Believe it or not, there was a time not too long ago when the sun didn’t disappear before the end of the working day, and the pavements on your morning commute weren’t icebound paths to misery. In fact, it was only a few months ago. It’s called ‘summer’, and it’s never felt further away. Luckily for you, there is a place where the sun’s warmth is a year-round feature: Lanzarote. Here, we have five reasons for you to book a trip to soak up the winter sun in one of the Canary Islands’ most beautiful and unspoilt destinations.
1. Say goodbye to Blue Monday
Statistically, the third Monday in January is the most depressing day of the year – or, at least, that is, according to psychologist Dr Cliff Arnall, who coined the term ‘Blue Monday’. Our prescription for 2018? Lanzarote in winter, where the only blue you’ll see is the Atlantic Ocean stretching out from your deckchair, and your only concern is that you’re a few sips away from finishing your Blue Lagoon… Just make sure you send a nice postcard back to your office – we’re sure they’ll appreciate your kind thoughts during such a trying time.
2. Enjoy warmer climates
At the height of summer, temperatures in Lanzarote regularly top 30°C. In what passes for their winter months, the climate is a balmy 18 to 22 degrees – think British summer minus the rain. This means there’s a less pressing need to reapply suncream every 30 seconds, and the sand on Lanzarote’s beaches won’t be scalding your toes as you step out of your flip flops.What more could you ask for?
3. Explore without the sun’s shackles
The cool climate means you won’t be stuck to a sunlounger all day, reduced to dashing from sunshade to sunshade, so there’s no better opportunity to get to know the parts of the island that aren’t 30 feet from an ice-cream vendor. The volcanic, largely treeless landscape at the Timanfaya National Park is positively tropical at peak season, but, in the temperate winter months, it offers a fine place for a hike when you’ve exhausted the beach for the day.
4. Escape the crowds in Yaiza
Here at Optima Villas, we know Lanzarote inside-out – including the beautifully rustic south end of the island. The pretty village of Yaiza epitomises the untouched beauty of the area known as El Rubicon, where the first European settlers arrived on the island in the early 13th century. Yaiza is known as the Miracle Village, after a volcanic eruption in the 1730s claimed several other hamlets but left the village untouched. We recommend visiting the local church, the Iglesia de Santa Maria de los Remedios, before stopping off at La Era restaurant for some authentic Canarian cuisine. Most of the winter sun-seekers will be clustered around the more tourism-focused northern end of the island, so you’ll more or less have the place to yourself.