Picture: Canary PR

March 19th 2010 marked a significant date in Tenerife as the Islands first self sufficient homes were unveiled to the Worlds Press.

Just over 14 years ago, the Tenerife Government challenged architects from around the world to design a self sufficient home that would blend in with the surrounding areas.

397 applied from 38 different countries for the project, that number was then brought down to a final 25 who were to develop their ideals on the site at ITER,(the Institute of Technology and Renewable Energy)  in Granadilla, Tenerife.

Congratulations go to the winner, La Geria from a Spanish team led by Cesar Ruiz-Larrea Cangas. La Geria is a horseshoe shaped wall used to protect vines in Lanzarote’s wine regions.

If you would like a tour of ITER you can pre arrange it by calling 922 391 000 or go to the website www.iter.es. To keep up with environmental issues in and around the Canary Islands keep an eye on www.canarygreen.net

Click here for more information about the winning home and competition.

If you are going to be out and about in Lanzarote over the next week or so, you better keep your wits about you!

Ducati has chose this beautiful island to launch to test the new 2010 Multistrada 1200. Over 120 journalists have been invited to review this fabulous machine and  there will be more than 40 Ducati motorcycles cruising the roads of Lanzarote from the 25th February up intil 4th March 2010.

Obviously the Lanzarote Tourist Board are delighted that their Island has been chosen as Ducati is a great Italian brand and ambassador which will promote  Lanzarote in Italy.

The press launch was organised in collaboration with the Patronato de Turismo y la Sociedad de Promoción de Lanzarote, the venue is the Tourist Centre at Timanfaya and it is hoped it will bring International press from around the world.

The schedule for the week is:

Thursday 25th February: Italian & Japanese

Friday 26th February : English & French

Saturday 27th February: Northern Europe

Tuesday 2nd March: USA, Brazil, Switzerland, Greece, India, Malaysia, Taiwan and Portugal

Wednesday 3rd March: Spanish, Canary Islands & Lanzarote

Thursday 4th March: Australia, Czech Republic, Russia, Denmark, Finland, Israel, Turkey, Norway, Sweden, Austria, Korea & Thailand

For more information click here:

Yes!!! It is Carnaval time in the Canary Islands! The best excuse to get dressed up in fancy dress and make a fool of yourself, along with everyone else!

Tenerife festivities start in Santa Cruz on January 27th and run through to February 21st. Special dates to note are February 10th, with the election of the Carnival Queen, followed, on the 12th, by the opening of the Carnaval procession which includes a fantastic fireworks display. For all full list of Tenerife Carnaval dates, click here:

The Lanzarote Carnaval takes place between 5th to the 17th of February, with the date for the carnaval parade (cabalgata) in Costa Teguise being Saturday 27th February 2010. For more information, click here:

Fuerteventura’s Carnival is an epic event – staged between February 1st until April 1st 2010!! The main parade is scheduled for March 13th – one definitely not to be missed. For further information, click here:

Gran Canaria’s Carnival takes place between January 26th to February 20th 2010. For a full lst of scheduled events, please click here- Spanish only

€289,000
Residencial La Mareta, Lanzarote, is in a first class location near to the sea and the Royal Palace “La Mareta”.

These fabulous properties are finished to an extremely high standard and fully fitted with the best appliances money can buy.

Plot areas start at 300 sqm all pictures are of the showhouse

For more information, click here:

Ryan Air have finally resolved their differences with the Fuerteventura Government which means that Ryanair have confirmed that it will operate 10 Fuerteventura routes from March 2010 from Bournemouth, Brussels, Dublin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Glasgow, Liverpool, Madrid, Milan and Pisa. These routes will mean 300,000 new passengers and 300 new jobs in Fuerteventura.

Ryanair have also announced an extension of its Lanzarote, Gran Canaria and Tenerife routes for the summer 2010 schedule after the local government confirmed that its airport discount scheme will continue until at least March 2012. Ryanair will operate 53 Canary Island routes this summer with 300 weekly flights delivering much needed growth to tourism, jobs and the economy of the Canary Islands.

Ryanair’s Michael Cawley said: “Ryanair is delighted to return to Fuerteventura with 10 new routes and to extend our existing Canary Islands routes to our summer 2010 schedule to deliver even more low fares, competition and choice to visitors of the Canary Islands.”

For more information click here:

€1,000,000

This incredible detached villa In Tias, Lanzarote has spectacular sea views from every angle.

It has 3 bedrooms, the master suite has bedroom, bathroom, dressing room and private terrace. The Junior suite has bedroom, dressing room and bathroom. Bedroom three has a private shower room.

There are two lounges, a large dining room, kitchen, utility/washing room, separate WC, drying area, terraces, swimming pool, pump room, stables, garage and walled gardens.

Must be viewed to be appreciated.

Constructed area 600 m2 on a plot of 3,000 m2.

For more infomation click here:

Jobs in the canary islands

jobsinthecanaries.com is the fastest growing website for people wanting to find work or staff in the Canary Islands of Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote and Gran Canaria

The site has a forum where jobs are posted regularly by all types of organisations including the media, bar vacancies, child care or even football coaches!

You can subscribe to the forum and be first in know about any new jobs posted. Employers can get notifications of any new C.V’s that have been submitted.

You can see all jobs on offer or wanted, but (free) registration is required to post any jobs or vacancies.

The website has loads of information about what to do before and after you get here, how to go about getting an NIE number, applying for your Residencia and loads of other contributions from their members.

Should you require more advice on working in the Canary islands click here.

Start your search here for a job in the sun in the Canary Islands!

Although having a private swimming pool of your own can be a dream come true, the safety factors can sometimes out-weigh the benefits, especially if you have small children. In addition to this, if you rent out your property, parents may not like the idea of extra stress on their holidays worrying that their child may not be safe.

With this in mind, Gordon and Lorraine d’Andilly created Peace of Mind Pool Safety. After purchasing their own dream home, through Horizon Property Group, they went to the United States and met up with companies selling swimming pool safety fences and were impressed with what they learned. They subsequently bought one for their own property and obtained sole rights for the distribution of this purpose designed removable fencing system throughout Tenerife, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and Gran Canaria.

Every pool fence installation is customized, right down to your choice of height and colour. It is manufactured and installed to the specifications of your pool area and also includes the option of a Patented removable, self-closing, self-latching, key-locking gate. The Australian manufacturer of Magna Latch promotes the latch as “The World’s Safest Gate Latch”.

Peace of Mind Pool Safety work together with pool installers, garden landscapers and property management companies to ensure that all holiday home owners are aware of pool safety issues and of the benefits of installing a pool safety fence system.

These benefits include increased rental income, particularly during off-peak periods when families with pre-school children tend to holiday. As the fencing system is fully removable, it can be taken down, rolled up & stored conveniently when there are no kids around!

The company mission is that “the installation of a pool safety fence should go hand-in-hand with the installation of a swimming pool or a spa”.

The protection of children around water should NEVER be overlooked.

For more information, click here:

We are all used to, and thoroughly fed up with so called “Budget Airlines” offering low cost fares to sunny climes. But, by the time you have added taxes and have cheek to want to take luggage with you on holiday, low cost is just about the last descrption you would use.

All this is about to change. PalmAir, who fly from Bournemouth have launched a service you could only expect in the good old days. Firstly you are allocated a seat at check in. Hurrah!! No more desperate panics trying to sit with your loved ones. You are also permitted to take luggage and other essentials of up to 20kg without added cost!!!! Incredible!! Better still, this airline will even feed you!!!!!!! All of this is included in the cost of your flight, even airport taxes and other service charges.

With prices from as low as 59.00 Sterling to Tenerife, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote this is surely a “Budget Airline” worth considering.

For more information click here:

Aer Lingus have announced they will be bringing new flights to the Canaries in the winter from Gatwick airport. Six new destinations have been scheduled including Bucharest, Tenerife, Eindhoven, Lanzarote and are due to start October 25th. Prices for return flights to Tenerife in November are available from 49.99 pounds per person.

Click here for more information: