Calle Lanzarote

Posts Tagged ‘Souvenirs’

Too much luggage?

Wednesday, April 15th, 2009

Do you know how much luggage you can take on a flight to Lanzarote?  In particular, how much hand luggage?

Different airlines allow different amounts of luggage in the hold, but the rules on hand luggage can vary depending on which direction you are flying!

Iberia, for example, allows 10kg of hand luggage according to their website, although German regulations only allow 8kg.  Theoretically you can therefore bring back 2kg more of luggage from Lanzarote than you can take with you.

Another complication can be that not every airline follows the IATA recommendations on the dimensions of hand luggage, Lufthansa being one example – and in Frankfurt, Lufthansa provide the check-in facilities for SpanAir.

When I first flew to Lanzarote in September 2001, there were understandably very strict restrictions on what you could take onto the aircraft (although you could buy a manicure set from the on-board duty free trolley!) and I took just the bare minimum with me, putting everything else into my suitcase.  This caused it to have more than the allowed 20kg, but I pointed out at the check-in desk in Frankfurt that in return I had less than 1kg of hand luggage and so I did not have to pay any extra.

Returning with a couple of new books and souvenirs, I had even more kilos in that suitcase.  But again, with very little hand luggage this was not a problem.

Travelling as a family group can also be an interested experience at the check-in desk, but generally in Frankfurt the family will be considered as a single entity.  Thus a family of 3 can check-in a total of 60kg of luggage, as long as none of them on their own are over 30kg.

Of course, things do not always have to go so well, as the passengers on a flight to Frankfurt found out last week.  Due to the wind conditions in Arrecife, the pilot of a 757-300 had 80 suitcases off-loaded to reduce the weight of the aircraft before taking off.

I guess that it is one of the hazards of bringing home souvenirs from Lanzarote – lava is heavy!



Teguise market

Friday, November 23rd, 2007

Teguise market is the place to go on a Sunday morning on Lanzarote. So much so, that it is important to go early if you don’t want a long walk from one of the many car parks, set up in fields around the town.

The market sells almost everything in terms of souvenirs and crafts that you could wish for. Most of the souvenirs that you see elsewhere on the island can be found somewhere on the market, usually slightly cheaper than normal.

Crafts such as woodwork or lace are of good quality – and the prices usually reflect this quality.

Clothes stalls sell a variety of cheap T-Shirts as well as hand-made goods. Locally-made clothes often have a label in showing that they come from the Canary Islands, so they are easy to spot, although it is useful to be able to speak Spanish if you have any special questions that you want to ask the stall holders.

In fact, although they are used to tourists and speak some English, it is not as much as in the shops on the coastal resorts so if you do speak to them in Spanish, they really open up and give you a lot more details about their wares.

teguise1.jpg

The market takes place on the square in front of, and the streets surrounding, the church. Somewhere there is bound to be a band playing music, often on pan-pipes or other South American instruments.

One word of warning is necessary, though. The market has a reputation for pick-pockets. It can become so crowded, that you may not notice someone brush past you and take your wallet, so this really is a place to go where you only take essentials and keep what you do take such that you know at all times, that it is still there.

teguise2.jpg

Finally, do remember that amongst all the beautiful wood carvings and lava stones, that whatever you buy you probably have to take back in your suitcase – and there is a limit to how many kilogrammes that can have !



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