What to Do in Lanzarote

Volcano hiking tour Timanfaya Lanzarote — guided trek through volcanic craters and lava fields with hikers on the caldera rim

Volcano Hiking — walk where the earth burned

The bus tour through Timanfaya is amazing, but hiking gets you inside the landscape. Guided volcano treks take you through the Montañas del Fuego crater fields on routes you'd never find alone — across aa lava (the sharp, chunky kind), past hidden calderas, and up ridges where you can see the whole island curve towards the sea.

The best tours are run by geologists who can read the rock like a book — they'll show you lava tubes, volcanic bombs, and the exact spot where everything went dark in 1730. Most are 4-5 hours, moderate difficulty, and include transport from the main resorts.

Book the early morning slot if you can. The light is better, the heat hasn't kicked in, and you'll have the craters almost to yourself. Wear proper trainers — volcanic rock shreds flip-flops in minutes.

Price: ~€40-55 per person · Duration: 4-5 hours · Moderate fitness required

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Surfing and kitesurfing at Famara beach Lanzarote — surfers riding Atlantic waves with dramatic volcanic cliffs in the background

Surfing & Kitesurfing — ride the Atlantic

Famara is the spiritual home of surfing in Lanzarote. A 6-kilometre stretch of sand backed by a 600-metre cliff, it catches swell year-round and has breaks for every level — mellow reform waves for beginners at the southern end, punchy peaks in the middle, and faster rights up towards the north end. There are half a dozen surf schools on the beach, and a two-hour lesson costs about €35-45 including board and wetsuit.

If you already know what you're doing, rent a board for €15/day and paddle out whenever you want. Mornings are glassiest, afternoons get choppier. The water is never warm-warm — it's the Atlantic — but a 3/2 wetsuit is fine year-round.

For kitesurfing, head to La Santa on the west coast. It's consistently windy, has flat-water lagoons for freestyle, and a proper local scene. The world championships have been held here multiple times. Beginners should book a course; the wind is strong and you need the lagoon knowledge to stay safe.

Price: ~€35-45 per lesson · Best: Oct-Mar for swell · La Santa: year-round wind

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Scuba diving Museo Atlantico Lanzarote — underwater museum with submerged human figure sculptures by artist Jason deCaires Taylor

Scuba Diving & Museo Atlántico

Lanzarote is quietly one of the best dive destinations in Europe. Visibility often hits 30 metres, water temperature stays 18-22°C, and the volcanic topography creates surreal underwater landscapes — lava arches, caves, walls dropping into the abyss. The star attraction is the Museo Atlántico, Europe's first underwater museum, 14 metres down off Playa Blanca. Over 300 life-sized human figures stand on the seabed, slowly being colonised by coral and sponges. It's eerie, beautiful, and unlike anything else you'll do underwater.

If you're not a diver yet, most dive centres do Discover Scuba Diving sessions — a morning in the pool, then a supervised shallow dive in the afternoon for about €95-120. Certified divers can do the Museo Atlántico as a single dive or combine it with Playa Chica reef.

The best shore dive is Playa Chica in Puerto del Carmen — easy entry, resident groupers and barracuda, and a submerged cathedral at 30 metres. Dive centres are everywhere in PDC, Playa Blanca and Costa Teguise, all PADI/SSI.

Price: ~€55 single dive / ~€120 Discover Scuba · Museo Atlántico: ~€65 (must pre-book) · All levels

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La Geria wine tasting Lanzarote — traditional vineyard with vines growing in black volcanic ash pits surrounded by semicircular stone walls

Wine Tasting in La Geria

The La Geria wine region is one of the most extraordinary agricultural landscapes on Earth. Vines grow in individual hollows dug into black volcanic ash — picón — protected by semicircular stone walls called zocos. The ash captures moisture from the trade wind clouds (the only water the vines get), and the result is a unique mineral wine — mostly crisp, volcanic Malvasía whites and fruity Listán Negro reds.

Most bodegas offer tastings for €5-10, and you can just drive up — no booking needed. The standout visits: Bodega El Grifo (oldest winery in the Canaries, established 1775, with an excellent wine museum), Bodega Stratvs (architectural stunner, book ahead for the guided tasting), and Bodega La Geria (oldest in the valley itself, rustic and authentic).

The best plan: rent a car, start around 11am, hit 3 bodegas, and finish with lunch at a volcanic grill restaurant in the valley. Do NOT bike it — the roads are narrow, the sun is merciless, and the wine adds up faster than you think.

Price: ~€5-10 per tasting · Self-guided: easy by car · El Grifo museum: ~€5

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Catamaran boat trip from Puerto Calero Lanzarote — sailing along volcanic coastline with dolphin watching and clear turquoise Atlantic waters

Boat Trips — dolphins, coastlines and La Graciosa

The water around Lanzarote is impossibly blue, and being on a boat is the best way to appreciate the volcanic coastline from the angle it deserves. Catamaran trips leave from Puerto Calero and Playa Blanca daily — most are 2-4 hours, include a drink, and give you a shot at spotting dolphins and pilot whales, which are seen on roughly 70% of trips.

For something more memorable, take the ferry from Órzola to La Graciosa — the eighth Canary Island, where roads are sand and cars barely exist. It's €28 return, 25 minutes each way. Rent a bike on the island and cycle to Playa de las Conchas, a wild Atlantic beach at the base of a volcano with waves that'll remind you how small you are. You'll be back by sunset with salt in your hair and sand in places you didn't know existed.

Glass-bottom boat tours are popular for families — you see the fish without getting wet. The submarine safari from Puerto Calero goes down to 30 metres and costs about €45. Cheesy? Maybe. Worth it? Absolutely.

Catamaran: ~€35-55 · La Graciosa ferry: ~€28 return · Submarine: ~€45

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Buggy tour through volcanic landscape Lanzarote — off-road adventure driving through lava fields and dusty tracks with mountain views

Buggy & Quad Tours — off-road volcano thrills

If you want adrenaline with your scenery, a buggy or quad tour through the volcanic badlands is hard to beat. Most tours are 2-3 hours, you follow a guide vehicle in convoy, and the route takes you through terrain that feels like a different planet — across ash plains, through craters, and up to viewpoints where you can kill the engine and just stare.

On-road buggies mean no dust (mostly) and you can rent as a couple — one drives, one hangs on and films. Off-road quads get you deeper into the landscape but you will get dusty. Bring sunglasses, a bandana if you have one, and clothes you don't love. You'll be washing red dust out of everything for days.

Most operators pick up from the main resorts and provide helmets, instruction, and insurance. No special licence needed — just a regular car licence. The Canary Island twist: the volcanic terrain means the routes constantly change colour as you move between different eruptions.

Price: ~€70-110 per vehicle · Duration: 2-3 hours · Car licence required

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E-bike tour through La Geria vineyards Lanzarote — cyclists riding between volcanic craters and traditional wine estates under blue skies

E-Bike Tours — volcanoes and vineyards on two wheels

E-bikes have changed the game in Lanzarote. What used to be punishing climbs into a headwind are now smooth, enjoyable rides that let you cover serious ground without arriving drenched. The best tours run through La Geria and Timanfaya's edge, taking you across volcanic tracks and quiet roads where the only traffic is the occasional camel ride.

A typical tour is 3-4 hours, covers about 30 kilometres, and stops at 2-3 bodegas for tastings. The e-bike handles the hills (and there are plenty), so you can focus on the scenery — which, at points, genuinely looks like you've left Earth. You'll ride through lava fields, past craters, between vineyards growing in ash, and along roads with views across the entire island.

Good for couples, groups, or solo — the pace is relaxed, the bikes are easy to use, and you don't need to be a cyclist. Just comfortable. Most operators include helmets, a guide, and hotel pickup.

Price: ~€55-75 per person · Duration: 3-4 hours · Includes: bike, helmet, guide

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Cesar Manrique Jameos del Agua Lanzarote — artists volcanic cave transformation with white architecture, palm trees and turquoise natural pool

César Manrique Route — the artist's Lanzarote

If you do one thing beyond the beaches, make it the Manrique route. César Manrique didn't just shape Lanzarote's architecture — he saved it. He fought the hotel high-rises, banned roadside advertising, and turned volcanic accidents into art. Following his trail is the fastest way to understand why this island looks and feels different from anywhere in Spain.

A full-day guided Manrique tour (~€55) typically covers the Fundación (his lava-bubble home, now a gallery), Jameos del Agua (the underground concert cave), Mirador del Río (the viewpoint carved into a cliff), and the Jardín de Cactus (4,500 cacti in a volcanic quarry). You can also DIY it with a rental car — all sites are within 45 minutes of each other. The Fundación is the emotional centre. You'll walk through rooms built inside volcanic bubbles and realise the man lived inside his own work.

There's also a combined CACT ticket for the Centres of Art, Culture and Tourism that saves about 20%. Buy it at the first site you visit.

Guided tour: ~€55 · DIY by car: ~€40 in tickets · CACT combo: saves ~20%

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Kayaking along volcanic cliffs Papagayo beaches Lanzarote — clear turquoise water with dramatic rock formations and secluded coves

Kayaking & Paddleboarding — the quiet side of the coast

Paddle out from Playa Blanca at 9am on a calm morning, and the water under your kayak is so clear you can count starfish on the seabed 10 metres down. The Papagayo coastline is the best launch point — a series of secluded coves only accessible by sea, with volcanic cliffs rising directly from turquoise water. Guided kayak tours (~€35) take you around the headlands for 2-3 hours, stopping at beaches where you'll be the only people there.

Stand-up paddleboarding has exploded on the island. Flat-water sessions run at Playa Chica and Playa Blanca harbour — perfect for beginners. More experienced paddlers go out at Famara on calmer days or explore the sea caves near Punta Mujeres in the north.

For something truly different: night kayaking tours during the bioluminescence season (summer months). Every paddle stroke leaves a trail of blue-green light. It's completely silent, completely dark, and completely magic.

Kayak tour: ~€35-45 · SUP rental: ~€15/hour · Bioluminescence: summer only

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Sunset at El Golfo Lanzarote — green lagoon and volcanic black sand beach with dramatic sky and ocean reflecting orange and purple light

Sunset Spots — end the day the Lanzarote way

Sunsets on a volcanic island are something else. The trade wind clouds catch the light in layers — purple, orange, pink — and the black rock of the coastline turns gold for about 15 minutes. The best spots are well known, but that doesn't make them any less worth it.

El Golfo is the classic: a green lagoon in a half-submerged volcanic crater, with the sun setting behind it and waves smashing into black cliffs. Get there an hour before sunset, walk up to the viewpoint above the lagoon, and wait. It's free, and the colour shift — green water, orange sky, black rock — is something no photo does justice to.

Other golden-hour winners: Papagayo (the westernmost beaches catch the last light), the Famara cliff road (pull over anywhere and watch the sun sink into the Atlantic with the surfers below), and Mirador del Río (stunning but closes at 5pm, so sunset is out — go for late afternoon instead). And if you're near Arrecife, the Charco de San Ginés lagoon with a cold beer at dusk is the most civilised sunset you'll have all trip.

Price: Free (bring a beer) · Best spots: El Golfo, Papagayo, Famara cliff · Go: 1 hour before sunset

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