A stay in Lanzarote: when to go, what to see and how to plan it

The easternmost Canary Island is a landscape of frozen lava, black ash and white houses with green shutters. You visit a still-warm volcano, the caves and viewpoints imagined by Cesar Manrique, a vineyard planted in craters, and wild beaches at the end of dirt tracks.

Why choose Lanzarote?

Lanzarote offers a mild, dry climate year-round, dramatic volcanism at Timanfaya, and a unique look inherited from the artist Cesar Manrique, who banned billboards and tall buildings. The island, a UNESCO biosphere reserve, is toured by car in three to seven days, between lava caves, vineyard and beaches.

What to discover in Lanzarote

Timanfaya and the Montañas del Fuego

The eruptions of 1730 to 1736 buried a quarter of the island. Timanfaya National Park is visited only by coach, on the Ruta de los Volcanes, with geothermal demonstrations at the El Diablo restaurant, where food is grilled over the heat of the ground. Free walking is banned to protect the lichens, but two free guided hikes, Tremesana and the coastal trail, are booked ahead with the Mancha Blanca visitor centre.

The work of Cesar Manrique

A painter and architect, Manrique shaped the image of Lanzarote in the 1960s and 1970s. His foundation occupies a house built into five volcanic bubbles at Tahiche. He also designed the Jameos del Agua and their underground lake, the Cueva de los Verdes in the same lava tube, the Mirador del Rio facing La Graciosa and the Cactus Garden. A combined ticket covers six of these sites, run by the island's public body.

La Geria and the volcanic vineyard

Between Timanfaya and the island centre, La Geria shows a unique farming landscape: each vine grows at the bottom of a hollow dug in the ash, sheltered from the wind by a half-moon stone wall. The main product is malvasia, a dry, mineral wine tasted in bodegas along the LZ-30 road. The harvest, in August, is Europe's earliest. A half-day is enough, tasting included.

The south: Playa Blanca, Papagayo and the volcano coast

To the south, Playa Blanca is a beach base and the port for the 25-minute ferry to Fuerteventura. To the east, the Papagayo beaches, in a protected area, are reached by a track with paid parking, no shade and no services. To the west, El Golfo and its green lagoon, Los Hervideros where the ocean bursts through lava tunnels, and the still-worked Janubio salt pans make up the island's wildest coast.

The north, Haria and La Graciosa

The north is greener and more lived-in. Famara stretches a sand beach several kilometres long below a 600-metre cliff, known for learning to surf. Haria, in the so-called valley of a thousand palms, holds Manrique's last house. From Orzola, a short ferry reaches La Graciosa, the eighth Canary Island, with no paved roads, toured on foot or by bike to the beaches of the Chinijo reserve. See also the neighbouring island of Tenerife.

Cities to visit in Lanzarote

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Lanzarote in pictures

Must-see sights in Lanzarote

Volcanoes, lava caves, vineyard and beaches of the easternmost Canary Island.

The Montañas del Fuego

The heart of Timanfaya, a chaos of ochre and red craters toured by coach, with water geysers set off on the spot by the heat of the ground.

The Jameos del Agua

A lava tube turned by Manrique into an auditorium, restaurant and underground lake home to a small endemic albino crab.

The Cueva de los Verdes

A volcanic tunnel several kilometres long, a former refuge from pirates, visited over a kilometre with a famous optical illusion.

The Mirador del Rio

A viewpoint carved into the northern cliff, 475 metres above the strait separating the island from La Graciosa.

The Cactus Garden

Manrique's last project, an amphitheatre planted with over 4,500 cacti around a restored old gofio windmill.

Papagayo beach

A series of golden-sand coves in a protected natural area in the south, with clear water sheltered from the prevailing wind.

The island of La Graciosa

An island with no cars or paved roads, reached in a 25-minute ferry, with the wild beaches of Las Conchas and Francesa.

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Frequently asked questions about Lanzarote

Lanzarote in 3 or 7 days: what can you see?

In 3 days, Timanfaya, the Manrique sites and La Geria. In 5 days, add the south, Papagayo and El Golfo. In 7 days, the north, Famara and two nights on La Graciosa. The island is small, but the roads are slow.

Can you visit Lanzarote without a car?

Partly: buses link Arrecife to the resorts and organised trips cover Timanfaya and the caves. But for La Geria, the west coast and the north, waits between buses are long and a car is far simpler.

Can you walk freely in Timanfaya park?

No. The park's heart is visited only by coach, on the Ruta de los Volcanes. Two free guided walking routes, Tremesana and the coastal trail, are booked with the visitor centre, often several days ahead.

What did Cesar Manrique do for Lanzarote?

In the 1960s and 1970s he secured a ban on billboards and on buildings of more than a few storeys outside the resorts, and created a series of sites built into the volcanic landscape. He set the white of the houses and the green or blue of the woodwork.

How do you get to La Graciosa?

By car or bus to Orzola in the far north, then a 25-minute ferry to Caleta de Sebo, the only village. On the island there are no standard rental cars: you hire a bike or take a shared 4x4 to the beaches.

Lanzarote or Fuerteventura: which to choose?

Lanzarote for the volcanoes, Manrique's art and the vineyard; Fuerteventura for bigger beaches and lazing about. They are linked by a 25-minute ferry from Playa Blanca, so you can do one as a day trip.

Plan your trip to Lanzarote

Day-by-day itinerary, budget, bookings and packing in a single app.