Lets Get Travelling

The Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean just 100 miles from Africa are popular all year round thanks to their warm climate, developed tourist industry and frequent flights from the UK.

Tenerife is the largest of the islands with a dormant volcano and mountain range splitting the island in two. The south is warmer and drier, and hence more popular with tourists, and the north greener and cooler.

Gran Canaria has the largest population and like Tenerife is split into a warmer south and greener north thanks to a central mountain range. Shoppers head to Las Palmas, beach lovers to Maspolmas and the fishing villages of Puerto Rico, Puerto de Morgan and Pasito Blanco offer picture-postcard views.

Lanzarote has the darkest landscape as a result of the islands volcanic orgins and also the finest sand on the beaches. The National Park of Timanfaya is a must for any visit to the island with stunning scenery.

Fuertaventura is popular with golfers and has the longest beaches of any of the islands, including a 4 mile stretch of golden sand between the towns of Jandia and Pajara.

The remaining three islands of La Gomera, La Palma and El Hierro have less developed tourist accommodation and attractions but are still worth visiting

Since the first package holidays were offered to Spain in the 1960s its popularity as both a holiday and investment destination has remained undimmed.

Even today when cheaper air fares have made more of the world affordable and accessible, Spain still ranks as the number one destination after nearly 50 years for five key reasons:

• Accessibility - a network of airports across the country operating all year round and good inward infrastructure
• Affordability - whilst prices have rocketed in some areas for buyers there are still bargains to be had and the wealth of holiday property for rental keeps prices keen for tourists
• Quality - if you pick your investment property or holiday rental wisely you can get a lot for your money
• Wide appeal - holidaymakers, second home owners, business owners, family relocations, retired…there’s something for everyone in Spain
• Investment potential - whilst the ‘rock bottom’ bargains may have gone, any investment in Spain can generally be a lower risk than emerging countries

Girona has managed to escape the stag and hen parties that descend on the bright lights and big city bars of Barcelona, 60 miles further to the south. And as it is only 2 hours away from the UK, it is near enough to be a perfect weekend city break.

If you’re looking for a bit more culture, then Girona is for you. The city has a population of around 80,000 so it is still small enough to walk everywhere but with a good mix of interesting restaurants, traditional shops and boutiques, galleries and antique dealers, there is enough to keep even the keenest culture-vultures happy.

Fans of the film Perfume will recognise the Pujada de Sant Domenec, a flight of stone steps leading up to the Sant Martí Sacosta Church with a gloomy lane framed by a basket arch slanting off to the left. This location, and others around the city, were used to create the 18th Century French town of Grasse in the film, and it is one of the most photographed and romantic spots in Girona.

With a wealth of cafes in the Plaça del Vi (Wine Square) it’s the perfect spot to relax with friends, a good book or to simply take time out to watch the world go by.

Ryanair flies to Girona from London Luton and London Stansted, as well as 11 other regional airports.

Researchers in Israel have uncovered a new reason for adopting the Spanish custom of siestas.

A study by researchers at the Brain Behaviour Centre in the University of Haifa showed that a 90-minute siesta improves long-term memory and improves the ability to retain data.

Two groups took part in the testing and those who took a siesta adapted to new learning tasks better than the group that did not, provided the comparison was made before nightfall. The following morning, abilities between the two groups were back to equal.

So if you enjoy a siesta on holiday in Spain, make sure it’s a habit you get into back at home too!

Holidaymakers planning a trip to Lanzarote could find it more difficult to get a hotel room after 22 hotels were ordered to be demolished.

The demolition order follows a court case that ruled that 22 hotels were illegally built after two councils had openly flouted a ban on building hotels.

Eight five-star hotels, 10 smaller hotels and four others under construction were ruled illegal. All together they account for over 7,700 rooms or apartments on the island.

Top class hotels that could be pulled down include the Melia Volcan, Iberostar Papagayo, Gran Castillo, Natura Palace, Rubicon Palace, Papagayo Arena and Son Bou.

Authorities may grant an amnesty in the same way as the council in Marbella did when it discovered thousands of illegally built hotels and homes, many owned by Britons, in 2006. In return for not sending in the demolition crews, the council forced developers to hand over large areas of land into public ownership.

However, not everyone would welcome this outcome and the final decision on action remains unclear.

Carlos Espino, a Socialist Lanzarote councillor, said: “These councils broke the order which we put in place to preserve the island, which is a biosphere. We will not have an amnesty. We will knock down what we have to.”

More court cases against other hotels in Lanzarote are expected to follow.

Property investors from the UK bought around £24 billion worth of foreign property last year, new figures have revealed.

According to the Association of International Property Professionals, almost 242,000 purchases were made by British buyers last year, an increase of 21% over the previous 12 months.

Volumes were up but the value of transactions remained relatively the same. This was attributed to a number of factors, including the increasing popularity of countries that still offer relatively cheap properties compared to more established markets.

Despite a move towards less expensive markets, established locations such as Spain and France were still found to dominate the buyers’ decisions in attracting 25.4% and 17% of British purchasers respectively.

A recent survey has found that the cost of living in Spain is cheaper than in the UK, particularly if you live like a local.

The survey discovered that an average couple can live on €644 per month (about £490.00) in addition to any rent or mortgage payments.

But it can be more expensive if you try to live on home favourites such as English bacon, marmalade and Branston Pickle. All these need to be imported into the country and naturally cost more than if you were to base your weekly grocery shopping on purely local produce.

The area that expats choose to live in can also affect cost of living. Established centres such as Barcelona and Madrid command a higher cost of living premium due to their superior infrastructure. Heading into less developed regions typically means there is a reduced living cost, though this is offset with there being possibly less developed infrastructures.

The expansion of low-cost airlines, such as easyJet, has meant that previously hard to reach areas of Spain are now much more accessible for holidaymakers.

The decision of many low-cost airlines to fly into smaller, regional airports in European countries has altered the traditional holiday landscape. Louise Hall, business director of Primelocation.com said, “Barcelona and the Costa Brava region as a whole have become more popular with UK holidaymakers over the last two to three years. Inland Murcia has again proven popular and Mallorca has experienced huge popularity in recent years, becoming an expensive jewel with large numbers of properties valued at £1m plus.”

From the end of March, British Airways is set to launch new short haul routes from Heathrow, Gatwick and London City airports to Malaga, Alicante, Ibiza, Palma and Gibraltar.

Recent reports in the International Herald Tribune suggest that two new airports are to be opened in Spain and Portugal to cope with increased tourist demand in new areas of each country.

The airport in Spain will be built in the Huelva province of southwest Spain, designed to improve access to the western Costa de la Luz, whilst the Portuguese airport will be located in Alcochete, just outside the capital, Lisbon. It aims to boost travel access to both the Silver Coast and the Algarve. Both airports are planned to be operational by 2012.

This is not only good news for holiday makers but also property investors. According to a recent study by Savills, holiday homes close to destinations served by low-cost airlines are, on average, 37% more expensive than those which are not.

France and Spain are still streets ahead of their rivals for UK-based property investors according to Louise Hall, business director at Primelocation.com, with over half of all UK investors buying overseas property in these top two destinations.

She says that investors look for a combination of factors, including good weather, good transport links, easy lifestyle and familiarity as well as ‘rentability’ to ensure a steady income stream, which is why France and Spain have been in positions one and two for so long.

“Portugal, Italy and Florida are the next in line but there is a big gap in property search volumes between the number two and number three positions, which has been consistent for a number of years”, she concludes.

Research by the Department of Communities and Local Government for the financial year 2005-06 found that 34% of holiday homes owned by Britons were in Spain and 23% in France.