Club la Santa is a triathlete’s paradise and a common destination for swimming, cycling, running holidays.
Thanks to outstanding facilities, 3 olympic-size swimming pools, a track field, an open-water swimming lagoon, free road bike rentals, easy access to the road bike routes of Ironman Lanzarote, it’s the ideal location for any sport holiday and training camps.
But what if you’re looking for alternatives?
If you can't or don’t want to go to Club La Santa, what do you do? If rooms or flights are fully booked, what are your options? If you’ve explored every single route on Lanzarote island, what’s next?
In this article, I’m listing the top alternatives to Club La Santa.
Why am I writing this article?
I’ve recently found myself doing research for a triathlon holiday and there isn’t a lot of information out there. I had been to Lanzarote four times already, two at Club La Santa and was looking for something else. So I’ve asked friends, searched the internet, made a big spreadsheet. Now, I’m ready to share the results of my efforts in a blog post so that you don’t have to do the same.
I plan to keep building this article over time. Therefore, if you have any suggestions, feel free to send them and I’ll make sure to add them to the article.
What Characteristics make a great alternative to Club La Santa?
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Location
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Weather
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Swimming
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Cycling
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Running
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Training camps
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Family friendly
Location
The main factor is that it needs to be well connected to where you’re travelling from. Lanzarote is relatively well connected with daily flights to most European countries and multiple flights per day to the UK and Spain. One downside of Lanzarote is that it actually is quite far from continental Europe with flight times starting at approximately 3 hours from western Europe.
Anything reasonably connected within that range is a valid option in my opinion. Kona would be nice, but being on a plane for 20 hours it’s not. Therefore, most locations I’ve selected are in Europe or close to it.
Weather
Few people like to cycle under the rain. With a subtropical-desert climate, Lanzarote’s weather is hard to beat. Average low is 14 degrees in January and the average high is 29 in August. There’s only 18 days with rain per year. When it does rain, it actually doesn’t rain much. It’s never extremely hot or too cold in Lanzarote and it’s a great year-round holiday destination. There aren’t many locations in Europe that offer the exact same conditions year round. Some of the locations I’ve selected might not be as warm as Lanzarote year-round, but they will still be great options most of the year.
Swimming
Access to a pool of at least 20-25 meters and/or access to the sea are the main requirements in terms of swimming options. If there’s a 50-meters pool, much better. Reserved lanes for lap swimmers are a really good addition to the features
Cycling
The minimum requirement here is access to stunning routes for epic cycling rides. Most of the locations I’ve selected also offer cycling friendly facilities such as a bike garage or road bike rentals. Organised group rides greatly improve the suitability of the resort for triathletes so they don’t have to plan routes in advance and can make the holiday more social.
Running
The truth is you can run pretty much anywhere so I’ve set my requirements low here. Plus points if there’s a track, or organised group runs.
Training Camps
One reality is that all triathlon training camps are a great alternative to Club La Santa if that’s what you’re looking for. For this reason, I’m not necessarily selecting resorts that offer training camps a couple of weeks per year. I’m choosing resorts where you can have your own training camp most of the year.
Family Friendly
I’ll be honest, I don’t have children, so it’s not really my requirement. However, I know that a lot of people choose Club La Santa because it’s family friendly. Therefore, I’ve redacted my list keeping in mind whether it would be suitable also for families with kids.
The Top Alternatives to Club La Santa
Without further ado, here are the top alternatives to Club La Santa.
Sands Beach Resorts
Location: Lanzarote (Spain)
Sands Beach Resorts is one of the closest things to Club La Santa, mostly because it’s on the same island. It’s situated in Costa Teguise which you’ll find to be sunnier and busier than La Santa village. Swimming options include a private lagoon for open water swimming and a 25 lap swimming pool with lanes. Cycling activities include a secure bike garage, bike rental through a local company, group rides on Sundays, and a list of routes to follow. There are plenty of other sports facilities including leisure pools, gym and tennis. They also organise sports holidays and training camps.
Occidental Lanzarote
Location: Lanzarote (Spain)
This is a beach resort on the Costa Teguise side of Lanzarote with an all inclusive programme and an Olympic swimming pool.
Tri Sports Lanzarote
Location: Lanzarote (Spain)
Playitas
Location: Fuerteventura (Spain)
Oasis Papagayo
Location: Fuerteventura (Spain)
Tenerife Top Training
Location: Tenerife (Spain)
T3, or Tenerife Top Training, is a sport center in La Caleta. Although not a hotel itself, it has outstanding sports facilities and a number of nearby partner hotels, including the adjacent Hotel Suite Villa Maria, to make it a great sport holiday.
Viva Blue
Location: Mallorca (Spain)
A common location for triathlon training camps in Mallorca, this hotel in Playa de Muro offers, among other things, a 25-meters pool and a massive breakfast buffet.
Sporthotel Hoposa
Location: Mallorca (Spain)
Bluewater hotel
The hotel of nearby Best Swim Center in Colonia de St Jordi (Mallorca).
Location: Mallorca (Spain)
Hotel Beau Soleil
Location: Cesenatico, Italy
A heated 25 meters pool and a great destination for trying the course of nearby Ironman Cervia.
Poiano Resort
Location: Garda (Italy)
A sport hotel with a beautiful unheated 50m pool with breath taking views over Lake Garda open March to November (bring a wetsuit for the late season).
Riva del Sole
Location: Tuscany (Italy)
Set in Castiglione della Pescaia, this hotel offers direct access to the beach and a beautiful 25 meters pool. It’s also a great setting for terrific road or mountain biking.
Poggio all’Agnello
Location: Tuscany (Italy)
Forte Villa Resort
Location: Sardinia (Italy)
Host of Ironman 70.3 Sardinia, this beautiful triathlon hotel has everything you need for a swimming, cycling, running holiday. A salted 25 m pool and beach access for swimming, outstanding cycling routes, and beautiful running trails.
Sport Village
Location: Loutraki (Greece)
Bonus
Thanyapura Phuket
Location: Thailand
Although not in Europe, I had to include this addition as it’s been recommended by many triathletes as one of the top destinations in Asia.
I hope you’ll find this list useful. If you have any suggestions, please send them my way.
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