Three days in Lanzarote go a lot further than you'd think. The island is 60 kilometres long and you can cross it end to end in under an hour: that means in a single morning you can go from a volcano that's still smouldering to a valley of palm trees, and have lunch overlooking a sea of lava.
This is the 3-day itinerary we give our friends when they come to visit. It's organised by geographical area, not by whim: each day covers one part of the island, without pointless backtracking or driving the same road twice. South, north and beaches.
Two things before you start. First: you need a car. Public transport barely reaches anywhere down here. Second, and this one's critical: Timanfaya has to be booked online for a specific day and time slot, and it sells out. Book it before you read the rest of this guide. Seriously.
How to get around Lanzarote » · How to visit Timanfaya »
First things first: where should you stay?
The itinerary works from anywhere on the island — everything's less than an hour away. But if you haven't decided yet:
- Puerto del Carmen or Costa Teguise: more amenities, more restaurants, a solid middle-ground base.
- Playa Blanca: perfect if beaches and the south are your priority.
- Inland (Yaiza, Uga, Tinajo, San Bartolomé): less nightlife, but you're right next to Timanfaya and La Geria, and you get to see the real island.
Day 1 · The south: fire and wine
The most striking day. Start early, because Timanfaya calls the shots.
9:30 · Timanfaya National Park
Book the first time slot. From 10:30 onwards it fills up and the light gets worse. Here you'll see the geothermal demonstrations (the scrub that catches fire on its own, the steam geyser) and do the Route of the Volcanoes: 14 km by guagua (the local word for bus), around 40 minutes, without getting off, through the heart of the Fire Mountains.
Set aside 2 hours in total. And pop into the El Diablo restaurant, designed by Manrique, even if you don't eat: it cooks with the volcano's own heat, no gas or charcoal.
12:00 · Mancha Blanca Visitor Centre (optional, and free)
A few kilometres away. This is where you really get to grips with what happened between 1730 and 1736. Half an hour well spent, especially with kids or on a hazy day.
13:00 · La Geria: lunch among the vines
Head down the LZ-30 and the landscape changes completely: thousands of hollows dug into the ash, each one holding a single vine with its own crescent-shaped stone wall. Have lunch at a winery overlooking the valley and try a dry malvasía volcánica (a volcanic white wine) — with a designated driver, obviously.
16:00 · El Golfo and Charco de los Clicos
An intense green lagoon at the foot of a volcano half swallowed by the sea, with a black sand beach. You view it from the lookout point (you can't go down to it). The village next door is a classic stop for fresh fish.
17:00 · Los Hervideros and the Salinas de Janubio
Five minutes away: Los Hervideros, lava cliffs where the Atlantic surges in under pressure and bursts through the cracks. Then the Salinas de Janubio, a mosaic of pink and ochre salt pans that make for some of the island's best photos at sunset. End the day here.
Day 2 · The north: Manrique and the green
Total contrast. No lava today: art, caves and palm trees.
9:30 · Fundación César Manrique (Tahíche)
His house, built inside five lava bubbles connected by tunnels, with a tree growing right in the living room. It's the best place on the island to understand why Lanzarote is the way it is. A good hour.
11:00 · Jardín de Cactus
His last great work: a green amphitheatre with over 4,500 cacti set on a former picón (volcanic gravel) quarry, topped off with a windmill. Forty minutes and you'll leave charmed.
12:30 · Cueva de los Verdes
A kilometre of underground galleries from the La Corona volcanic tube, where people once hid from pirates. Guided visit, a play of lights and a surprise at the end we won't spoil for you. Bring a light jacket: it's cool inside.
this one usually also needs booking for a set date and time. Sort it out at the same time as Timanfaya.
14:00 · Lunch in Arrieta or Órzola
Fresh fish by the sea, nothing fancy. This is the north coast, and it's where the locals eat.
15:30 · Jameos del Agua
The masterpiece: a volcanic tube turned into an impossible space, with a turquoise lake home to the jameíto, a tiny blind albino crab found nowhere else on the planet. Plus an auditorium built right into the cave.
17:00 · Mirador del Río
End the day almost 500 metres above the sea, with La Graciosa and the Chinijo archipelago floating below. It's the best view in Lanzarote, no argument.
if it's hazy, swap it for Haría and the Valley of the Thousand Palms, which is on the way and doesn't depend on clear skies. Haría and the green north »
Day 3 · Beaches (or the getaway)
Here you've got three options. Pick according to what kind of traveller you are.
Option A · Papagayo and the south (the most popular)
A protected natural area with golden sand coves and turquoise water between cliffs: Papagayo, Playa Mujeres, Caleta del Congrio. No hotels, no seafront promenade, nothing.
You get there via a dirt track and there's a small access fee. Bring water and food: there's barely any facilities. Go in the morning and give it a good half day.
In the afternoon: Playa Blanca, or the Fémés lookout point if you're into scenery.
Option B · La Graciosa (the most special)
Ferry from Órzola, 25 minutes. The eighth Canary Island: no paved roads, sandy streets, two villages and untouched beaches. You get around by bike. It's a full day and the best call if you've got a bit of adventure to spare.
Option C · Teguise, Famara and the northwest (the most cultural)
Teguise, the former capital, with its whitewashed streets, convents and pirate history — a must if it's a Sunday, for the island's most famous market. Then head down to Famara: an endless beach beneath a 600-metre cliff, the surf capital and one of the best sunsets in the Canaries.
How to adapt the itinerary
- Arriving in the afternoon on day one? Use that afternoon for the Charco de San Ginés in Arrecife and go for tapas dinner. You'll start strong the next day.
- Is one of your three days a Sunday? That's your Teguise day, no question: the market only happens on Sundays.
- Got 4 or 5 days? Add a full day on La Graciosa and a hiking route (Caldera Blanca or El Cuervo). Hiking routes in Lanzarote »
- Travelling with kids? Swap Los Hervideros and Janubio for more beach time, and don't stack Manrique after Manrique: it gets overwhelming. Lanzarote with kids »
- Hazy or calima day? (calima: a spell of Saharan dust haze) Mirador del Río is a write-off. Do Haría, Cueva de los Verdes and the wineries instead — they don't depend on clear skies.
FAQs
Is 3 days enough to see Lanzarote?
Do you need to book anything in advance?
Can you do this itinerary without a car?
What's the best order to do this in?
What's the best time of year to visit?
Where to eat and sleep along the way
The three days take you through very different places — a winery in the valley, fish in the north, tapas in Arrecife — and choosing well where to stop changes the trip. We're publishing our recommendations by area on the blog, and gradually also on LanzaEat and LanzaStay, our directories of restaurants and places to stay on the island.
Three days in Lanzarote isn't as little as it sounds: it's enough for the island to completely rearrange whatever idea you had of it. You'll have breakfast looking out over lava, lunch among vines planted in ash, and dinner where pirates once roamed. And on the third day, standing at the Mirador del Río looking down at La Graciosa, you'll already be working out when you can come back.
Which of the three days appeals to you most? And what would you drop from the itinerary to fit something else in? 👇