As you may have seen by reading "What to see in Lanzarote parts I and II", there is so much to do and see in Lanzarote, so deciding what to do in only 4 days might be hard. This is why I created this guide where I will give you details of the route to follow as well as prices and maps included. Hope it's helpful!
How to arrive?
Unless you are coming from Fuerteventura, you are probably coming by plane, so there are a couple of options on how to get from the airport to your hotel or apartment:
Taxi: they are usually a bit expensive in Lanzarote, specially if you go from one town to another. Usually a taxi from Arrecife to Costa Teguise can get to 20€ so you can have an idea (at least last time I used it). It is still a good way to go fast to your hotel from the airport.
Bus: this is probably the most slow way to get anywhere in Lanzarote. The bus from the airport takes you to Costa Teguise, Arrecife and Puerto del Carmen. It usually passes after 30 minutes aprox. It is not the best way to get to your hotel, but probably the cheapest.
Rent a car: this is probably the best option. You will need it anyway to move around the island and visit the places you want to go, so getting it directly in the airport is a good idea. I recommend booking it in advance, as they can run out of cars easily. Gas isn't very expensive anyway in the island, so it's not that bad at the end of the day.
Day 0
We arrived in the nocturnal flight of Ryanair that arrives at 11pm. My parents went to pick us up, so we rented the car for the next day and to pick it up just next to the hotel. After leaving our stuff in the room at the hotel, we went downstairs to the bar and had a drink to enjoy the beginning of our vacations.
Day 1
What will we visit?
- Relax in the beach
- Explore Costa Teguise
total of KMS made that day: 11.7kms
We had breakfast at the buffet of the hotel and left early to go and pick up the car we rented in Autos Guayre. At 10:30am we left to La Cueva de los Verdes which is our first stop. You can go ahead and buy a ticket that will be valid for several touristic places in Lanzarote. You have all the info you need here, but here you have a brief recap:
- 3 centers: 21€ Adults / 10.5€ Kids
- 4 centers: 28€ Adults / 14€ Kids
- 6 centers: 33€ Adults / 16.5€ Kids
People who live in Lanzarote and in the Canary Islands have special prices, but please check them out in the link attached above.
The visits to the Cueva de los Verdes are all guided and you will have to do a small waiting until it's your groups turn. They will tell you about the history and the formation of this cave and you will be inside for about 45 minutes.
After the visit, you can go ahead and go to Los Jameos del Agua which is very close. This is one of my favorite places and while being there you will get to know why. There are albino crabs that are the only ones in the world of that species. You will see how the nature and architecture is seamlessly combined in a very beautiful way. Your visit can be from 15 to 45 minutes depending on how much time you spend looking around. We spent about 30 minutes there.
From there we took a ride to El Mirador del RÃo, which is located in the north of the island. If it's cloudy, I DON'T recommend you going there. You will see nothing. If you have your entrance included the Mirador del RÃo, you can park in the private parking and go in. The architecture is beautiful and you will have amazing views. If you don't and don't want to spend more money, you can park in the public parking, located a little to the left and walk by the alley. From both places you will be able to see the island of la Graciosa which you can visit if you have enough time.
We went back to the hotel to have late lunch and spent the afternoon in the pool and the beach. When the sun was going down and the day was a bit fresher, we decided to go on a walk in Costa Teguise so my friends could get to see the town. It's important to not miss the Pueblo Marinero and the promenade.
To end the day, we went to Puerto del Carmen to have dinner in a restaurant called Indian Aroma with some friends and had a few cocktails in La Ola.
Day 2
What will we visit?
Kms in total: 12.2 km
Sunday is the perfect day to go to the flea market in Teguise. It's a great way to see the former capital of the island. You can get wine, cheese, aloe vera products or souvenirs to bring back home. We arrived at 11:30 and sent a few hours there. If you are going to buy things you are probably going to spend more that 2 hours there. There are many parkings at the beginning of the town which costs 2€ per car and you can stay as long as you want.
You can also go on the streets where there's no one to get the essence of the town. You will also be able to see typical canarian musicians in some of the plazas. I will also recommend you to visit the old cinema, which is now a very interesting shop you can't miss.
After some shopping, you can go to have lunch in Caleta de Famara in one of their many delicious restaurants by the sea. You can have fresh fish, papas con mojo, fresh cheese... everything is delicious. After lunch, you can leave your care here and spend the afternoon in the beach. Please be careful as the streams in this beach are very powerful, so just have that in mind. Don't forget your sunscreen and your hat, or otherwise you will probably get burned! Anyways, it's one of the most beautiful beaches and specially at sunset hours where the rocks get hit by the sunlight and change color beautifully.
Day 3
What will we visit?
- Black Sand beach (Playa Montaña Bermeja)
- El Golfo
Kms in total: 25.8km
We will start in Las Salinas del Janubio, which depending on the hour of the day and the stage of the process of the salt making, the colors can vary from pink, white, blue or brown. It gets very beautiful. You can also book a tour through the place and get to see it from below.
We continued to the Hervideros, which are rock formations where when it's windy and the waves are wild, the sea comes through some holes and it looks like heizers. Be sure to go through all of the holes and places of the Hervideros. It is very fun to visit.
After, we stopped in Montaña Bermeja Beach which is a black sand beach. You can see a small "lake" which is caused by the filtration of the sea under the sand. There are also some rocks you can climb to and explore.
After that we headed to El Charco Verde or el Charco de los Clicos which was initially opened to visit from below, but doe to the amount of tourists it started to deteriorate, so you can only see it now from above. It is completely free to visit and you can also go and explore the surroundings which are also beautiful. There is also a point where you can see the hole town of El Golfo from above.
It is probably now time for lunch, so you can go to the town of El Golfo and have lunch there. We recommend the restaurant Mar Azul which is right next to the sea and has amazing Canarian food.
After lunch you can visit Parque Nacional de Timanfaya, which is included in your 4 or 6 touristic centers ticket you purchased in la Cueva de los Verdes. You will have to leave the car in the parking where the employee indicates you and hop on a bus to visit the volcanoes. You can't visit it on your own due to conservation issues. After you will get some demonstrations about how hot the volcanoes still are and you can also see food being cooked by the proper heat of the volcano.
You can end up the day visiting the vineyards in La Geria or even have a wine tasting on one of the wine cellars. I will make a post about this later on.
Day 4
What will we visit?
We have two options for a morning and one option for the afternoon.
Morning option 1:
- San Ginés Church
- Punta de la Lagarta Street
Option 1 in the morning includes visiting the main spot in Arrecife (the capital of the island). We can start in the Castle of San Gabriel which hold the MIAC or the International Contemporary Art Museum. The entrance is included in your 6 Touristic Centers ticket. It used to be a colonial fort which was reformed on 1970 to turn it in to the MIAC.If you like art you will love this place.
You can now leave your car in the land parking next to El Charco de San Ginés to make the rest of the visit walking. You can walk though el Charco and get to the Church of San Ginés. You can later go to the street Punta de la Lagarta which takes you through mini islands to the Castle of San Rafael. In my opinio, it is not worth going in. There is barely nothing to see and they are basically signs which you read to understand the history of the island. I do recommend to go walking up to there as the place is beautiful from outside. You can also see the Gran Hotel which is the only high building you will see in Lanzarote.
When it's lunch time you can head to el Charco again and have some delicious arepas in La Miñoca. If it's too early, you can pick up some food and head up to our next stop.
Morning option 2:
The Jardin de Cactus is also included in your 4 and 6 Centers Tickets so visiting it is a great option. If you have the ticket you won't have to make any line. It is the perfect place for cactus lovers. I couldn't stop taking pictures to everything! You can find them in all sizes and shapes. If you are curious of how cactus burger tastes like, you can try it here.
If you wake up early you can even fit this in you schedule before visiting Teguise.
Afternoon:
A great way to spend the afternoon is going to the beaches of Papagayo. You have a place to eat, a parking where to leave the car and some beaches where to choose from: Playa del Pozo ( you will have to walk a bit more to get there), Playa de Cera (with turquoise cristaline water), Playa Punta de Papagayo (perfect for snorkel and fish lovers) and Playa del Congrio (it has less people and it's perfect for surf lovers). I like to go to Playa Punta de Papagayo and take the goggles and see some fishes in the sea. We usually arrive for lunch, bring something to eat there and spend there the rest of the day. I also remember seeing on of the most beautiful sunsets in that beach.
Going there will cost you a few euros per car if you don't live in Lanzarote for maintenance reasons. The beaches are located in a preserved area so that is the reason. It will take you 10 minutes to arrive from the check in point to the parking. Please don't despair, it will worth it. It is a path, not a road, so don't get scared and go slowly.
BONUS:
Here are some extra things you can visit if you have more time in Lanzarote:
- Tour to Isla de Lobos
Hope you enjoyed the post and that it was helpful. Save the following photo in Pinterest so you can have it in hand when you need:
