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

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

During the early part of the year, between January and April most of the towns, villages and cities on Fuerteventura put on some form of carnival celebration. The typical Fuerteventuran carnival includes a street parade, fair ground rides, plenty of food and drink and the endless beat of music from live bands. There are also Carnival Queens in many towns.

Continue reading... Fuerteventura Carnivals in 2010

We've been writing about the forthcoming carnival events in our various holiday destinations for quite a while now. The celebrations in the various resorts are spread over several weeks during February and March, with the majority of the larger events being held on the weekend of 13th and 14th of February.

Continue reading... Carnival - The Big One

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

If you travel to the island of Menorca during January for a quiet winter sun break and you may stumble across an unexpected national celebration.

Continue reading... Celebrate National Day On Menorca

The holiday island of Lanzarote organised a group of marathons with a difference in October 2009, where musical accompaniment was the main feature of running events aimed at athletes of all abilities.

Continue reading... Music Marathon on Lanzarote

The social calendar during December on the island of Malta has a familiar British ring to it and that's no surprise given Malta's history and its long associated with Britain.

Continue reading... December Events in Malta

The island of Mallorca and its capital Palma , like many places in Spain, prepare for a traditional Christmas and New Year that centres around four main events. Christmas Eve is important with concerts and Midnight Masses held in many churches, including the famous Seu Cathedral in Palma itself. Christmas Day is a time for relaxation and spending time with family. New Years Eve sees another excuse for celebration, with parties and fireworks displays illuminating the island's skies and then finally the celebration of the Epiphany on January 6th sees children receiving gifts in much the same way as UK children do on Christmas Day.

Continue reading... Mallorca Beyond New Year

A spectacular kite flying day took place in San Antonio, Ibiza on the 25th January 2009. This traditional event is part of the town's month-long fiesta programme and sees hundreds of kites, of all shapes and sizes, take to the air from the town's beaches.

Continue reading... Ibiza Kite Flying Day

When the big nightclubs on Ibiza are approaching the end of their long season the island is gearing up for a ten day Jetski festival that will attract riders from all over Europe.

Continue reading... Jetski Festival in Ibiza

Body Boarding or Boogie Boarding is not a new sport, in fact this easier version of surfing is claimed to have been invented in California almost 40 years ago. But don't be fooled, those Californians have a habit of picking an ancient custom and skill, adding a twist and claiming it as their own. The Californian surfboard designer who carved his first body board from a chunk of polystyrene foam was in fact doing exactly what Polynesian natives had done thousands of years earlier to allow them to float and surf the waves around their islands.

Continue reading... Boogie Boarding Lanzarote

The 17th December, was the shortest day of the year in Funchal on the island of Madeira in 2009, dusk arrived at 4 minutes to five in the afternoon only 600 minutes after sunrise. Compare that to London whose shortest day came a day or two later and was only 470 minutes long. So a winter break on the island of Madeira will not only provide more sun and warmer temperatures, but the days will be over two hours longer too.

Continue reading... Funchal's Shortest Day

On Cyprus the event calendars for the resorts of Paphos and Larnaca are never quiet for long and looking back through the end of the year to January 2010 and beyond that seems to ring true. These holiday destinations in the Eastern Mediterranean always have plenty going on in terms of music concerts, theatre performances, local traditions and sporting events.

Continue reading... End Of Year Events On Cyprus

The Gran Canaria International Marathon took place on the 24th January 2010. Local council and tourism authorities saw the potential of hosting an international marathon race after witnessing what they called the "magnetic" effect of similar races in other Spanish cities. They quoted the success of cities like Madrid, Barcelona, Saragossa and Palma de Mallorca as some of those that have put on marathon races and attracted huge crowds in addition to the runners themselves. For Gran Canaria the obvious choice was to make the most of the island's mild winter weather and entice runners to take part in one of the only European marathons to be held during January.

Continue reading... Countdown to Gran Canaria Marathon

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

Continue reading... Florida Festivals in Autumn

The month of November on the island of Madeira is certainly one when food seems to take the centre stage.

Continue reading... Madeira Food Focus

If you are looking for a high energy New Year party followed by some peaceful relaxation in the sun away from the cold, wet weather that is currently shrouding the UK, then Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt may be just the ticket.

Continue reading... Plan your New Year Party in Sharm

The Canaries version of the WOMAD Festival took place from 12th to 15th November in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

Continue reading... WOMAD Festival in Gran Canaria

When promoters were looking for the perfect place to host a Christmas Fair in Palma de Mallorca, the unique Poble Espanyol (Spanish Village) was always going to be a frontrunner. This unique open air museum, village and shopping centre was an obvious choice for somewhere that could be transformed at Christmas into something very special.

Continue reading... Special Authentic Christmas in Palma Mallorca

New Years Eve celebrations seem to be getting bigger and bigger every year. London now stages a major public fireworks display, centred on the London Eye on the Thames, while TV news broadcasts always show the New Year being welcomed in different parts of the world. These reports usually show fireworks displays in Edinburgh, Paris, Sydney, Copacabana beach, Hong Kong and or the million or so revelers who converge on Times Square in New York. The New York celebrations are interesting as they first started in 1904 to commemorate the opening of the New York Times' new offices, when 200,000 people came to enjoy an all-day party put on by the newspaper. It is now estimated that 1 billion people worldwide watch the Times Square celebrations.

Continue reading... New Years Eve on the Algarve

Plan ahead now if you have Disney's World Marathon Weekend in mind for January. The Walt Disney World Resort in Florida will be the stage for a 4 day running festival planned to take place between 7th and 10th January 2010. Taking alongside the running events is a health and fitness expo or exhibition. With an accent on family fun, the marathon weekend runs start on Friday with a short 5 kilometer race for all the family.

Continue reading... Disney World Marathon Week

Does the name Meadowlark ring any bells with you? Maybe not, but if you were a watcher of children's TV back in the 1970's the name may start to awaken some fond memories of your carefree childhood days. Meadowlark was one of the happy-go-lucky characters in the children's Hanna-Barbera cartoon representation of the famous Harlem Globetrotters basketball team. That team became a worldwide phenomenon at the time and the current members of the team are still pleasing audiences around the world today. Their recent international tour included visits to the islands of Gran Canaria and Tenerife. The team made one of their final appearances of the current tour when they performed in Monastir , Tunisia on the 16th October at the Pavillion Salle Couverter.

Continue reading... Harlem Globetrotters on Tour

Mention International Film Festivals and places like Cannes, Berlin, Edinburgh and Moscow spring to mind. But there are many other festivals celebrating the work of filmmakers and the island of Madeira hosts its own event which has slowly been growing in stature since it first started four years ago.

Continue reading... Funchal International Cinema Festival

A beach together with a bucket and spade will normally lead to some sort of sand castle eventually, but have you ever seen a professional sand sculptor in action? They are able to create things you would not have thought possible. We've seen them in places like the beaches of Cannes and Mallorca, but now Antalya in Turkey has its own Sand Sculpture festival which has proved to be very popular.

Continue reading... Sand Castles in Antalya

The fifth annual Volta Menorca is a three day off-road mountain bike challenge that was held this year on the 10th, 11th and 12th of October.

Continue reading... Volta Menorca 2009

Colourful skies were promised at the annual Fuerteventura Kite Festival in November this year.

Continue reading... Fuerteventura Kite Festival

Plan ahead now if you have Disney's World Marathon Weekend in mind for January. The Walt Disney World Resort in Florida will be the stage for a 4 day running festival planned to take place between 7th and 10th January 2010. Taking alongside the running events is a health and fitness expo or exhibition. With an accent on family fun, the marathon weekend runs start on Friday with a short 5 kilometer race for all the family.

Continue reading... Disney World Marathon Week

Hold onto your hats during early November in Cyprus for a car verses boat challenge.

Continue reading... Cyprus Thunderball

Anyone flying to Florida for a break during September is bound have warm weather on their mind, but there's more to a holiday there than just sun and sand.

Continue reading... Fun and Festivals in Florida during September

As the summer parties and cultural festivals came to an end, the island of Kefalonia continued to entertain its visitors with several artistic celebrations.

Continue reading... Autumn Festivals on Kefalonia

For anyone visiting the island of Madeira during the middle of October, the town of Ribeira Brava provides the chance to experience some traditional local music and culture.

Continue reading... Autumn events on Madeira

The beachfront area in Palma, Mallorca played host to an exciting surf event at the end of August.

Continue reading... Mallorca Surf Action 2009

Cars of all shapes, sizes and age will depart Plymouth in England during December on a long journey to Banjul in The Gambia.

Continue reading... Plymouth Banjul Rally

Reputed to have the world's best climate, Gran Canaria is a tourist destination with so much to offer, entertainment and marvellous beaches, antiquities and culture, outdoor sports and nature. More than just an island paradise, GranCanaria is an experience to savor.

Continue reading... Gran Canaria Much MoreThan Paradise

A heady combination of natural delights, culture, and activities, Funchal is a colourfully vibrant place to visit. The attractive city is known for its appealing Mediterranean temperatures, Madeiran wine and local handicrafts. It makes a great spot for a weekend break or a week away to explore this region in the Madeiran archipelago.

Continue reading... Funchal - Part 1

Starting on the 3rd of July 2009, the 18th Canaries Jazz Festival kicks off with performances on Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote. Acts from all over the world are playing during the week long festival and on the second day concerts are taking place on 4 different islands in the group.

Continue reading... Canaries Jazz Festival

The Canary Islands are rightly proud of their residents and one of them, artist Cesar Manrique, has left a distinct impression on many of the islands but particularly on his home of Lanzarote. Manrique was sadly killed in a car accident in 1992 but his life on the islands has left behind many legacies.

Continue reading... Swim in Style on Tenerife

Of course the Canary Islands are not that far from the West African coast and the Sahara Desert but you wouldn't expect to find a desert in Gran Canaria. Amazingly there is one - well sort of. In the south of the island of Gran Canaria are the Dunas de Maspalomas or the Maspalomas Dunes. This is a protected area of land over 300 hectares in size that resembles the deserts of Africa. The fine sand is formed from ground shells and the shifting dunes themselves reach heights of 10m.

Continue reading... Desert in Gran Canaria

Divers will be spoilt for choice here as Corralejo offers many diving sites for all diving levels to view vibrant fish, sea urchins and volcanic rocks.

Continue reading... Fuerteventura - The Canary Islands - Part 2

A year has passed since the new Beijing airport opened its doors to travellers ahead of the Summer Olympic Games and the stunning design is just one of many airport buildings to have been designed by famous architects.

Continue reading... Famous Architects Feature in New Airport Designs

Having seen the excitement caused by the UK concert series announced by Michael Jackson recently, it's interesting to see other pop stars popular with previous generations still performing at concerts around the world. The Canary Islands have attracted various stars in the past including Elton John and Rod Stewart is the latest to announce a concert date on Tenerife as part of the Canarias Live Sun Festival in May this year. The concert will take place at the Campo de Golf, Costa Adeje in Tenerife.

Continue reading... Canarias Live Sun Festival

Anyone taking a holiday in Tenerife is probably heading there to enjoy the warm temperatures and beautiful beaches but if that is not quite enough then there are other attractions to enjoy on the island.

Continue reading... Theme Parks in Tenerife