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Vines in volcanic ash pits behind curved stone walls at La Geria, with volcanoes behind
The volcanic cones and lava fields of Timanfaya, with the Ruta de los Volcanes road winding through them
The white pool of the Jameo Grande at Jameos del Agua, among volcanic rock and palms
Playa de las Conchas on La Graciosa seen from the slopes of Montaña Bermeja
A sandy cove of the Papagayo beaches below the cliffs of Los Ajaches

Things to do in Lanzarote: 14 experiences

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Photo: Luis Miguel Bugallo Sánchez, CC BY-SA 3.0

Islote de Hilario, Timanfaya

Ride the Ruta de los Volcanes through Timanfaya

Check dates and prices

Photo: Luis Miguel Bugallo Sánchez, CC BY-SA 3.0

Malpaís de La Corona, Haría

Go underground at Cueva de los Verdes and Jameos del Agua

Check dates and prices

Photo: Mike Peel, CC BY-SA 4.0

Órzola

Take the ferry from Órzola to La Graciosa for the day

Check dates and prices

Photo: Alexander Klink, CC BY 4.0

Playa Blanca

Swim in the coves of Papagayo, inside Los Ajaches

Check dates and prices

Photo: Marc Ryckaert, CC BY-SA 4.0

Lanzarote was made twice: first by the Timanfaya eruptions of 1730 to 1736, which buried much of the south-west under lava, and then by César Manrique, the island's own artist, who turned caves, an old gravel pit and a lava tube into visitor centres and argued for building that respects the landscape. Almost everything worth planning a day around belongs to one of those two stories.

The south is the volcanic side: Timanfaya National Park, the La Geria vineyards, the green lagoon at El Golfo and the white coves of Papagayo near Playa Blanca. The north is higher and greener: the Famara cliffs, the palm valley of Haría, the lava tube of Jameos del Agua and Cueva de los Verdes, and the ferry from Órzola to La Graciosa. Arrecife, the capital, and the resorts of Puerto del Carmen and Costa Teguise sit on the east coast in between.

The one thing to sort out before you fly is booking: Montañas del Fuego and the Cueva de los Verdes sell timed tickets online only, and the national park's free guided walk asks for 25 to 30 days' notice.

14 things to do in Lanzarote

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The volcanic cones and lava fields of Timanfaya, with the Ruta de los Volcanes road winding through them

Ride the Ruta de los Volcanes through Timanfaya

Islote de Hilario, Timanfaya

About 1 hour 15 minutes on siteTimed entry

A coach loop through Timanfaya's volcanoes, then dry brush catching fire on the ground and water shooting back as steam.

Check dates and pricesTimanfaya with entry, plus the north's caves, in a day
The Tremesana trail crossing dark volcanic ash in Timanfaya National Park

Walk inside Timanfaya on the free Tremesana guided route

Yaiza

About 3 hoursTimed entry

One of the few ways to set foot inside a national park where the coach is the rule, free and guided.

Looking into the crater of Caldera Blanca from its rim, with lava fields beyond

Hike Caldera Blanca and into the Volcán del Cuervo crater

Mancha Blanca

1 hour (Cuervo) to 5 hours (all three)Book ahead

The island's classic volcano walks, on your own: down into one crater and up a pale tuff crater rising out of black lava.

Tours in Lanzarote
The white pool of the Jameo Grande at Jameos del Agua, among volcanic rock and palms

Go underground at Cueva de los Verdes and Jameos del Agua

Malpaís de La Corona, Haría

Half a dayTimed entry

Two sections of the same lava tube, a guided walk through its levels and a cave lake where tiny white blind crabs live.

Check dates and pricesBoth lava-tube caves in half a day, entries included
La Graciosa across the El Río strait, seen through the window of the Mirador del Río

See La Graciosa from the Mirador del Río, then the Jardín de Cactus

Guatiza and Ye

About 2 hours for bothNo booking needed

A cactus garden in an old gravel pit, then a viewpoint dug into a cliff top looking straight across to La Graciosa.

Tours in Lanzarote
The White Bubble, a room built inside a volcanic bubble at the Fundación César Manrique

Visit César Manrique's two houses in Tahíche and Haría

Tahíche and Haría

No booking needed

To see why Lanzarote looks the way it does, visit César Manrique's two homes, one built into volcanic bubbles.

Tours in Lanzarote
Rows of vine pits with low stone walls on a volcanic slope in La Geria

Taste malvasía volcánica in the vineyards of La Geria

La Geria

Book ahead

Vines planted one by one in pits dug through volcanic ash, each sheltered by a semicircular stone wall.

Check dates and pricesGuided walk through La Geria vineyards with a tasting
The green Charco de los Clicos lagoon below the layered crater wall at El Golfo

See the green lagoon at El Golfo, then eat fish in the village

El Golfo

Free

A green lagoon inside a volcanic crater half sunk into the Atlantic, with a black beach below and the sunset over the sea.

Tours in Lanzarote
Waves surging into a sea cave in the lava cliffs at Los Hervideros

Watch the sea boil at Los Hervideros and see the Janubio salt pans

Los Hervideros

Free

Two free stops on the coast road: salt pans still at work, and cliffs where the sea seems to boil up through the rock.

A sandy cove of the Papagayo beaches below the cliffs of Los Ajaches

Swim in the coves of Papagayo, inside Los Ajaches

Playa Blanca

Go alone or with a tour

Sheltered coves of white sand and calm, clear water below the oldest rock on the island, about 15 million years old.

Check dates and pricesAdults-only catamaran to Papagayo with lunch and a swim
Playa de las Conchas on La Graciosa seen from the slopes of Montaña Bermeja

Take the ferry from Órzola to La Graciosa for the day

Órzola

A full dayBook ahead

The eighth inhabited Canary Island, 25 minutes by ferry, with no tarmac, only sand tracks.

Check dates and pricesÓrzola to La Graciosa crossing, there and back
A surfer riding a breaking wave off Caleta de Famara

Learn to surf on Famara beach

Caleta de Famara

Book ahead

About six kilometres of golden sand under the Famara cliffs, with wind and swell almost constant and a village full of surf schools.

Check dates and pricesBeginner surf class on Famara beach
Stalls and shoppers on a square in Teguise during the Sunday market

Browse the Sunday market in Teguise, the old capital

Teguise

A Sunday morningFree

Every Sunday the old capital's historic centre fills with more than 400 stalls, with Canarian music and dance on the squares.

Tours in Lanzarote
The bay of Las Coloradas at Playa Blanca, where the Museo Atlántico lies offshore

Dive or snorkel the Museo Atlántico sculptures off Playa Blanca

Playa Blanca

About 2.5 hours for a boat diveBook ahead

Sculptures standing 12 to 14 metres down off Playa Blanca, seen from the surface or, better, by diving among them.

Check dates and pricesBoat dive to the underwater sculptures, no licence needed

Plan your trip

  • Getting there

    Lanzarote Airport (César Manrique-Lanzarote) has direct flights from about 55 European cities and 10 Spanish ones, according to Turismo Lanzarote. Guaguas 22 and 23 link the airport with Arrecife bus station, and lines 161 and 61 run from the airport through Puerto del Carmen to Playa Blanca. By sea, ferries connect the island with Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Tenerife and mainland Spain at Cádiz and Huelva.

  • Getting around

    Hire a car if you can. Intercity Lanzarote's guaguas link Arrecife with the resorts and the airport, run to Órzola (line 9, which stops at Jameos del Agua) and Caleta de Famara (line 20), and add Sunday-only lines to the Teguise market. No line serves Montañas del Fuego, so without a car you join a coach tour that includes entry. Papagayo is reached on dirt tracks, and La Graciosa has no tarmac at all.

  • How many days

    Four days follows Turismo Lanzarote's own plan: the volcanic south (Timanfaya, El Golfo, La Geria), a beach day at Papagayo with Arrecife, the north (Fundación César Manrique, Jameos del Agua, Cueva de los Verdes, Mirador del Río, Haría), and Teguise with Famara. Put the Teguise day on a Sunday for the market, and add a fifth day for La Graciosa.

  • When to go

    Lanzarote is warm all year, with an average annual temperature of about 21 °C and little rain, and every CACT centre opens 365 days a year. From October to April it is windy at Timanfaya, and the Mirador del Río needs a warm layer until May. For a night on La Graciosa, book early for Carnaval, Easter, summer, the Fiestas del Carmen (16 July) and Christmas.

  • Where to base yourself

    Playa Blanca, in the south, is the base for Papagayo, the Museo Atlántico dive centres and the Fuerteventura ferry. Puerto del Carmen sits mid-way on the airport bus line. Costa Teguise is closest to the Fundación César Manrique and the north. Caleta de Famara suits surfers, and Caleta de Sebo, on La Graciosa, has pensions, apartments and a campsite for a quiet night, booked well ahead in high season.

Questions travellers ask

Do I need a car in Lanzarote?

For most of this list, yes. Guaguas reach the resorts, Órzola, Jameos del Agua, Caleta de Famara and, on Sundays, the Teguise market, but no public line goes to Montañas del Fuego, where the alternative is a coach tour with entry included. A car also lets you combine La Geria, El Golfo and Los Hervideros in one afternoon.

Do I need to book Timanfaya in advance?

Yes. Montañas del Fuego sells timed tickets online only at cactlanzarote.com (€30), with no box office sales and no changes or refunds, and the Cueva de los Verdes works the same way. The free guided Tremesana walk inside the park is booked separately on reservasparquesnacionales.es, 25 to 30 days ahead.

How many days do you need in Lanzarote?

Four days covers the volcanic south, the north, a beach day and Teguise with Famara, which is how Turismo Lanzarote lays out its own itinerary. Add a fifth day for La Graciosa.

Which César Manrique sites should I see in one day?

Do the north: the Jardín de Cactus in the morning, a booked slot at the Cueva de los Verdes, Jameos del Agua next door, and the Mirador del Río late in the day. With a second morning, add the Fundación César Manrique in Tahíche, the house he built inside volcanic bubbles.

Is Lanzarote worth it in winter?

Yes. Turismo Lanzarote gives an average annual temperature of about 21 °C with very little rain, and the CACT centres open every day of the year. Pack a windproof: the CACT recommends warm clothing at Timanfaya from October to April and at the Mirador del Río from October to May.

Can you visit La Graciosa as a day trip?

Yes. Ferries from Órzola take about 25 minutes, the first Biosfera Express sailing leaves at 08:00 and a non-resident adult return costs €29. Check the last boat back, because the winter timetable started on 25 October.

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