Cut Price Accommodation

With some good flight deals to be had, especially if flying to La Palma via Tenerife, why not take up the challenge and make it a really cheap holiday with cut price accommodation?  After all, it could make the difference between having to sit and suffer the current freezing temperures in northern Europe and getting out and about in some warming winter sun. 

Cheap or budget accommodation is not always easy to find on La Palma though, unless you know where to look.  But it does exist in the form of pensiónes or hostals and with prices starting at 14€ per person, that has got to be one of the best bargains around. 

If you are however looking for something a little different, something  more adventurous, the call of the wild even, then how about a bit of camping? 

OK, so campsites on La Palma are definitely not in abundance but the few that exist are well worth seeking out.  And happily - since bringing a tent with you is not always possible or practical - there are campsites where you can hire a cabin for the night.
Prices per person are just 12€ per person per night (or10€ if you bring your own sleeping bag) in bunk room accommodation.  For an extra 10€ per booking, the cabin is exclusilvely yours. Not only do you get to enjoy communing with nature, so to speak, but a bargain price holiday too!

Walking guidebooks - buy before you fly?

Holidays are a wonderful change of tempo - a time to relax and explore and often a reward for all those hours spent at work. A time to save money is not what generally springs to mind.
However, there are few of us who don't try and be that little bit careful with money and make small savings where we can. But of course some savings we have to realise, are false savings.
When it comes to holidays, we obviously cannot get by without a flight and accommodation but one of the things that many people do try and get by without is a map of their destination, the place where they will spend the next week or two. Sometimes, it can work out and a map can be bought on La Palma although not always easily I have to say!
I wrote a blog post in August entitled 'Putting the Canary Islands on the Map' so I won't re-iterate that a good map is a good idea.
But what about the trusty walking guide book on La Palma?  These are probably easier to find on La Palma than maps and there are various ones to be had which include:
Rother Walking Guide of La Palma,
Landscapes of La Palma and El Hierro, Car Tours and Walks, by Noel Rochford,
Walk! La Palma by Charles Davis and
Walking on La Palma: The World's Steepest Island, by Paddy Dillon.

If you decide to buy before you fly to La Palma, then all of the above can be ordered on line from our Holiday Shop on the website. The link takes you straight to Amazon, it doesn't cost you any more and saves you searching.
However, if you are happy to check out what La Palma has to offer when you get here, then I don't think you will be too disappointed with the selection.
I should probably also add that if you are booking one of our walking holidays, such as the luggage transported walking holiday, the two-centre holiday or GR130 walking holiday, then all route notes are supplied for the walks, written by our own fair hands from our own experience! But if you would like to see some lovely colour photos and route descriptions of the most well-known walks on La Palma, then why not go that extra kilometre and buy one of the walking guidebooks mentioned!
Whatever you choose - enjoy the walking!

Christmas in the Canaries

This winter, the Canary Islands really do seem to be the number one holiday location on the Christmas wish list.  It is traditionally a busy time here on La Palma and the rest of the islands but for the past month, the number of enquiries has been - in our experience - unprecedented.  Finding accommodation for people, whether it be an apartment by the beach or a rural house for rent, has become more and more difficult.  It really is a case of the early bird having the choice of accommodation!

The most popular week even above Christmas week has been over New Year and all of the apartments at Tazacorte that we normally book for people are now taken. Maybe it is something to do with laying on the beach and soaking up some sun - not a bad way to start 2012!

New Year's Eve, Tazacorte beach

But if you haven't booked your accommodation yet, despair not.  There are still one or two houses for rent available and with a few seats still remaining on the 30th December to 6th January direct flights from London Gatwick to La Palma or direct from Manchester to La Palma.  Thanks to Santa's little helper, otherwise known as Thomsons, the return flight costs just £109 return so you too could be spending New Year on La Palma. 

However, if you are able to hang on for another week or two, you might be able to take advantage of an even better deal as Thomsons reduce their post-New Year holiday prices even further to £88 for a return flight to La Palma, both from London Gatwick and Manchester.  It's a crazy price!

And by waiting until after the holiday rush, you will have a greater choice of accommodation too.  So if we didn't see you in La Palma this year, then maybe next!

Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas and New Year too, wherever you may be.

Ann and David.

www.holiday-lapalma.com

Flying Directly

Great news - the direct Manchester to La Palma flights with Thomsons are back on again!

After a summer with Thomsons offering direct flights to La Palma from only Gatwick, with some jubilation I see the Manchester ones have made a come back.  And it looks like it wasn't just me that  was pleased to see them as it certainly created a flurry of enquiries from people looking for accommodation on La Palma - and I'm not surprised with the prices they are offering.

For example for one week from the 25th November to the 2nd December, the price is £114.00 return.  That is a brilliant price!  Great to team it up with a week in the rural north of La Palma in a traditional Canarian house or bag a beach break with a self-catering apartment overlooking the sea in Tazacorte. 

On behalf of owners, we've got some fabulous apartments for rent on La Palma at the Puerto de Tazacorte. You can check them out here.

And if the Thomson itinerary doesn't suit, you can of course find flights to La Palma via Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Madrid, Germany, Holland or Belgium seven days a week. 

Happy Holidays!

Insured to go

When it comes down to it, I don't think too many of us are averse to cheap flights these days.  Even the more expensive flights seem to have cut down on providing an in-flight meal or even film to while away the hours.
So how about cheap accommodation?  I'm certainly not averse to booking a hotel room on-line at two-thirds of the normal price - although I have discovered you can't expect the best room in the hotel!
And then what about cheap travel insurance? There was a time when it was obligatory to take out travel insurance when booking a holiday either at the travel agents or at least tick a box confirming that travel insurance had been taken out.  With time however, it seems to have become more of an optional extra and this is when I hit upon the great idea for savings in this direction - just don't bother!
So that begs the question - is travel insurance compulsory?  And the answer to that is very simple - yes!  Yes that is unless you are happy to pay for an air ambulance should you need to be flown back after a serious accident or illness, yes if you have to get home quickly due to an emergency which means booking new flights and yes unless you don't mind losing all your money and valuables while on holiday.
Having decided that travel insurance is probably the only option then it's time to decide on which company to take the policy out with.
On my last travelling expedition, I took out cover with World Nomads, a company apparently among thousands who are offering travel insurance.  However, what swung me towards them is the fact that they are recommend by Lonely Planet and - even more so - they go that bit further to add value to your holiday with a host of extras such as a travel forum, travel articles and information, photo uploader, travel journal and the facility to 'add a little back' by donating to a chosen project. 
If you or one of your young ones are setting off travelling or on a gap year then a rock-solid travel insurance is vital.  But then even short holidays are precious too and for the relatively few pounds or euros involved, taking out travel insurance for any holiday has got to be a must. 
Have a peek into our new holiday shop where travel insurance is top of the list.
Happy holidays and we hope to see you on holiday in La Palma one day.

Putting the Canary Islands on the Map

I remember ten years ago when we came to the Canary Islands looking for a place to live.   Wow - all that exploring and seven islands to do it in.  It wasn't long before we bought a map. 
Luckily, we came across a map with all the Canary Islands on it and it was certainly enough to get us by in the short term.  However, I have to confess that a smaller scale map of Gran Canaria or Tenerife might have been useful at times especially as I am all for saving petrol, time and in-car harmony!  
Once we arrived in La Palma, we quickly decided that we were not going to rely on road signs or our Canary Islands map to guide us round and we bought our first map of La Palma.  

Now the funny thing about La Palma is that there really is only one main road which runs round the island.  From that you might think you can easily manage without a road map.  Well, in one way you can … because at least you are hardly likely to end up on the wrong island without noticing it!  However, whilst it seems to simplify things with relatively few roads on the island, this does mean that it is important to be on the right road.  Coming from the UK, we are so used to one road literally leading to another that we tend to keep on driving until we find a turning.  Here, you might have to drive a long way before that becomes the case, or if you do find a side road, there is a good chance that after a couple of kilometers of tortuous driving, you’ll end up in a banana plantation or pine forest when actually you were heading for the beach.

The map that we chose soon became my trusty companion in that the main roads stood out really clearly from the side roads, donkey paths, walking paths and mountain bike paths.  This, as I’m sure you’ll agree, is rather important in the popularity stakes when navigating! 

In time though, we came to realize that whilst this was an excellent road map of La Palma, it wasn’t particularly good as a walking map so we invested in a second map.  And then, when we became more avid walkers, it was time to buy yet another map of La Palma but an even smaller scale map particularly suitable for walkers. That really did show the walking routes in great detail and provided us with even greater enthusiasm.

So if you are coming on holiday to La Palma and you’ve already got your flights booked and accommodation sorted out then maybe it’s time to think about getting a map in advance especially as there are not so many places on that island that sell them.  Don't forget that La Palma is not a tourist hot spot!
If you are holidaying on any of the other Canary Islands then it still might be a good idea to buy a map on line whether that is a map of Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote or Fuerteventura.  For a map of La Gomera and map of El Hierro, you will find that either they have their own map of they will be on a map with either Tenerife or La Palma.  There is certainly a choice of maps and scales, especially if you are buying your map on-line.
Once you have your map, your holiday homework can really begin.  Enjoy!

Taking Off

Here's some good news that you might be able to take advantage of - another airline with flights from the UK to Madrid and Madrid to Santa Cruz de La Palma (flight code SPC).   There are also flights from Barcelona to La Palma and Bilbao to La Palma - it's great to know that there are more flights from mainland Spain to our little Isla Bonita!
The company is called Orbest Airlines and although it offers flights from just one UK airport at the moment, Edinburgh, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it really takes off, so to speak.

If you haven't heard of Orbest, maybe you have heard of one of its parent companies - Orizonia and before that, Iberworld airlines.  Apparently, without most of us realising it, they have been pretty busy flying thousands of passengers in and out of around twenty airports in Spain alone.
The Orbest fleet consists of  9 aircraft: 3 Airbus A-330-300, able to hold 388 passengers, and 6 Airbus 320, capable of carrying 180 passengers.   If you are searching for flights to La Palma or the other Canary Islands, their website is in Spanish and English.
At the moment, they are only projecting flights as far forward as September and because the Edinburgh to Madrid flight is on a Monday and the Madrid to La Palma flight is on a Friday, you'll need to do a bit of mix and matching with other airlines. The flights from Barcelona to La Palma are on a Saturday and the flights from Bilbao to La Palma are on a Tuesday.
I hope you manage to find a flight to suit you and don't forget the airport code to La Palma is SPC!