‘You are KIDDING me?!’ an acquaintance frothed.
Their instant reaction, simply on hearing that I was heading to Lanzarote for a break, was verging on aggressive.
You’d think I’d just announced I was planning to camp on the Moon rather than seeking some autumn sun.
That I was following the Canarian trip with a conference in Magaluf elicited a hearty guffaw (the event organisers, in a stroke of marketing excellence, sidestepped the reputation of the infamous Majorcan town and listed the location as ‘Calvia’, the region where you will find Magaluf).
The mere mention can conjure a caricature of endless fry-ups and mid-morning beers glugged down by those whose skin the sun has baked to a lobster red.
But having recently returned from these two much-maligned destinations, I’ve developed a disdain for those who turn up their noses at the all-too-often punchline holiday hotspots.
Dismissing a whole island based on Lanzarote’s tourist resorts means you miss out on quiet villages, volcanic landscapes and crowd-free coastal spots
Puerto del Carmen has its fair share of bars offering a fry-up and a pint… but venture just a few miles out and Lanzarote’s unspoiled side awaits, says Ben
Those who do are, in fact, losing out on a kaleidoscope of experiences. All because they are too proud to look twice.
Starting with Lanzarote, the Atlantic island that welcomes 1.7 million British visitors a year. Yes, we’ve all heard the nickname Lanza-grotty. There are stretches that are unpalatable (Puerto del Carmen has rather a lot of Irish pubs…).
But you needn’t drive far to find vast volcanic plains, sleepy whitewashed villages – and a fraction of the crowds.
It feels coherent, not chaotic – artist and architect Cesar Manrique, born and raised on the island, can be thanked for that: no coastal sprawl, no towering high-rises, and his own astonishing works that fuse buildings with the landscape; a lesson in restraint that many might not pair with Lanzarote.
And then there’s Majorca – or, more specifically, Magaluf.
For years, its reputation has been one of unadulterated revelry to excess. I won’t lie, you would think kebabs were the cornerstone of Spanish cuisine considering how many there are in the centre of town.
But away from the strip, and I mean minutes, it’s another world.
The air is perfumed by pine trees and there are restaurants with multiple Michelin stars where you can linger over meals.
Italy’s Amalfi Coast is heavenly – but also hugely crowded in the summer months
Cities as romanticised as London, Paris and Venice have their own share of rough corners but escape wholesale dismissal.
The shabby clubs in Camden or tourist tat on Oxford Street would not see Highgate and Holland Park designated no-go zones.
Ironically, these ‘unfashionable’ destinations are ahead of the curve when it comes to the fast-evolving wants of tourists. Clean beaches? Accessibility? A boom in modern hotels? It’s what the masses want, and so they have responded.
Contrast that with somewhere like the Amalfi Coast in southern Italy. Undeniably resplendent but with infrastructure that groans under the weight of travellers. Places such as Cannes and St Tropez – the ones you want to brag about – are showing wear around the seams.
We’ve started confusing exclusivity with experience – when we should be looking beyond what is performatively the place to be seen.
It wasn’t that long ago that Bodrum in Turkey was dismissed as brash and unfashionable. Now, it’s the belle of the Aegean for those in the know.
People miss out when they allow preconceptions to write off a destination. Snobbery, I’m afraid to say, is the great thief of wonder – the best holidays can happen in unexpected places.
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