What to see in Lanzarote

in one week

Overview

Hello there! What you will find below is a recap of the itinerary we have followed for our 5-days trip in Lanzarote back in March 2023. We hope that it will inspire you to create your own exploration plan!

Highlights

Cultural sites 🏛️

Natural sites ⛰️

Cities 🏙️

Day 1 & 2 - Arrecife

Arrecife is the capital city as well as the administrative and commercial centre of Lanzarote. We chose to stay in Arrecife for the first two days of our trip on the island, to do some smartworking and to get a first impression of the canarian vibes. Arrecife is a relatively small city, and most of its attractions are within walking distance from the city centre.

We have rented an apartment close to the Charco de San Ginés, a natural lagoon used still nowadays by local fishermen, which is located in the heart of the city. In this area, you will find a variety of restaurants and bars to enjoy local and international food and drinks. We suggest wandering around this area and exploring the little canarian-styled streets.

Other places of interest are the Castillo de San Gabriel, a castle built to defend the island from pirate attacks hosting the History Museum, and the Islote de Fermina, a small island linked by a wooden bridge by the coast, that hosts an art complex designed by César Manrique (more info on the most famous island's artist later!) which opened to the public in January 2023 (free entrance).

We suggest planning one or two nights in Arrecife only if you fear you’re gonna miss the city-life after or before spending a few days in a semi-wild island. Otherwise, Lanzarote has incredible things to offer, and one afternoon in Arrecife would be more than enough!

Tips ✔️

Day 3 - Heading South

The roadtrip begins! We picked up the van we had rented in the morning in Arrecife, and we started our exploration towards the southern part of the island! The first stop was the Bogedas El Grifo one of the oldest wine producers (“bodegas”) of the island. The bodega is located in a picturesque area in the centre of island. This bodega is less crowded than other similar places such as the Bogedas la Geria, which makes it a very pleasing spot! We had booked online a guided tour some days earlier. The tour costed 15€ per person for approximately one and a half hours, and it included a visit to the vineyard & fermentation cellars, a wine tasting experience and the museum (as of March 2023). You can find the updated list of tours of Bodega el Grifo on their official website here.

Tips ✔️

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Just a few minutes from the Bodegas El Grifo you will find the Casa Museo del Campesino and the Monumento a la Fecundidad. The Monumento a la Fecundidad is a work by César Manrique, a monument which is intended as a tribute to the island's farmers who managed to make productive an apparently sterile land. The entrance to both the Casa Museo and the Monumento is free.

We then headed south. We stopped for a lunch break in Puerto Calero, an exclusive harbour with luxurious yachts and fancy shops. Nearby there is Puerto del Carmen, a highly urbanised and crowded area by the beach. These two places were not really ideal for us because of the crowd and the extremely luxurious vibe. It was still nice to soak up some sun on a wide golden sand beach. Time to hit the road to discover more of the island!​

A little more south you find Playa Quemada, a beautiful little jem! It is a small rocky beach, with almost no tourists, where you can just listen to the sound of the ocean and enjoy the peace. There are some bars and cafés nearby, if you need something to drink or eat. We then drove towards the west coast of the island to see the Salinas del Janubio. These are the largest salt of the Canary islands where salt, an essential part of the local economy in the past, is still produced. The mines were built in a lagoon formed after volcanic eruptions. If you are interested in exploring the place there are guided tours (info here). We have not done the tour so we cannot really recomment it. There is a shop where you can buy salt produced on site. In case you were not particularly insterested in visiting the mines, we would anyway suggest stopping by and seeing them from one of the mirador (viewpoint) close by where you will have a spectacular view of the salinas.

We then stopped by Playa de Janubio, just a few minutes by car from the Salinas. A beautiful wide black beach made of volcanic rocks, perfect to watch the sunset and to enjoy the view on the ocean. This is also a perfect spot to spend the night on a van or camper. Next was a unique spot that you don’t wanna miss! The beach of Los Hervideros. It is a breathtaking cliff where you can see big waves entering the shore and creating a spectacular effect on the lavic rocks. We were lucky enough to arrive there for the sunset and we cannot recommend it enough! (The place can be very windy so bring something to protect you). After sunset we moved to the spot where we planned to spend the night, Playa Mujeres. It is a golden sand beach, with an amazing view and it is not extremely touristic. Don't be discouraged by the bumpy road to get there, the destination is worth the ride.

Day 4 - Volcanoes & Art

We woke up early in the morning to be sure to catch some glimpses of sunrise. After a quick breakfast and a 10 minutes drive from Playa Mujeres, we got to Playa de Papagayo, a beach famous for its cristal-clear waters and its red rocks. Next stop: Timanfaya National Park! The Timanfaya National Park is a must-see attraction if you are visiting the island. Here you can immerse yourself in an incredible volcanic area of Lanzarote. You can access the Timanfaya by car and leave it in a parking in front of the visitor centre. From there you will be able to take 1-hour-guided tours by bus across the volcanic craters around the park. Once back to the visitor centre, make sure to go check the natural oven where food for the restaurant there at the centre is cooked with volcanic heat. Also you will see tourists gathering at regular intervals around some small holes to see geiser in action, don't miss that either! If you prefer to visit the area on your own there are some treks to explore the surroundings. Here are some examples (we did not try them).

Trekking in the Timanfaya 👣

After that, it was finally time to get to know the cultural and artistic icon of the island, César Manrique. The Fundación César Manrique was the best place for that. César Manrique was an artist, sculptor and architect born in Lanzarote. He has left an indelible mark on Lanzarote, many sites and places are deeply connected to Manrique's art and life (have a look here). The foundation was previously one of the homes of the artist and is now a cultural centre with permanent and temporary exhibitions. The location is fascinating since it is built inside volcanic bubbles, in line with the artist's vision of art-nature/nature-art. It is definitely worth a visit! (info here). Teguise is a small town close to the Foundation. We were not planning to go there, but we thought to give it a go anyway and it was a very nice surprise. We were lucky enough to visit Teguise on a Sunday, the day where the town hosts its weekly market. It was quite crowded but the vibes were amazing! Streets were filled with stalls of music was playing in the streets. We took the chance of the different street food trucks to try some very tasty local food. If you are planning to visit Teguise market keep in mind that it's only on Sundays until 2pm. With a 5 minute car ride from Teguise you can reach LagOmar. This place was born from the collaboration of César Manrique and Jesús Soto (another local architect). It is a house-museum where natural and architectural-design elements are perfectly integrated in a stunning location. We definitely recommend this spot, make sure to include it in your itinerary! Playa de Famara was our following destination. This was the perfect spot to enjoy the last hours of daylight. The beach is 3 km long and is surrounded by high cliffs, making the whole scenery unforgettable. It is easy to get there and you will find a wide parking area close to the beach. Famara is a popular location for surfing and the parking might be quite crowded. Some locals warned use that it possibl to park only in certain areas since it is a national park, so be sure to check signs for proper parking. Don't forget to bring with you some drinks and snacks to enjoy the view, or otherwise grab some at the supermarkets and bars in the little town of Caleta de Famara that you can easily reach with a nice walk along the sea.

Day 5 - Up north

After discovering southern and central Lanzarote, it was time to explore the north. Our first stop was what is known as the Stratified city, which are remainings of old volcanic rock formations which have been modelled in time. If you are a passionate geologist or you are looking for a nice ilocation for good photos, include this in your itinerary! The area is very peculiar and easily accessible (just next to the main road). We really enjoyed this place as it is not part of the main attractions and we found few tourists there. It is freely accessible and you can expect to wander around for 30 mins.

After the Stratified city we headed to the Jardin de cactus. This is the last work of César Manrique in the island. The garden is built in a large pit (which was originally used as a deposit and landfill spot) which has been renovated and now hosts more than 500 different species of cactuses (or cacti). This spot is included in almost all the guides and blogs on Lanzarote and as you might expect it is full of tourists. Be ready to wait some time in line before entering the place. The place is unique in its kind and can be a paradise for botany enthusiasts. If you're not among those we suggest to skip this, especially if you are tight on time (info here).

Cueva de Los Verdes was our next stop. This is another place to experience the volcanic nature of the island and the effects this had in time in its formation. Cueva de los verdes is a visitable ensemble of underground caves formed after the eruption of the nearby volcano (Volcan de la Corona). The visit will allow you to marvel at the beauty of these volcanic caves with their stalactites and stalagmites and fascinating features, all with the explanations of a local guide. Some things to keep in mind: check the accessibility rules in advance on the website to avoid unconvenient suprises when already at the location. The temperature in the caves is constant around 20°C so not too cold but remember to bring something to warm you up just in case (the visit takes around 50 minutes). The visit is guided and is done in groups (around 30 people). Visits are available in different languages at specific times. You might need to wait a bit since groups enter approximately every 30 minutes. The path is illuminated in most of its parts but expect some brief parts with partially limited visibility.

Tip: inside the caves an auditorium was built to host different events including concerts. Check this website website to check if there are any events and enjoy an unusual venue!

Lunch break was the perfect opportunity to visit another small village nearby: Punta Mujeres. This village is perfect if you're looking for a less touristy spot to have a break from the sightseeing, while enjoying some traditional food with a stunning view on the coast. We suggest going for a walk and getting lost in the small streets where time seems to have stopped to some decades ago. It is a fishermen village and you will find small white houses with blue details (blue seems to be a common colour used by fishermen). There are also natural swimming pools that can be a nice spot during the spring-summer time (Las Rosas, other natural pools).

Tip: if you don't know where to stay on the island, Punta Mujeres can be the ideal spot: few tourists and no crowd, beatiful nature and scenery and everything else you might need.

Just a few minutes drive from Punta Mujeres you will find Jameos del Agua by César Manrique, where you can see his recurring concept of natural and anthropogenic elements integration applied to this site. As explained in the website of the Jameos del Agua, the word Jameo derives from indigenous language, and it refers to the hole produced as a result of the collapse of the roof of a volcanic tube. This place is part of the usual tourist attractions so be prepared to see some crowd here.

Another place linked to the island most famous artist is the Casa Museo de César Manrique. This has been the home of Manrique until his death in 1992. Here you will be able to go beyond his art works get a glimpse of his life. Rooms and places seem frozen in time, preserved as they were when the artist lived there. This place is unique and can definitely give you another angle on the understaning the artist.

We then briefly stopped at Haria, the small village where the Casa Museo is located. Sunset was approaching so we headed to a nice spot with an amazing view: Mirador de Nahum. Be prepared to experience one of the most memorable sunsets here (even better with cervezas). This panoramic spot is just 15 minutes drive away from Haria. The road gets a bit narrow at the end so you might need some patience if drivers are coming the opposite direction. Remaining in this area you can visit the Haria which is another panoramic spot. You need a ticket to enter this place and you will find different terraces to enjoy the view as well as a nice café inside. We do not particularly recommend it since you can get an even better panorama for free from the Mirador de Nahum.

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