Lanzarote: what to see, where to stay and Milan Bez Mapy’s tips

Of all the Canary Islands I like Fuerteventura best, but I’ve been back to Lanzarote several times. I don’t think you need a package holiday for it: a flight, a week and a hire car will do. On one trip I managed a whole week with just buses and boats. But no bus goes to the Papagayo beaches or to Timanfaya.

Quick factsby Milan Bez Mapy

How many days

A week; you can drive the length of the island in about an hour

Getting around

You’ll see more with a car; no bus goes to Timanfaya or Papagayo

Timanfaya

€30 including the bus through the park; tickets online for an exact time slot

La Graciosa

A 25-minute boat ride from Órzola, about €15 one way

Where to stay

Puerto del Carmen is close to the airport, Playa Blanca near Papagayo

In winter

About 20°C in January, but the sea at Papagayo was ice-cold

What is there to see in Lanzarote? Even on the way from the airport you notice something unusual. The houses are low and white, with blue or green windows. There are no billboards along the roads, and high-rise hotels are few and far between. That’s no accident.

From 1730 to 1736 the volcanoes here spewed lava for almost six years, burying roughly a quarter of the island. Today that landscape is Timanfaya National Park. Two centuries later along came César Manrique, a painter and architect from Lanzarote. Together with the local authorities he pushed through rules that protect the island from concrete resorts. That’s why the island’s tallest building is still the 15-storey Gran Hotel in Arrecife, built in 1974.

I’ve explored Lanzarote on several trips, and each time in a different way. In 2022 I spent a week here alone, without a car. I slept in a caravan in the desert, on a boat in a harbour and on the island of La Graciosa. In January 2026 I came back for a quick trip. I paid €75 for a return flight with Ryanair, flying out of Vienna and back into Bratislava.

This time I came with a friend. We had a hire car and stayed in Puerto del Carmen, and I went running and to the gym as well. It wasn’t tropical, but in January blue skies and sunshine make a huge difference. Then I flew home to snowy Bratislava; there’s more about that in my diary for January 2026.

How many days in Lanzarote, when to go and what the weather is like

A week on Lanzarote was enough for me. In seven days I fitted in the south, the north, the capital, Arrecife, and two nights on La Graciosa. The island is small: you can drive from the south to the north in about an hour. In January 2026 I was here for just four nights, and as a quick break it worked really well.

The weather is pleasant all year round. In January I had sunshine and about 20°C. The sea is cooler in winter, though, at roughly 18 to 19°C. When I went to Papagayo beach in January, the water was ice-cold, far too cold for a swim. The ocean is warmest in September and October, at around 23°C.

You often ask me about the wind in the comments. Yes, Lanzarote is windy, but it’s nothing you can’t live with. The strongest are the trade winds, steady north-easterlies, and they usually peak in summer. I felt the wind most on La Graciosa, where it even put paid to my bike trip. If you’re looking for winter sun, I have more ideas in my article on where to go on holiday in February.

Where to stay in Lanzarote: Puerto del Carmen, Playa Blanca or Arrecife?

I’ve stayed in several places on Lanzarote. Each suits a different kind of trip, so I’ve summed them up in a table.

In January 2026 my friend and I stayed in an apartment in Puerto del Carmen. It’s a short hop from the airport: about 15 minutes by taxi and about half an hour on the direct bus. The town has a bit of a resort vibe, with a long promenade and restaurants aimed at tourists, but it was fine.

Playa Blanca in the south also works well for a classic beach holiday. It’s the closest base for the Papagayo beaches, and the ferry to Fuerteventura leaves from its harbour. For shorter trips I usually book accommodation in advance. In 2022 I found the unusual places, like the caravan and the boat, on Airbnb.

Getting around Lanzarote: car hire or bus?

In 2022 I got around for the whole week by bus, or guagua, as buses are called here. Most routes start at the bus station in Arrecife. Fares depend on distance: about €1.40 on shorter routes and over €3 from the airport to Playa Blanca. These days you can pay in cash or by card. I looked up routes on Google Maps or in the Moovit app. You may have heard about free buses in the Canaries: they’re for locals with a resident’s card, so tourists pay the normal fare.

The bus won’t take you everywhere, though. No route serves Timanfaya National Park or the Papagayo beaches. Buses from Arrecife to Caleta de Famara run only a few times a day. It was the poor connections that kept me from the Papagayo beaches on my first visit. In January 2026 my friend and I had a hire car. In a few days we fitted in Famara in the north and Papagayo in the south.

The Canary Islands are part of Spain and so of the European Union. That means a Slovak driving licence, like any EU one, is all you need to hire a car. Mobile data works just as it does at home.

• Tip from Milan The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) covers basic treatment. In a separate article I explain whether the EHIC is enough on its own or whether you also need travel insurance.

For tax purposes, though, the Canary Islands are treated as if they were outside the EU. Instead of VAT there’s a local tax, IGIC, with a standard rate of 7%. That’s why duty-free allowances for alcohol and cigarettes apply when you fly home, such as 200 cigarettes or a litre of spirits.

Camping and sleeping in your car on Lanzarote

Lots of people tour Lanzarote in a camper van or sleep in their car. Wild camping isn’t allowed: tents are only permitted on official campsites and in designated areas. In summer 2026, for example, natural park rangers handed out €150 fines for tents on Bajo Risco beach. If you sleep in your car, don’t set up chairs, a table or an awning outside, or you risk a fine. The rules also differ from one municipality to the next.

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Things to do in Lanzarote: Milan Bez Mapy’s picks

For a classic holiday, all you need is a base by the beach and two day trips, to Timanfaya and to Jameos del Agua. I’ve nothing against that kind of holiday, and one day I’ll definitely have one with my mates. But I wanted to get to know the island a bit differently, which is why this list also includes places off the main tourist trail.

Timanfaya National Park: what does it cost and is it worth it?

Everyone on Lanzarote will tell you to see Timanfaya. Personally, I don’t like being told what I must see, but I went to have a look anyway. Was it worth it? For me, not really. It doesn’t compare with our national parks in Slovakia, with their green mountains and tarns. Then again, why would I compare an island in the Atlantic with Slovak Paradise?

A reader, Tomáš, saw it differently: he wrote in the comments that Timanfaya was brilliant. So it’s partly a matter of taste. The landscape really does look like the surface of the Moon, and the ground is still hot. At Islote de Hilario the staff pour water into the ground, and a moment later it shoots back up like a geyser. At El Diablo restaurant they grill food on heat from the earth, over a five-metre well where the temperature reaches about 250°C.

You can’t drive round the park in your own car or explore it on foot by yourself. You drive to the car park at Islote de Hilario. From there a bus takes you along the Ruta de los Volcanes, a ride of about 35 minutes. A ticket costs €30 and includes the bus. You have to buy it online for an exact date and time, and you can’t change it or get a refund. The whole visit takes about an hour and a quarter, and the park is open daily from 9am to 3.45pm.

The national park authority also runs free guided walks along the Tremesana route. You book them on the Spanish national parks website. I combined Timanfaya with El Golfo and the La Geria vineyards, which also makes sense logistically, as it’s all close together.

El Golfo, the green Charco de los Clicos lagoon and Los Hervideros

Not far from Timanfaya lies the fishing village of El Golfo. Right next to it is the Charco de los Clicos lagoon, which glows green. The colour comes from the algae that live in it. A few kilometres further south are Los Hervideros, cliffs of solidified lava where the ocean surges in with the waves. Both places are free, too, and with a car you can combine them with Timanfaya in a single day.

La Geria vineyards: why do the vines grow in pits?

In La Geria I went to a wine tasting. The vines here don’t grow in rows as they do back home in Slovakia, but in pits in black volcanic gravel. Each pit is also sheltered by a low semicircular wall of lava stones.

Why? It rains very little on Lanzarote, and the wind blows almost all the time. The volcanic gravel, which locals call picón, works like a blanket and keeps moisture and nutrients in the soil. The wall shields the vine from the wind. Machines can’t get between the pits, so everything is done by hand. The most typical wine is a white made from the malvasía volcánica grape. On the way I passed Bodega Stratvs. I didn’t stop, and I still regret it.

Caleta de Famara and Famara beach

I only made it to Caleta de Famara in January 2026, when my friend and I drove there. It’s a surfers’ village in the north-west of the island. The streets are sand, and the Risco de Famara cliffs rise 400 to 600 metres above the village. Below them, Famara beach stretches for more than five kilometres. Nothing shelters it from the Atlantic, so the waves are serious and it’s mostly surfers who come here. When the waves are high, swimming is risky.

I stopped to eat at Grill La Posada, right in the village, and had good home-style food. In the comments, reader Tomáš wrote that for him Famara was the best beach for waves and surfing. Without a car it’s a long way, though: the bus from Arrecife comes only a few times a day.

Teguise and its Sunday market

Teguise was the capital of Lanzarote for more than four centuries, from 1418 to 1852. It lies inland, to keep it further from the pirates. After that the capital moved to Arrecife, which had a sheltered harbour. Today there’s a market here every Sunday from 9am to 2pm, with more than 400 stalls.

I’d heard a lot about the market, but I missed it again in 2026: I flew in on a Tuesday and out on a Saturday. According to travel guides, the car parks fill up at around 10.30am, and coaches full of tourists start arriving from 11am.

Jameos del Agua, Cueva de los Verdes and Jardín de Cactus: César Manrique’s Lanzarote

In the north of the island there are several places that César Manrique designed or remodelled. Cueva de los Verdes is a lava tube formed by the La Corona volcano. The guided tour takes about 50 minutes and costs €17, and tickets are sold online only.

Jameos del Agua is a section of the same tube where the roof has collapsed. Manrique turned it into a cultural centre with a small lake, a swimming pool and a concert hall. The lake is home to tiny blind white crabs that you won’t find anywhere but in this lava tube. Tickets cost from €17.

Jardín de Cactus in the village of Guatiza was once an abandoned volcanic gravel quarry. Manrique persuaded the authorities not to fill it in and turned it into a garden with 4,500 cacti from hundreds of species. It opened in 1990 and was his last major work on the island. Manrique died two years later, and in 1993 the whole of Lanzarote became a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Tickets cost €9, the same as at the Mirador del Río viewpoint, which looks out over the whole island of La Graciosa.

In 2022 I gave these places a miss because of the crowds. I had cacti right outside my desert caravan anyway. Combined tickets for several sites are no longer sold, so you need a separate ticket for each one.

Charco del Palo, the nudist village I found by accident

I’ll admit it: I only discovered the nudist village of Charco del Palo by accident. On Airbnb I found a caravan in the middle of the desert, near the small town of Mala. Mala, though, has no grocery shop, and according to Google the nearest one was in Charco del Palo. I packed my rucksack and walked there across the desert in half an hour. At the entrance I was greeted by a big billboard full of bare bottoms.

Then, by the bins, I ran into a married couple, stark naked, taking out the rubbish. OK then. Inside I was laughing, but on the outside I was the consummate professional. I’d come to buy sausages and eggs for breakfast. I got them too, just not quite the way I’d imagined.

Down by the sea there are natural pools you can swim in, and a pleasant walk along the cliffs. The hotel balconies are full of nudists, so don’t be surprised. Until then I’d mostly heard of nudist towns in connection with Croatia. I had no idea I’d end up in one completely by chance. In 2022 I had dinner every evening at Arepera Bar in Mala, and their wine is worth trying.

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Puerto Calero and Puerto del Carmen

Puerto Calero won me over. It’s a pleasant mix of restaurants and a harbour promenade, without the cheap souvenir shops and drunken Brits. To me it’s a calmer version of neighbouring Puerto del Carmen. On Airbnb I found a boat here, the Vientos del Sur, and spent two nights on board. Sleeping on a boat is no joke: it rocked constantly and I didn’t get a decent night’s sleep once. But what an experience.

The captain told me he had sailed round the world on her. Then, he said, a wave nearly capsized her and the salt water almost wrecked her, so he keeps repairing her bit by bit. My days in Puerto Calero flew by, with wine in the marina and walks along the coast. A lovely path runs along the cliffs between Puerto Calero and Puerto del Carmen.

At MargheRita pizzeria I had their pear and gorgonzola pizza, and it was superb. Igor, a reader, later wrote to me that it’s no longer on the menu, but apparently they’re happy to make it if you ask. I returned to Puerto del Carmen in January 2026, and this time we stayed in the town itself. There’s more on that in the section on where to stay.

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Arrecife, the capital of Lanzarote

In 2022 I saved Arrecife for the end of the trip and expected nothing of it. I stayed right in the centre, with a view of the castle out in the ocean. In the end the town turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. It has good restaurants, a small craft beer scene and historic sights dotted in between the other buildings.

Castillo de San Gabriel is a small fortress on a tiny islet, Islote de los Ingleses (the Island of the English). A bridge links it to the shore, and inside is the town’s history museum. In the centre there’s also the Charco de San Ginés lagoon, full of small fishing boats. The cafés around it are a good place to sit and watch the tide come in and go out. Towering over the town is the Gran Hotel, the island’s tallest building, which I mentioned at the start.

Papagayo beaches: how to get there

On my first visit I didn’t make it to the Papagayo beaches because of the poor bus connections. Later I did, and I liked the beach. It was quite crowded for such a small space, though. Getting a table at the restaurant above the beach was almost impossible. In January 2026 my friend and I came here by car. It wasn’t swimming weather: the water was ice-cold. In the comments, a reader called Adriana recommended a morning walk from Playa Blanca along the coast all the way to Papagayo.

All the beaches lie in the protected Los Ajaches area in the south of the island. There are five of them: Playa Mujeres, Playa de Papagayo, Playa de la Cera, Caleta del Congrio and Playa del Pozo. By car it’s about 5.5 km along a dirt track from Playa Blanca. At the entrance you pay €3 per car, by card only. On foot it’s roughly an hour and a half along the coast from Marina Rubicón. In season, boats also run from the marina. There are no toilets or showers on the beaches.

Boat trip to La Graciosa from Órzola

La Graciosa is a small island just north of Lanzarote. About 700 people live here, and the streets aren’t paved, just sand. There are no ordinary cars, only a few vehicles with a special permit. It’s the same story on Holbox, a Mexican island I’ve also been to. In 2018 the Spanish Senate recognised La Graciosa as the eighth Canary Island. In practice, though, little changed.

The boat leaves from the harbour in Órzola in the north of Lanzarote, and the crossing takes about 25 minutes. Two companies run it, Biosfera Express and Líneas Romero, each with about eight sailings a day. A single ticket costs around €15. I sat on the upper deck on the left, facing forward, and the views of the cliffs were out of this world. A bus also runs from Arrecife to Órzola, but only a few times a day.

There isn’t much on La Graciosa, and that’s no bad thing. I spent two nights here, and that was plenty. The most popular thing to do is hire a bike and ride round the island. In 2022 bike hire cost €10 a day. You’ll find cycling routes on the Visit La Graciosa website.

Pedro Barba and the beaches of La Graciosa

There are only two settlements on the island: Caleta del Sebo with its harbour, and Pedro Barba. Because of the strong wind, I walked across the island to Pedro Barba instead of cycling. Hardly anyone lives there all year round; it’s mostly holiday homes, so it feels like a ghost town. I walked back to Caleta along the coast past Barranco de los Conejos beach, with views across to the cliffs of Lanzarote. The island’s best-known beach is Playa Francesa. Legend also has it that pirates buried treasure here. If you find it, think of me.

La Graciosa left me with mixed feelings. Maybe it was the ferocious wind, or maybe it was how few people there were. Not seeing a living soul all day messes with your head a bit, believe me. I’d go back, but only when the wind drops and I can actually cycle.

Lanzarote to Fuerteventura by ferry

Ferries run from the harbour in Playa Blanca to Corralejo in the north of Fuerteventura. The crossing takes 25 to 35 minutes, and several companies operate the route, including Fred. Olsen Express and Líneas Romero. Single tickets start at about €17. So in one day you can see the dunes at Corralejo and still get back to Lanzarote.

I go back to Fuerteventura almost every year, and of all the Canary Islands it’s my favourite. It has more long sandy beaches, while Lanzarote has the more striking volcanic landscape. I’ve listed my favourite spots in 8 places to see in Fuerteventura. Of the other Canary Islands, I’ve also written about Tenerife and Gran Canaria.

Lanzarote at a glance: prices and my tips

• Flight: €75 return in January 2026, out from Vienna and back to Bratislava
• Bus: from about €1.40 a journey depending on distance; no bus to Timanfaya or Papagayo
• Timanfaya: €30 including the bus through the park, tickets online for an exact time slot
• Cueva de los Verdes €17, Jameos del Agua from €17, Jardín de Cactus and Mirador del Río €9 each
• Boat to La Graciosa: around €15 one way, crossing about 25 minutes
• Papagayo beaches by car: €3 per car, card only
• Ferry to Fuerteventura: from €17 one way

I checked admission and transport prices in October 2026, but they may change before you travel.

Happy travels!