Things to do in Lanzarote: volcanoes, Manrique, beaches and tours

The things to do in Lanzarote come down to three: the landscape of the 1730–1736 eruption, which buried around a quarter of the island; the work of César Manrique, who turned lava tubes and quarries into art centres; and a coastline that runs from the beaches of Papagayo in the south to the surf of Famara in the north. All of it fits into roughly 60 by 25 km.

This is the island of repeat visitors: among the larger islands, its visitors are the oldest (51 on average) and give it the highest satisfaction score; half come from the UK and 78% had been before. It suits you if you like art, wine and cycling. Skip it if you're after forests or high mountains: the highest point, Peñas del Chache, only reaches 671 m. If you can't decide between islands, see which island to choose.

Things to do in Lanzarote, area by area

The island council's tourist centres (CACT) are paid for one by one, and two of them require a timed online booking. Much of the rest is free.

South and west: the volcano

• Montañas del Fuego (Timanfaya). €30 per adult, a timed ticket sold online only. It includes the Ruta de los Volcanes coach tour, the geothermal demonstrations at Islote de Hilario and parking. Details in Timanfaya: tickets and the visit.
• Camel ride. Echadero de los Camellos, LZ-67 road, km 16: €11 per person, about 20 minutes, no booking needed. It's run by Yaiza town council, not the CACT.
• Mancha Blanca Visitor Centre. Free, 4 km from the park entrance, with an audiovisual show and an eruption simulation.
• Volcán del Cuervo. The first vent of 1730, with an easy trail right into the crater. Taking stones is forbidden.
• Caldera Blanca. About 10 km and 3 hours from the church at Mancha Blanca, across lava from 1730–1736.
• El Golfo and Charco de los Clicos. The green lagoon can only be seen from the viewpoint, on foot from the village car park; the southern access is still closed because of rockfalls.
• Los Hervideros. Lava cliffs where the sea "boils" in the caves, on the same route as the Salinas de Janubio salt pans, which offer a guided visit from €22.
• La Geria. The island's wine country. El Grifo, founded in 1775, bills itself as one of the ten oldest wineries in Spain: an audio-guided visit with two wines costs €15, and tastings are for adults only. Bodega Stratvs is still open Tuesday to Saturday, with tastings from €8 (booking required) and a restaurant.
• Playas de Papagayo. Inside the Los Ajaches Natural Monument. By car it's €3 per vehicle, card only; on foot or by bike it's free. The track is unpaved: check your hire-car contract.
• Museo Atlántico. More than 300 sculptures by Jason deCaires Taylor at about 12 m, off Playa Blanca. Divers only, through the dive centres that sell it: from €48 if you're certified, €149 for a first-time try-dive.

The six-wine tasting with Canarian cheeses costs €50 on El Grifo's website and the same on the booking platforms; to taste without spending much, go for the €15 audio guide.

North: Manrique, caves and La Graciosa

• Jameos del Agua. €17. A lava tube with a lake that's home to a tiny blind crab. Last entry 17:15.
• Cueva de los Verdes. €17, a 50-minute guided visit, timed and online only. The work of Jesús Soto, not Manrique.
• Mirador del Río. €9. Carved into the Risco de Famara cliff, facing La Graciosa. No bus.
• Jardín de Cactus. €9, in Guatiza: an old quarry turned into a garden.
• Fundación César Manrique (Tahíche) and Casa-Museo de Haría. €10 each, €17 for both; privately run, outside the CACT. Everything is in the César Manrique route.
• La Graciosa. Ferry from Órzola, about 30 minutes and €29 return; no tarmac roads. See La Graciosa in a day.
• Famara. More than 5 km of beach, home to the surf schools. Buses 20 from Arrecife and 31 from Costa Teguise.

The La Graciosa ferry costs the same from the ferry company as on the platforms: €29 return.

Centre: Teguise, Arrecife and the free sights

• Teguise market. Every Sunday 09:00–14:00, more than 400 stalls in the old town. Buses 11 (Costa Teguise), 12 (Puerto del Carmen), 13 (Playa Blanca) and 14 (Arrecife). The town itself is nicer on a weekday.
• Casa Museo del Campesino. In Mozaga, free, with the Fecundidad sculpture.
• Castillo de San José (MIAC). An 18th-century fortress in Arrecife housing a contemporary art museum, €5.40, 11:00–18:00.
• LagOmar. A private house-museum in Nazaret, tickets from €10. The tale that Omar Sharif lost it at a game of bridge is local legend.

Free things to do in Lanzarote: Volcán del Cuervo, Caldera Blanca, Mancha Blanca, El Golfo, Los Hervideros, Famara, the Campesino and Papagayo on foot. That's two days' worth.

Things to do in Lanzarote with kids

Timanfaya is free up to age 6 and children only pay for the camels from age 4, so the volcanic south is cheap for families. With little ones, Cueva de los Verdes (stairs, low ceilings) and Jameos (no pushchairs) don't work.

Both water parks cost the same on their own website as on the platforms:

• Aqualava (Playa Blanca) is open all year because it heats its pools with geothermal energy. €30 adults, €20 children aged 3 to 11; free transfer on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
• Aquapark Costa Teguise calls itself the biggest on the island, but only opens from late March to early November (in April and May it closes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays). €28 adults, €19 children aged 4 to 12.

Booking direct has one advantage: Costa Teguise's half-day ticket from 14:00 (€20), plus resident rates that only locals can use. For a comparison with the other islands, see Canary Islands water parks.

More ideas: Rancho Texas in Puerto del Carmen (€45 adults, €30 children) mixes animals and water slides, and keeps dolphins and sea lions with paid interactions (our review). The submarine at Puerto Calero takes children from age 2, and Lanzarote Aquarium tickets start at €16, the same on both platforms:

Lanzarote tours and excursions: which are worth it

Without a car, a full-day tour takes care of Timanfaya and the north. Check whether the tickets are included: Timanfaya, Jameos and Cueva de los Verdes add up to €64, so on a €51 tour it pays to read the listing and see which ones are covered.

Our pick

1

The island in a day, no driving

Timanfaya, Cueva de los Verdes and Jameos del Agua in one day; thousands of reviews and one of the highest ratings.

Lanzarote

GetYourGuide9 hours

Lanzarote: Full-Day Island Highlights Tour

4.7 (3,328 reviews)

from €51Check availability

2

Just Timanfaya, in a morning

The Ruta de los Volcanes and the geothermal demonstrations; for anyone without a hire car who wants the afternoon free.

Lanzarote

GetYourGuide5 hours

Lanzarote: Timanfaya National Park – Half-day tour

4.4 (2,815 reviews)

from €59Check availability

3

La Graciosa on your own

The return ferry from Órzola at the official price, with parking; the rest of the day is up to you.

Lanzarote

GetYourGuide

Lanzarote: Ferry to La Graciosa with Wi-Fi (free parking)

4.7 (1,145 reviews)

from €29Check availability

4

Volcanoes off the tarmac

A 2–3 hour guided buggy tour from Costa Teguise; pricey, but it's the way to get off the road with a guide.

Lanzarote

GetYourGuide2 - 3 hours

Lanzarote: Guided Off-Road Volcano Buggy Tour

4.6 (5,566 reviews)

from €150Check availability

5

Jet ski in the south

From 20 minutes to 3 hours; no licence needed because you follow the guide.

Lanzarote

GetYourGuide20 minutes - 3 hours

Lanzarote: Jet Ski Tour

4.7 (1,069 reviews)

from €70Check availability

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GetYourGuide5 hours

Lanzarote: Timanfaya National Park – Half-day tour

4.4 (2,815 reviews)

from €59Check availability

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GetYourGuide9 hours

Lanzarote: Timanfaya Park, Jameos del Agua, & Cueva de los Verdes Tour

4.5 (2,866 reviews)

from €89Check availability

Lanzarote

GetYourGuide

Lanzarote: Ferry to La Graciosa with Wi-Fi (free parking)

4.7 (1,145 reviews)

from €29Check availability

Gran Canaria

Tiqets

Poema del Mar - Aquarium Gran Canaria: Skip The Line Ticket

4.7 (1,458 reviews)

from €29Check availability

Lanzarote

GetYourGuide20 minutes - 3 hours

Lanzarote: Jet Ski Tour

4.7 (1,069 reviews)

from €70Check availability

Lanzarote

GetYourGuide2 - 3 hours

Lanzarote: Guided Off-Road Volcano Buggy Tour

4.6 (5,566 reviews)

from €150Check availability

See all options on GetYourGuide →Prices checked on 2 October 2026

On the water, the top picks are the jet ski to Papagayo from Puerto del Carmen or Marina Rubicón (jet skis and watersports) and the catamaran from Puerto Calero. For dolphin trips, Lanzarote has only five to seven licensed boats; Tenerife has more than a hundred.

Fuerteventura as a day trip is easy: the Playa Blanca–Corralejo ferry takes 25–35 minutes with Fred. Olsen, Baleària Canarias or Líneas Romero (€39 return with the last of these). More in island hopping. Boat trips to Morocco, on the other hand, there are none.

Where to stay: Puerto del Carmen, Costa Teguise or Playa Blanca

Puerto del Carmen is the practical choice: jet skis, parascending and diving at Playa Chica, plus a boat-bus to Puerto Calero. Costa Teguise has the Aquapark and a bus to Puerto del Carmen (line 3). Playa Blanca is the furthest out: if you stay there, hire a car.

Getting around Lanzarote: airport, buses and car hire

The airport (ACE) has two terminals; buses and taxis leave from the arrivals level of both.

• Line 22 Arrecife – airport: about 16 minutes, every 40–50 minutes, 05:30–23:20. Airport routes and timetables change from time to time and the AENA website isn't always up to date: check the operator's site first, arrecifebus.com.
• Line 161 airport – Puerto del Carmen – Puerto Calero – Yaiza – Playa Blanca: 07:30–21:30, every 30–60 minutes.
• Costa Teguise: no direct line; change in Arrecife to line 1.
• Bono General: a €2 card giving 10% off fares, which several people can share.

For the north, line 9 Arrecife–Órzola stops at Guatiza (Jardín de Cactus), Arrieta, Punta Mujeres and Jameos del Agua, but it only runs five times a day and two of those don't stop at Jameos. No bus goes to Montañas del Fuego, Mirador del Río, El Golfo or La Geria.

When to go to Lanzarote: weather and wind

Lanzarote is too low to catch the trade-wind clouds, so it gets little rain: 111 mm a year at the airport, with December the wettest month. It's the sunniest island in winter (6.5 hours a day in January) and has the hottest afternoons in August (average highs of 29 °C). The flip side is that its winter nights are the coolest on the Canary coast, with lows of 14 °C.

The wind never makes the brochures: the trade wind blows on 70% of days in July and 45% in January. Pack a windproof jacket all year and something warm for Timanfaya from October to April. The sea is warmest in September and October and coldest in February and March (about 18 °C); the surf season at Famara runs from October to March.

High season in the Canaries runs from October to March. To pick a month, see Canary Islands weather month by month; if you're travelling in autumn, the Canaries in November explains why Lanzarote and Fuerteventura are then the driest bets.

Lanzarote in 3, 5 or 7 days

• 3 days: one day for the south (Timanfaya first thing, El Golfo, Los Hervideros, La Geria on the way back), one for Manrique's north (Jardín de Cactus, Cueva de los Verdes, Jameos, Mirador del Río) and a beach day at Papagayo.
• 5 days: add La Graciosa from Órzola and a morning in Teguise with the Campesino and the Fundación in Tahíche.
• 7 days: add a day trip to Fuerteventura, Caldera Blanca or one of the national park's free guided walks, and an afternoon on the water (jet ski, catamaran or diving at the Museo Atlántico).

Common mistakes: hunting for the combined pass for the Manrique centres (it no longer exists), turning up at Papagayo without a card, counting on Aquapark Costa Teguise in winter and coming back late from La Graciosa: from late October the last Líneas Romero boat leaves at 17:00.

If volcanoes interest you beyond Timanfaya, compare it with Teide and La Palma in Canary Islands volcanoes.

LanzaroteTimanfayaTimanfaya National Park tickets: €30, online only and timed, 09:30–15:45. What the visit includes, €11 camel rides, free guided walks and how to get there.from €44 LanzaroteCésar Manrique routeCésar Manrique in Lanzarote: no more CACT pass. Jameos del Agua and Cueva de los Verdes tickets €17, Mirador and Cactus €9, Fundación €10, and a day route.from €10 LanzaroteJet ski & watersportsJet ski Lanzarote from Puerto del Carmen or Playa Blanca: 20 minutes from €60 per jet ski via agencies, Papagayo safaris, licence, age, diving and surf.from €50 LanzaroteLa GraciosaThe La Graciosa ferry leaves from Órzola: €29 return, 25–30 minutes, two companies. Timetables, getting to Órzola, bikes or 4x4 taxis and a day trip plan.from €15

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