Lanzarote, the fourth-largest of Spain’s Canary Islands, is much more than a sangria & sand flop for sun-starved Northern Europeans. This island has a rich artistic heritage, a smattering of colonial towns and a sensational volcanic landscape.
One week in Lanzarote is all you need to hit its highlights. Here’s my guide to the best places to visit, where to stay and how to get around.
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My Week in Lanzarote
I visited Lanzarote as a solo traveller, based at the Hotel HD Beach Resort & Spa in Costa Teguise, and got around almost entirely by public transport. For the places buses don’t reach – Timanfaya being the obvious one – I joined this full-day tour, which also covered Jameos del Agua, Cueva de Los Verdes and Mirador del Rio. La Geria I explored with Wine Tours Lanzarote.
Best Places to Visit in Lanzarote
1. Timanfaya National Park (Parque Nacional de Timanfaya)
If there is one place that defines Lanzarote, it is Timanfaya National Park.
Covering a quarter of the island, this spectacular volcanic landscape was created by over six years of near-continuous eruptions between 1730 and 1736. The result is a Mars-like terrain unlike anywhere else in Europe, and it has been recognised as a UNESCO biosphere reserve.
There is no public bus to Timanfaya. If you do not have a rental car, the best way of visiting the park is on a day tour (I did this one, which included the entrance fee). Note that you can only explore the park on a coach tour; getting off the bus and wandering into the lava fields is not permitted.
2. Fundación César Manrique
The work of César Manrique – painter, sculptor, architect and Lanzarote’s most famous son – is everywhere on this island. His former home on the outskirts of Tahiche, now the Fundación César Manrique, is one of the most interesting places to visit.
The house has been transformed into a celebration of his life through sculpture, paintings, archive photos and video. From its huge windows, you look out over a landscape of volcanic cones and solidified lava.
Below ground, volcanic bubbles have been converted into living spaces, a pool and a subterranean garden that feels like something from another world. The enclosed garden at the end of the tour has a huge abstract mural – one of Lanzarote’s most photographed sights.
A joint ticket covers both the Foundation and the Casa-Museo at Haría (Manrique’s final home, little changed since he was killed in a car accident in 1992), so it makes sense to visit both on the same day.
- Opening hours: Daily 10 am to 5.30 pm.
- Admission fee applies.
3. Jameos del Agua
Manrique turned this volcanic tunnel system – which runs from Montaña de Corona all the way to the Atlantic – into one of Lanzarote’s most extraordinary visitor attractions. Jameo refers to the cavity left when the roof of a volcanic tunnel collapses.
The underground lake is home to a unique species of crab (Munidopsis polymorpha) – blind, white and shelless – that exists nowhere else on earth. Terraced landscaping takes you back up to ground level, where there’s a restaurant with views over the sea.
- Opening hours: Daily 10 am to 6 pm.
- Admission fee applies.
4. Cueva de Los Verdes
Literally “Cave of the Greens”, the name refers not to the colour of the rocks but to the family who used to tend their goats in the upper part of the cave. This almost five-mile-long network was used as a refuge from pirate raids in the 16th and 17th centuries, and features interior lagoons and superimposed galleries reaching up to 50 metres in height.
Visits are on a 50-minute guided tour, at the end of which your guide will reveal the “secret of the caves”.
- Opening hours: Daily 9.30 am to 4.15 pm.
- Admission fee applies.
5. Arrecife
Don’t you love it when a city exceeds your expectations? Arrecife, Lanzarote’s capital, was one of those cities for me. There are plenty of things to do in Arrecife, and no better place on the island to get a feel for local life.
The highlights: the golden-sand Playa del Reducto; the seafront promenade with its ornate Quiosco de la Música; the 16th-century Castillo de San Gabriel (now a history museum); the tidal lagoon of Charco de San Ginés, lined with restaurants; and the 17th-century San Ginés Church, set in a lovely square that rings with birdsong.
If you’re happy to forgo the resort experience, Arrecife makes an excellent base with unbeatable bus connections.
INSIDER TIP: The main bus station is a circuitous 15-minute walk from the centre. Get off at the Intercambiador stop on the seafront instead.
6. Teguise
Teguise was the first colonial capital in the world. Its handsome buildings, shady squares and small but excellent museums make it a must-see, even with just a week on the island.
Don’t miss the Palacio Spinola – a surprisingly fascinating museum dedicated to the island’s traditional five-stringed timple; the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe opposite; and the Castillo de Santa Bárbara, which crowns an extinct volcano on the edge of town and once protected the capital from pirates.
INSIDER TIP: Every Sunday, visitors pour in for the weekly market, which mostly peddles tourist tatt. Do yourself a favour and visit on any other day.
7. Jardín de Cactus (Cactus Garden)
The Cactus Garden is another Manrique creation – a terraced garden set in a volcanic crater, crowned by a small white windmill, with around 500 species from across the globe. There are more cacti than you can shake a stick at, from tall and phallic ones to others that look like small, furry animals.
Don’t miss the artwork on the external walls of the toilets. These Manrique designs are as much of a crowd-puller as the prickly plants themselves.
- Opening hours: Daily 10 am to 5 pm.
- Admission fee applies.
8. La Geria wine valley
Did you know that Lanzarote has a thriving wine industry? Probably not, because they keep most of it for themselves.
La Geria is Lanzarote’s main wine-growing region, a protected area of about 20 square miles where Malvasia Volcanica grapes are cultivated in semi-circular pits dug into volcanic ash, each one sheltered by a low stone wall against the trade winds. Harvesting starts in late July – the earliest in Europe – and every grape is picked by hand
To learn more and taste the results, join a half-day tour. I did the Wine and Vineyard Walk with Wine Tours Lanzarote, which was fun and informative in equal measure.
9. Famara
Famara Beach was one of the highlights of my week in Lanzarote.
On the north-western coast next to the village of Caleta de Famara, this is surfers’ Mecca, a glorious sweep of soft sand studded with volcanic rocks, tucked against a cliff face. Watch instructors put rookie surfers through their paces on the sand before they valiantly attempt to stay upright in the water.
The village itself has a frontier-town feel: single-storey whitewashed buildings, a few cafes and a handful of surf schools. The real draw, though, is the beach.
10. El Golfo (Laguna de los Clicos)
Along a path from the tiny coastal village of El Golfo is one of Lanzarote’s most famous sights: Charco de Los Clicos or Green Lagoon. Its intense colour is due to the concentration of Ruppia Maritima, a type of algal phytoplankton, in the water.
I’ll be honest – I was a little underwhelmed. But it’s so close to Timanfaya that it makes sense to tick it off on the same day.
11. Playa del Papagayo
On the south-eastern tip of the island, Papagayo is one of Lanzarote’s best-known beaches. This small shell-shaped cove has a crescent of sand and crystal-clear water. Make the most of your visit to Playa del Papagayo with a half-day boat tour.
12. Yaiza
Yaiza’s reputation as the prettiest village in Lanzarote is well-deserved.
Palm-lined streets, blood-red geraniums on green balconies and bougainvillaea drooping over whitewashed walls – it’s picture-perfect Canarian. The centrepiece is the lovely Nuestra Señora de los Remedios church, with its volcanic stone columns, wooden ceiling and arched windows of red, blue and clear glass.
13. Isla Graciosa
Take a 20-minute boat trip from Orzola to enter another world.
La Graciosa is part of the protected Parque Natural del Archipélago Chinijo, home to around 700 people and just one settlement, Caleta del Sebo. Except for a few Land Rovers, there are no cars and no paved roads. Hire a bike at the harbour or go on foot.
If you are not hiring a car in Lanzarote, the easiest way to visit Isla Graciosa is on a day tour, which includes a return transfer from your resort and the boat journey. Take a look at this one.
14. Mirador del Rio
Manrique transformed this former military post into a lookout point over La Graciosa and the smaller islands of Montaña Clara and Alegranza. I’ll be upfront: when I visited, there was a complete white-out. The guide assured me the views are sensational. I’ll take his word for it.
- Opening hours: Daily 10 am to 5 pm.
- Admission fee applies.
Plan Your Visit
when to visit
With around 300 days of sunshine annually, Lanzarote is a year-round destination. Average temperatures hover around 20°C, rising to 30°C in summer, though the trade winds take the edge off the heat.
Spring and autumn are the sweet spots – warm enough, without the summer crowds. November is the quietest month for tourism if you’re after a good deal.
You’re most likely to see rain between November and February, though it rarely lasts long. Avoid Easter and Christmas if you want lower prices.
getting there
Most visitors fly into César Manrique-Lanzarote Airport (ACE) near Arrecife. There are direct flights from across Europe, as well as ferry connections from Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria and mainland Spain for those combining islands.
Getting around
Whilst hiring a car gives you the most flexibility, it’s not for everyone. It’s certainly not for me. Instead, leave your driver’s licence at home and take the bus.
Thanks to cheap fares and an extensive network, exploring Lanzarote by bus is a breeze. What you lose in flexibility, you gain in downtime, watching the island’s extraordinary landscape unfurl from the comfort of your window seat.
For the few places in Lanzarote that buses do not reach – Timanfaya National Park is a good example – join one of the inexpensive day tours.
Where to Stay
Where you base yourself depends on how you plan to explore.
If you want easy access to the northeast of the island by public transport, Costa Teguise or Arrecife are the smartest choices. For a resort-focused holiday with good beaches, Puerto del Carmen (the biggest resort, three miles from the airport) or the more upmarket Playa Blanca in the south are the popular picks.
All three resort towns have good bus connections, though Puerto del Carmen is slightly less convenient for the north.
Costa Teguise has a more low-key feel than the other resorts and a lovely promenade connecting three beaches. I stayed at the Hotel HD Beach Resort & Spa – great sea views, pools galore, and I was lucky enough to be upgraded to a duplex suite.
Other options worth a look:
Paradisus by Meliá Salinas Lanzarote – adult-only, next door to HD Beach, and famous for its Manrique-designed interior garden.
Apartamento recién reformado, Playa de Las Cucharas – a well-reviewed modern apartment close to the beach with a sun terrace and daily housekeeping.
If I were going back, I’d be very tempted to stay in Arrecife itself. It has loads of character, a lovely beach and the best bus connections on the island.
5***** Charco Loft – a huge apartment in a brilliant location with excellent reviews.
Arrecife Gran Hotel & Spa – 5-star with panoramic views right next to El Reducto beach.
Quick FAQs
Is one week enough in Lanzarote?
Yes, comfortably. The island is small – you can drive from one end to the other in about an hour – and a week gives you plenty of time to cover the highlights without rushing.
Do you need a car in Lanzarote?
Not necessarily. As I found, exploring Lanzarote by bus is surprisingly easy thanks to cheap fares and an extensive network. For the places buses don’t reach – Timanfaya National Park being the main one – an inexpensive day tour does the job. These are also a great way for solo travellers to meet other people.
Lanzarote Travel Tips
A few final things to know before you go:
- Pack a layer or two. There were cool mornings when I visited, and the wind can be brisk at higher altitudes like La Geria.
- Sturdy footwear is a must, given the rocky terrain.
- The currency is the Euro. Cards are widely accepted, and ATMs are plentiful, though transaction fees vary – watch out for that.
- Tipping is appreciated but not mandatory; 10% in a restaurant is generous, and 50 cents to a Euro in a bar is plenty.
FURTHER READING
- Lanzarote Solo Travel: The Ultimate Guide
- Exploring Lanzarote by Bus: Tips, Popular Routes and Fares
- 10 Fabulous Things to Do in Arrecife, Lanzarote
- How to Visit the Cactus Garden, Lanzarote
- 5 Reasons to Visit Famara, Lanzarote: The Hawaii of Europe
About Bridget
Bridget Coleman has been a passionate traveller for more than 30 years. She has visited 70+ countries, most as a solo traveller.
Articles on this site reflect her first-hand experiences.
To get in touch, email her at hello@theflashpacker.net or follow her on social media.