Fly, party and flop for Canary carnival time

Enjoy part of the month-long celebration in Lanzarote and stay at a revamped family favourite in Playa de los Pocillos while you're at it, says VICKY LISSAMAN

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Arrecife carnival

(ENTERTAINMENT)

The driving beats of samba boomed through the evening air, the shimmy of glitter and feathers caught the light, and a procession of 80s and 90s kids' TV characters moved through the streets.

With crazy themes and infectious energy, carnival season in the Canary Islands is in a class of its own.

Taking place 40 days before Lent, the revelry, satire, costumes and creativity pour on to the streets for a month-long celebration across the Spanish archipelago, and we were in Lanzarote's capital, Arrecife, to join the party.

The drink of choice for carnival is the Cuba Libre or “Free Cuba” - a cocktail of rum, Coke and a twist of lime created more than 125 years ago to mark Cuban independence. We sipped these sweet and zingy liveners as the procession of marching bands, dance troupes and floats dedicated to the Smurfs, Dogtanian and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, among many others, edged past.

Carnival season is an ideal time for a family holiday to Lanzarote as it coincides with February half term. And just when it feels like the dark nights of winter will never end, jetting off to bright sunshine, with temperatures touching 25C and the spectacle of street parades, it all feels energising and restorative.

We'd gone for five days - the new alternative to the week-long break. With the cost of getaways rising, many are now choosing to scale down the days spent in a destination, so they don't have to compromise by staying in a cheaper hotel. Fewer days in luxury tends to beat a week in “nothing special”.

While carnivals take place all over the Canaries - the biggest are in Tenerife and Gran Canaria - we chose Lanzarote for a very good reason.

Our favourite hotel, Seaside Los Jameos, on the beachfront of Playa de los Pocillos, has just unveiled a fabulous glow-up.