Somewhat unusually we came to Star Surf Camps’ surf apartment in Fuerteventura, not primarily for the surfing. This was our first family holiday abroad with our recently-turned-three-year-old son. We chose the apartment because it looked great, was right next to the beach, in a great climate and away from the more package-holiday-geared town of Corralejo on the other side of the island. (The surfing was a fantastic extra for us!) We were after the simple things and much preferred the peaceful, laid-back feel of El Cotillo to the throngs of tourists and high street chain stores that made up Corralejo.
Although our son would have quite happily spent the whole week on the beach, there was plenty of activities and outings to keep us all entertained. The town itself is small and compact and easy to walk around, even the 300-year-old fort on the other side of the town is within easy walking distance. There are great places to eat everywhere – cafés, restaurants, ice-cream parlours – many right on the water’s edge, the beach is just a few metres away from the apartment, as is the local supermarket and there is even a great kids park (which was perfect for our son) within a couple of minutes’ walk.
Further afield (we had a hire car for our stay), Corralejo is worth a visit, particularly to catch the ferry to the beautiful island of Lobos, a great place for snorkelling or stand-up paddleboarding. There is a volcano to be climbed near Lajares with great views out towards the neighbouring island of Lanzarote. We loved watching the kite-surfers in action at the north of the island, and feeding the chipmunks that inhabit the stone walls on the road to the beach to the south of the town. We even had time to visit one of the island’s many aloe vera centres and the desert-like dunes of Corralejo National Park.
