mood for your Cypriot holiday, one of the following novels might be the perfect preparation.

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!

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.

Is your child the social king or queen of the camping? Do you have queues of kids from all over the world waiting at your tent every morning, begging for your darling to come out and play? Or can your son or daughter be a bit shy sometimes, and does he or she find making new friends during the holidays daunting? Shy children often find going on a holiday incredibly stressful because they fear the loneliness that awaits them. Below, we have listed three things you can do to help your kids find friends on vacation, but we would love to hear your experiences and tips too!

It may have been over 1400 years ago, people throughout the Islamic world will be celebrating the birthday of Muhammad ibn Abdullah again soon. In countries such as Pakistan, India and Indonesia, homes and mosques are decorated and people take part in carnivalesque street processions. In other areas, it is a quiet, respectful event where children recite poetry and parents tell children stories about the Prophet's birth, youth and adult life.

Travelling and reading have more in common than you'd think: they are the most popular activities on planes, trains, boats and at airports, and both can make you relax, bite your nails and laugh. To kindle the flames of laughter, we're running a cheerful travel story competition among bloggers! Write a blog post about your most funny, exciting, surprising or embarrassing experience abroad; post it on your blog; link to this competition to let your readers know about it and leave a comment with the URL of your post below to submit your entry. The writer of the story that made us laugh most will win the new Amazon Kindle 3G so that you don't have to pack heavy books while travelling!

A cool lip stud, bling belly button ring, subtle diamond nose piercing or an eyebrow barbell... being abroad can be the perfect setting for getting that piercing you've been dreaming of for years. It will make both your trip and the piercing more memorable, and when you're relaxed, tanned and feel good about yourself, you don't need to worry that you might end up regretting your decision because "you're not a piercing type of person". Being on a holiday is all about trusting your gut feeling and letting your instincts guide you. That doesn't mean that you don't have to keep your head cool if your flights to Paphos, Las Vegas or India are inspiring you to make this thrilling decision. This piercing checklist will help you decide whether or not to have your face or body pierced.

Tequise, famous for its levitating man, is not to be confused with Costa Teguise, a tourist resorts on the coast. The Tequise we're talking about was founded in 1414 and served as the capital of Lanzarote until 1852, when Arrecife became the official capital. This tranquil town has kept much of its colonial charm and dignity.