Spring in Belgium this year turned to be the season of heavy rains and cloudy days, so we decided to take a long weekend break and go a little further south for some sun and sea. We had never been to Canary islands and when I found a direct and cheap flight to Lanzarote from Brussels, it was a done deal. The short four-day vacation on the first week of June was a long needed getaway for our family, a little break from work and school. Weather was ideal, high of 26 degrees Celsius during the days, not too hot, but warm enough that we drove in a rented convertible on the island. Most importantly, the ocean was warm enough to swim in.
Choose your base town. Teguise is a popular old town, close enough from the airport in Arrecife, and close enough to the main attractions on the island. Puerto del Carmen is another popular base town for tourists. We chose Playa Blanca on the far south of the island as our base and chose a hotel at Flamingo Beach with its calm waters ideal for the family with kids.
Rent a car. Taxis are easy too find, but car rentals are practical and cheap in Lanzarote. Roads are good and parking is easy everywhere you go. We picked up our car as we land at the airport, got an upgrade for a four-seat convertible (the kids were obsessed!) and returned it back to the airport at the end of our stay. Just make sure to get a full insurance and proper child seats or boosters.
Day 1: Volcanic trail and Cesar Manrique experience
Jardin de Cactus. On the northeast part of the island, we started early at the Cactus garden because I wanted us to have brunch here. The garden is the last great work of artist and nature activist Cesar Manrique in Lanzarote, with 4,500 specimens of cactus from five continents. He transformed an old landfill to become one of the most important cactus garden in the world. The restaurant offers cactus delicacies for brunch and lunch! Buy tickets in advance here.
Jameos del Agua. Cesar Manrique transformed and enhanced a natural volcanic lava tube, which now includes a natural auditorium inside a volcanic tube. You can even catch a concert here if you're lucky. We got a combi ticket to visit the newly opened Casa de los volcanes, a high-tech and interactive museum that honours the power of volcanoes and studies Lanzarote's volcanic tube, including with VR technology. The kids loved it! Buy tickets in advance here.
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| Inside Jameos del Agua, a clear lagoon with little blind crabs |
Cueva de los Verdes. Just across the street from Jameos del Agua, this cave is 8 kilometers long, formed by tunnels, nooks and crannies with fascinating vaults and interior lagoons. Just like Jameos del Agua, this cave is also part of the volcanic tube generated after the eruption of La Corona volcano 4,000 years ago. Buy tickets in advance here.
Mirador del Rio. Just 15 minutes drive from the previous sites, this viewpoint stands 500 meters above a cliff, offers a spectacular view of La Graciosa island. This viewpoint is also an architectural work of Cesar Manrique, equipped with his sculptures inside and outside of the building. If the kids get hungry, the cafe offers some snacks, both savory and sweet. Buy tickets in advance here.
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| The view to the archipelago from Mirador del Rio |
Day 2: Otherworldly beauty
Charco de los Clicos. Moving to the southwest part of the island, within the protected Natural park Los volcanes, this is a bright emerald green lagoon on volcanic crater by the Atlantic ocean. The lake gets its bright green colour from a combination of a special type of algae and sulfur, then provides a striking beauty of contrast of the colours of the lagoon, black sand and the blue sky and ocean.
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| Charco de los Clicos at El Golfo |
Timanfaya National Park. The absence of vegetation, extreme ruggedness of the terrain, variety of colours, this park is just out-of-this-world beautiful. The entrance fee includes parking, geothermal demonstrations where you can feel hot volcanic stones, see fire come up from the ground and see hot water geyser spurting. It also includes the bus tour. You can also go for a ride on a camel. Buy tickets in advance here.
El Golfo. It's a little seaside village, home to rustic fish restaurants for an authentic lunch of local seafood after the hike at the Park.
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| The viewpoint from El Golfo |
Day 3: The most beautiful beaches in Lanzarote
Papagayo beaches. Not to be confused, there are actually six beaches at Papagayo, one of which is the Papagayo beach itself (the others are Mujeres, Pozo, Cera, Caleta del Congrio and Puerto Muelas beaches). All of them have amazing white sand and clear blue water, but Papagayo beach took our breath away. It is sheltered from the wind by tall natural cliff. The beaches are in a protected area, so no roads were built. As you leave the main street to enter Papagayo, you have to drive on dirt road for about 2 kilometers. Don't worry about this off-road route, just drive very slowly. My kids said it was like we're driving on Mars.
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| Papagayo beach |
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| Pozo Beach |
Day 4: Other things to visit
Lanzarote aquarium. It is something you can skip if you want, but my kids saw the ad for the aquarium as soon as we landed at the airport and we knew we couldn't have left the island without taking them to the aquarium. It is small and cute, with a short tunnel of bigger tanks above the passages. Buy tickets in advance here.
Cesar Manrique Foundation. After mentioning his name so many times in above, and his huge influence on the tourism development of the island, I thought it would be great to actually learn about the life and work of this artist.
Surfing at Famara Beach. The beach claims to have the best waves of your life. We skipped surfing this time (my kids actually learned to surf in Indonesia in November last year), but Famara beach offers eight surfing spots if it's your thing.
Daytrip to another island. You can hop to Fuerteventura easily from Playa Blanca in Lanzarote. The ferry boat runs several times a day and only takes 30 minutes to get to the other island. Alternatively, you can also hop to La Graciosa from Orzola in Lanzarote. The ferry boat ride takes 25 minutes one way, and runs several times a day, too. We didn't go to another island this time, because we want to plan another trip to explore the whole island of Fuerteventura next year.
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