The Canary Islands are a group of Spanish islands in the Atlantic Ocean. At their closest point they are only 100 kilometers (62 miles) west of Morocco,the African mainland. The most famous (and biggest) islands are Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Hierra, La Palma and La Gomera. All of them are very different from each other and totally worth visiting all with their own landscapes, vegetation and breathtaking views. In this travel blog I’ll give you all the information you’ll need for a visit to the beautiful Lanzarote.
The airport of Lanzarote is next to the capital of the island Arrecife. Most tourists that visit Lanzarote stay in one of the many all Inclusive resorts, spread out over the island along the coast line. And yes I was one of them!
My hotel was RIU Paraiso Lanzarote in Puerto del Carmen, where I stayed with my boyfriend for seven days. We booked this trip with TUI as a package with flights, transfer and hotel from Amsterdam Schiphol airport.
1. Puerto del Carmen
Puerto del Carmen is a popular place to stay on the Southeast coast of Lanzarote. Here you can find the best beaches, a nice boulevard and a cute harbor with good seafood restaurants.
I can recommend El Cangrejo Rojo because they serve delicious fresh fish and good drinks while you can enjoy the amazing views over the ocean from the restaurant.
2. Lanzarote climate
The minimal temperature during summer is around 28°C (82°F), as in winter it’s still very pleasant with a maximum of 20°C (68°F). The high season of the Canary Islands is summer (June-October), but as you can understand it is also the perfect winter getaway to the sun This time of year it’s also much cheaper to visit Lanzarote.
Don’t forget to bring sunscreen with you and drink enough water during the day. Because of the strong winds it doesn’t feel too hot during summer, but that’s when you’ll get sunburned the easiest. Trust me, been there done that unfortunately! ;)
3. Rent a car to get around
The best way to go around the island is by car. It’s very easy to rent a car on Lanzarote but let me tell you: book the car prior to your visit, because there is a constant shortage of rental cars. We had the car for three and a half days, which is the minimum you’ll need if you want to see all the highlights of the island without being in too much hurry.
4. Things to do in Lanzarote
West Lanzarote
On the first day with our car we went to the West side of the island. Here you can visit for example Los Hervideros: a nature phenomenon where the solidified lava meets the ocean.
But here you can also find the old salt flats called Salinas de Janubio, a green lake called Lago Verde in El Golfo and the untouched nature which not everyone will think is pretty.
Personally I think it’s beautiful though. I’ve never seen landscapes like this before and I think you can hardly compare it to other places.
East Lanzarote
Another day another road trip! The East part of the island was the destination for day two. Here are four Lanzarote touristic attractions which are worth visiting: Volcan Cueva de los Verdes, Jameos del Agua, El Mirador del Rio and Jardin de Cactus.
Above you can find the Jardin de Cactus and below the stunning clear water of Jameos del Agua.
You can buy a combination ticket to save some money. We bought a ticket for three out of four places to visit.
The views of El Mirador del Rio can also be enjoyed without going inside, see the photo above, but the choice is yours. Start early in the morning to avoid the busy hours as much as possible.
Timanfaya National Park
On our last day with the rental car we went to Timanfaya National Park. This is a volcanic moon landscape. You can only enter this park with the bus which does a tour through the pristine nature. Again: go early in the morning to avoid long queues!
If you want to walk in the beautiful volcanic nature yourself I can recommend hiking Vulcano El Cuervo.
Here you can make a not too hard walk into a crater with hardly any other tourists and I was there during high season!
This blog was written by Traveltomtom team member Margot van der Linde: "although the island is very touristic I still loved visiting Lanzarote very much!".
Thank you very much for reading my Lanzarote travel blog. I hope all the above tips for visiting Lanzarote are helpful for your upcoming trip and that I inspired you to book your trip. If you want to know more about the other Canary Islands, you can read my travel tips in my other blogs for Traveltomtom about some of the other Canary Islands. May you have any questions please leave us a comment below!