Hi! My name’s Jake from Holiday Extras Travel Guides, and here is our guide to Lanzarote.
Now, before we get cracking here’s some handy info for when you’re planning your
trip to the beautiful island of Lanzarote.
Lanzarote is one of the Canary Islands, a part of Spain just off the coast of Africa.
Even late in the year, the temperature rarely drops below the twenties, so it’s great
for a bit of winter sun.
It’s nearly 3000km away from the UK. Which means from the airport lounge to the César
Manrique-Lanzarote Airport, you’re looking at about a 4 hour flight time. The airport
was renamed in 2019 to celebrate famous artist César Manrique, his creativity left a huge
legacy in Lanzarote; you’ll see his name everywhere. But we’ll talk more about that
later.
The island is actually quite small, it never takes more than 40 minutes to drive anywhere.
For this reason we actually hired a car to get around the island. Public transport and
excursion coaches are available if that’s not your thing, but the car’s definitely
the most flexible and hassle-free option.
Ok, now you have the bare essentials about the islands, here is the main event. Our TOP
nine things to do in Lanzarote...
Up first at number one is arguably the most famous of all - Timanfaya National Park. It’s
a huge protected reserve set in a volcanic mountain range, made up entirely of volcanic
soil.
Timanfaya is famous for looking like you’re on another planet. Bubbly, cooled lava as
far as the eye can see looks completely alien. The best way to see it all is to hop on one
of their coaches. It takes you all around the park’s landscape, and is included in
your ticket!
The volcanic activity continues beneath your feet. In fact, you’ll be shown that when
you visit. Water is poured into deep holes in the ground that go just 13 meters below.
Down there, it’s hot enough to make the water boil instantly, resulting in ...very
loud steam geysers!
They actually use this volcanic heat to grill the food in the restaurant, El Diablo. Where
else can you say you’ve had lunch cooked by a volcano!? If you’d like to know more
about El Diablo, check out our Where to Eat in Lanzarote video.
So, as you can see from my beard - it’s pretty windy! So I would recommend bringing
at least a light jacket up here, even if you’re coming in the summer seasons cos it’s gonna
get chillier!
At number two? We’ve got the beautiful El Golfo.
It’s a small seaside village on the outskirts of Timanfaya national park. The two big reasons
people visit El Golfo are found just outside the village.
Looking down from the cliffside pathway, you’ll pass a beautiful black sand beach lined with
big volcanic rocks. The rocks act as a breakwater, and the tall white waves crashing against
them really is a site to behold.
Keep following the path and you’ll have a clear view of the famous El Lago Verde,
or The Green Lake. It’s teeming with volcanic minerals and micro-organisms - that’s what
gives it this vivid green colour.
I don’t know if it’s the black sand, or the crashing waves and the clouds but everything's
just so dramatic. Especially the giant green volcanic puddle. Crazy!
Number 3 is the stunning Jameos Del Agua. This was the first tourist destination created
by Lanzarote’s famous César Manrique who we mentioned earlier. It’s a cross section
of art, design and nature. There’s an auditorium, gardens - and even a fantastic restaurant.
A staircase follows the slope of the lava tunnel down to a pool that is the home of
the blind lobster, an endemic local species.
Jameos Del Agua’s designer Cesar Manrique wanted to give visitors somewhere to contemplate
a natural attraction, formed almost entirely without human intervention. Even gardens in
the open-air section of the caves were designed with this in mind.
It feels more like a gallery than a garden, do you know what I mean? The nature is just
here to speak for itself. I think for me that's really reflective of Cesar Manrique, you know?
He really liked to marry the nature and the art. This is a perfect example. I mean this
tunnel - the lava tunnels would still be here even if none of this man-made stuff was here
and they would still look just as fantastic. I think the whole place really kind of like…
speaks for itself.
Coming up at number 4 is the tranquil Teguise. If you’re looking for authenticity, look
no further than Teguise. Dating back to 1402, it’s the oldest Spanish settlement in the
whole of the Canaries, and was the capital of the island for 450 years until Arrecife
took the title in 1852.
So this main town of Teguise is known as La Villa, it’s just referred to as La Villa.
Teguise is the region, or Costa Teguise is the tourism place down by the beach but this
is a lot more quaint, and local and it's just got a lot more relaxed feel to it.
It’s the perfect place to enjoy slowing down, enjoying the peace, and getting a feel
of the real Lanzarote. It’s the perfect example of a quaint Spanish village, and a
great place to have a coffee and reflect on the history.
And that history? It’s quite colourful. In fact, to learn a little more about it,
you need only head up the slope of the extinct volcano overlooking the town, up to the fortress
on its peak...
Looking down at Teguise below we’ve got Number 5 - Castillo Santa Barbara, which is
the island’s oldest castle. In fact, as one of the tallest peaks in the area, the
castle watches over pretty much all of the eastern side of the island. The view is incredible,
and the crater of the extinct volcano, Mount Guanapay, reminds you just how volatile this
island’s geography once was.
But the real surprise comes from inside the castle. It’s been given new life as a PIRATE
Museum! The position of the Canary Islands made them a popular supply stop for ships
heading to and from the Americas, which in turn made it an attractive hunting ground
for pirates for at least a few hundred years.
It has a great layout for kids, plenty of in-depth information for adults, and even
a replica ship interior!
The museum leads you up onto the roof of the castle, where you can see why it made such
a great lookout for the village below.
Even if you just come to the castle for this stunning view over... basically the whole
island, I mean we can see me everywhere we've been (there’s Teguise down there), it's
worth it. Because the pirate stuff is like, really cool, I really loved it, kids are going
to love it, but this view man. This is like the cherry on the cake. But it is ridiculously
windy, we've had to come to this like, little turret lean to, just so that you can hear
what I'm saying. Because the wind bowls you over, you can feel it dragging your feet and
pulling at your clothes, so if you are a family and you are bringing your children with you…
you might wanna keep a tight grip!
Here’s another absolutely stunning view - number 6 is the island’s most famous viewpoint,
Mirador del Rio. Camouflaged with a coating of volcanic rock, this iconic landmark almost
vanishes into the cliff face.
So top marks if you can guess who designed this building. Of course it’s Cesar Manrique!
Basically designed the entire island, guy's a genius, and you can see here his love of
combining art and nature, because the whole place is basically hidden in the rock face.
From a distance you can barely even see it's there. The view it gives is fantastic - you
can see out over here you've got La Graciosa, which they call the eighth canary island,
and these, two glass windows here. They're called the eyes of the Mirador, and they just
give you a fantastic view out when you're sat there enjoying a lovely coffee.
These two panoramic windows make up an entire side of the lookout, which is built in the
remains of an ancient military base. But there’s little to no evidence of it left - César
Manrique’s style is everywhere, and the interior looks far more like a Lava bubble
than it does a military bunker. When you’ve finished a light lunch in the café, follow
the staircases upwards past the gift shop, and up to the rooftop terrace. The view is
even better that the balcony below, if that’s possible! From the terrace you can look out
in all directions, and really soak in the sea air while you enjoy the views.
For number 7, we’re headed back into the quaint little towns with Punta Mujeres, a
traditional fishing village. The name translates literally as ‘Women’s Point’, and refers
to the women who would wait there for their husbands to return from fishing voyages.
And when a village is not only by the coast, but also this pretty, and it has major tourist
attractions you think that it would feel more touristy. But it really doesn't. like it's
got a really small village local kind of authentic feel and I really love that.
Punta Mujeres’ biggest draw for tourists though is the natural sea water bathing pools.
Filled with seawater and protected by huge breakwaters of naturally occurring rocks,
swim in these pools at the right time of day and you’ll get to experience the sea’s
waves smashing against these rocks to make huge plumes and sprays. You won’t find white
sand on this coast - Punta Mujeres has a different beauty.
We’re nearly there! Number 8 was one of my surprise favourites of the whole island,
Jardin de Cactus. Also known as the Cactus Garden, it’s just a ten minutes drive away
from Punta Mujeres. You’ll know it when you see it - a large, traditional windmill
is the highest point in the garden, and is visible from the road.
Passing through the entrance is like passing into another world...
The garden is shaped almost like a giant succulent bowl for some kind of… I dunno.. even giant-er
coffee table, and has a truly fascinating collection of cacti, all kinds of shapes and
sizes. It’s incredible!
I think this is going to be one of my highlights of the trip like it's just really… when
you first come through that door and you'll see the bowl open in front of you full of
all kinds of different cactuses… and it's like nice and calm and quiet, and you're away
from the wind, and it's... kind of weird! Which I really like. It's going to be one
of my favourite places here I think.
The Cactus Garden was Lanzarote’s very last gift from César Manrique...
Which brings us to number 9. The Cesar Manrique foundation. Shortly after Manrique died in
1992, his home was opened to the public. Tourists, and fans, were able to experience where he
lived, learn about the man, and learn how he literally shaped the land and history of
this island.
His vocal protests helped evacuate him as a hero for Lanzarote. He’s a core reason
for why you won’t see that many high rise hotels on the island. And his influence forced
the tourism industry to think more sustainably.
Coming to visit Cesar Manrique Foundation after seeing his name everywhere, like...
Nearly all of the places we've been on this trip were designed, founded, created by César
Manrique. He's an iconic part of the island, basically the father of Lanzarote, and coming
here was like finally getting to meet him. Do you know what I mean? We got to walk around
his house, we got to see loads of home videos, interviews, hear his voice and his viewpoints
on life. He was clearly a really great guy and I'm almost sad we left it this long into
the trip to find out who he was. But it was also a nice way to do it? I would highly recommend
it. It’s a really really great place to visit.
And that’s it! All the best things to see and do in Lanzarote. If you’re planning
a trip there, then why not discover some great places to grab some food? Our video about
some of the most interesting places to eat is a must-watch if you’re planning a trip.
We hope you like it!
Subscribe to our channel we’ve got loads more travel guides in the bank and also loads
more planned. I’ve been Jake, this has been Lanzarote, and I’ll see you next time.