Lanzarote 7-Day Itinerary from Costa Teguise

A week is the right length for Lanzarote. The island is 60 km top to bottom, the four big regions (volcanic south, Manrique-designed north, La Graciosa offshore, La Geria wine valley) each take a day, and Costa Teguise sits in the middle of the east coast within a 35 minute drive of every site that matters.

This is the schedule we send to guests at Casa Los Alisios when they ask what to do for a week. We live in Costa Teguise and host the villa. The order matters: a tired guest who books Timanfaya on day five misses the 09:30 slot and ends up on the 13:00 bus in 35°C heat with the coach tours. The pacing below is what works in practice.

Sunday market swap rule

Whichever day of your week falls on a Sunday, swap that day for the Teguise Sunday market (09:00 to 14:00, 10 minutes inland from the villa, free entry). The cleanest swap is with Day 6, since that day is already inland: do the market 09:00 to 13:00, lunch in Teguise, then drive on to La Geria for the afternoon. Everything else in the week is Sunday-flexible.

Cost per adult, headline entries

Site	Price
Timanfaya	30 EUR
Jameos del Agua	17 EUR
Cueva de los Verdes	17 EUR
Mirador del Río	9 EUR
Jardín de Cactus	9 EUR
Fundación César Manrique	10 EUR
La Graciosa ferry (Biosfera Express round trip)	29 EUR
Total	121 EUR

Add Aquapark (28 EUR), bodega tours (15 to 30 EUR), Castillo de Santa Bárbara (3 EUR) and the Echadero camel ride (12 EUR) if you want them. Casa Museo del Campesino, El Golfo, Los Hervideros and the Salinas de Janubio viewpoint are all free.

Day 1 — Arrival and a slow first evening in Costa Teguise

Land at Lanzarote Airport (ACE), pick up the rental car and drive 15 minutes north on the LZ-2 to Costa Teguise. The villa is in a quiet residential zone two streets back from the seafront promenade. The first stop after dropping bags is the Spar on Las Palmeras, three minutes on foot, for breakfast and water for the rest of the week. Lidl is 10 minutes on foot if you want a bigger weekly shop.

Late afternoon, walk to Playa El Ancla for sunset. It is 10 minutes from the front door, across Av. de las Palmeras and a short dirt track and Av. del Mar. The cove is wind-protected, has clear water on a calm day and some of the best snorkelling in Costa Teguise. No bar, no sunbeds, no lifeguard, so bring water and shade.

Dinner in Pueblo Marinero, the small César Manrique-designed plaza in the centre of town. Around 30 minutes on foot along the promenade or a 5 minute drive. Several restaurants open onto the plaza, the atmosphere is relaxed and you can be back at the villa by 22:00 to reset for an early start.

Day 2 — Timanfaya and the volcanic south

This is the longest day of the week and works best as Day 2 while everyone is still fresh. Pre-book the 09:30 slot for Timanfaya National Park online through CACT Lanzarote the night before. Adult tickets are 30 EUR, children 7 to 12 are half price, under 7s free. Download the QR code at the villa, mobile signal inside the park is limited.

Leave Costa Teguise by 09:00, drive 30 minutes west on the LZ-2 then south on the LZ-67. The ticket includes parking and the 35 minute Volcano Route bus tour around the Macizo del Fuego. After the bus, watch the geothermal demonstrations at the Islote de Hilario where guides drop dry brush into a cleft in the rock and it ignites within seconds. El Diablo restaurant on site cooks chicken on a grill set over a geothermal vent.

Get directions from Casa Los Alisios

Out of the park by 12:00, drive south to El Golfo (15 minutes) for Charco de los Clicos, the green crater lagoon. You view from above, there is no path down to the water. From there it is 5 minutes south to Los Hervideros, the cliff network where the Atlantic blows up through holes in the lava (free, large car park). Another 10 minutes south sits the Salinas de Janubio viewpoint, the largest working salt pans in the Canaries, also free.

Lunch in Yaiza or Playa Blanca, then home via the LZ-2. The full circuit is around 100 km and 2 to 3 hours of driving total, with 4 hours of sightseeing in between.

Day 3 — Rest day in Costa Teguise

Two driving days back to back ruin a week. Day 3 stays in Costa Teguise and lets the family choose what they want.

The default is a beach morning. Playa de Las Cucharas is the main beach (40 minutes on foot or 5 minutes by car, parking right behind the sand) with restaurants, sunbeds and the windsurf schools. Playa del Jablillo is the family beach: a small enclosed lagoon 20 minutes on foot, sheltered from the trade wind, calm enough for toddlers.

Three solid alternatives for the afternoon:

• Aquapark Costa Teguise — 25 slides, 11 pools, dedicated toddler section, walking distance from most of the resort. Adults 28 EUR. Open daily 10:00 to 17:00 from June 1 to November 8. In May the park is closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays, open Thursday to Monday only, so check the calendar before walking down.
• Windsurf taster at Las Cucharas — a two hour beginner session with board, sail and wetsuit included runs around 70 to 90 EUR through one of the four schools on the beach. Our full windsurfing guide for Costa Teguise covers the schools, the wind windows and the famous riders who came up here.
• Snorkel or scuba intro — Playa El Ancla is the easiest snorkel spot, straight off the rocks with reef shoes. For a structured first time, the local centres run try-dive sessions in the lagoon at Playa del Jablillo.

End the day with a slow walk along the promenade at sunset and tapas at whichever Pueblo Marinero terrace looks busiest.

Day 4 — North loop: caves, cactus garden and Mirador del Río

The northern César Manrique centres are the most photographed sites on the island, all within a 15 minute radius of each other up the LZ-1. The trick to fitting them into one day is the order, because the closing times trip people up.

Book Cueva de los Verdes online before leaving the villa. The cave only sells tickets through CACT Lanzarote (no walk-up at the door) and last entry is 16:15. Adult tickets are 17 EUR. The same is true for Jameos del Agua at 17 EUR and Mirador del Río at 9 EUR, but those at least take walk-ups.

Suggested timings for the day:

• 09:45 leave villa
• 10:00 Jardín de Cactus (9 EUR), 15 minutes from Costa Teguise on the LZ-1 in Guatiza. Manrique’s last big project, finished in 1991, set in an old volcanic quarry, around 4,500 cacti from 450 species. Allow 60 to 90 minutes
• 11:30 drive 20 minutes north to Cueva de los Verdes (17 EUR online only). Section of the same lava tube as Jameos, guided tour around 50 minutes with a classic acoustic trick near the end
• 13:00 lunch in Punta Mujeres or Arrieta, the two fishing villages on the coast 5 minutes from the caves
• 14:30 Jameos del Agua (17 EUR), the other half of the same lava tube. The underground saltwater lake holds the jameitos, tiny blind albino crabs that live nowhere else
• 16:15 drive 20 minutes north to Mirador del Río (9 EUR, last entry 16:40). Manrique’s cliff-top viewpoint 475 m above the strait, looking straight down at La Graciosa. Stay on the terrace until they close at 17:00 for the late afternoon light on the water

Get directions from Casa Los Alisios

Drive home down the LZ-1 (35 minutes from Mirador del Río to Costa Teguise) or stop in Haría village for dinner if you want the long version.

Day 5 — La Graciosa day trip

The day off the island. Drive 30 minutes north to Órzola, park (free, large car park behind the harbour), and take the Biosfera Express ferry across the El Río strait to Caleta del Sebo. Crossing time is 25 minutes. Round-trip adult is 29 EUR, child 15 EUR. The 09:00 outbound is the right ferry: gives you a full day on the island with margin for the 16:30 or 17:30 return. Líneas Romero runs the same route at similar prices.

Caleta del Sebo is the main village on the island. No paved roads, no traffic, no luggage trolleys, no taxi rank. Three or four bike rental shops sit on the streets immediately behind the harbour, including Bicis La Graciosa for online booking. Mountain bikes run 10 to 15 EUR a day, electric bikes more. Renting beats walking by an enormous margin: distances run from 35 minutes to Playa de la Francesa to nearly 2 hours on foot to Playa de las Conchas in the north.

The default loop is to ride 35 minutes south to Playa de la Francesa (calm, swimmable, snorkelling along the rocky edges), eat the picnic from Spar on the beach and ride back to Caleta for an early dinner before the return ferry. The fitter version adds Playa de las Conchas in the north, which is dramatic but dangerous to swim under the cliff. Our full La Graciosa day trip guide covers the beach choices, the bike route and the bus alternative.

If you take the 16:30 ferry back you land in Órzola at 16:55 and can pair the day with a stop at Mirador del Río for the late afternoon light, but only if you skipped it on Day 4.

Day 6 — Fundación César Manrique and La Geria wine

A slower, lower-mileage day after the offshore trip. Late breakfast, then 11:00 to the Fundación César Manrique in Tahíche, only 10 minutes from the villa. Adult ticket is 10 EUR. The lower floor is built into five natural volcanic bubbles linked by tunnels cut through the basalt, each bubble a room with its own tree, pool or fireplace. The upper floor is traditional Canarian farmhouse with whitewashed walls. The collection holds Manrique’s own paintings plus works by Picasso, Miró and Tàpies. Allow 90 minutes.

Get directions from Casa Los Alisios

From Tahíche it is around 25 minutes south to La Geria, the volcanic wine valley. The LZ-30 runs straight through the protected landscape with bodegas signposted every few hundred metres between Uga and Masdache. The vines grow as single plants in pits dug into the black volcanic ash, each protected by a curved stone wall (zoco). Park anywhere along the road, the lay-bys at the main viewpoints are free.

Three options for the afternoon:

• Lunch at Bodega Stratvs in Uga, the modern destination bodega with a proper restaurant (El Aljibe del Obispo) serving Canarian dishes built around local products
• Audio tour at Bodegas El Grifo, the oldest working winery in the Canaries (founded 1775). The 45-minute El Grifo Your Way visit is 15 EUR (under 17s free) and covers the museum, vineyard and a two-wine tasting. Open Monday to Friday 10:00 to 17:15 last entry
• Wine shop and walk-in tasting at Bodegas Los Bermejos in San Bartolomé, the small producer many locals nominate as their favourite. Walk-in terrace tastings by the glass are 3.50 EUR. Our personal pick to bring home is the Bermejo Malvasía Seco Fermentado en Barrica. Open Monday to Friday 08:00 to 15:00 only, closed weekends, so check the day before you set off

If energy allows on the way back, stop at Castillo de Santa Bárbara on the rim of Guanapay volcano above Teguise (3 EUR adult, free under 12). The view across Teguise and out to the Atlantic is the main reason to drive up.

Day 7 — Famara morning and departure

Pack up the villa, drop bags in the car and drive 20 minutes northwest to Playa de Famara, the long open beach under the cliffs that close out the north of the island. Brunch at one of the surf cafés on the seafront, walk the beach, watch the surf schools running their morning sessions. The cliffs of Famara form the back wall of the Risco de Famara walks we cover separately.

If the wind forecast is over 25 knots NE on the day you fly out, Famara is brutal and the driving sand makes it unpleasant. Wind alternative: Castillo de San Gabriel on the islet at the entrance to Arrecife harbour, 15 minutes from the villa. Walk the causeway, look across to Charco de San Ginés (the small inland lagoon ringed by traditional fishing boats), and lunch on the marina. Arrecife is 10 minutes from the airport so the timing works.

Drop the rental car at Lanzarote Airport (ACE), which is 15 minutes from the villa whichever route you take.

Adapting the week to the season

The itinerary works any month, but a few seasonal notes are worth flagging.

• Spring (March to May): Aquapark only opens Thursday to Monday in April and May, full daily schedule from June 1. Ironman Lanzarote runs in late May, the bike course passes through Costa Teguise and accommodation in Puerto del Carmen sells out (this is one reason the villa fills early in May). The water is 18 to 19°C, swimmable for most.
• Summer (June to September): Aquapark daily, La Graciosa ferries busy on weekends (book ahead for July and August), Timanfaya queues at the gate by mid-morning even with online tickets. Trade winds reliable at Las Cucharas. The water hits 22 to 23°C by late August.
• Autumn (October to November): Ocean Lava Lanzarote (October), Wine Run (June, separate event), Famara Total Trail (August), and the Lanzarote Marathon in early December all draw event traffic. Otherwise calm and warm.
• Winter (December to February): Air temperatures in the high teens, water 18°C, light winter rain a few days a month. The CACT centres and the bodegas are quieter. We cover the full month-by-month picture in our best time to visit Costa Teguise guide.

Adapting the week for families

Three swaps make this itinerary work better with younger kids.

• Day 2: swap or shorten Los Hervideros (the wind at the cliffs is serious) and add a stop at Playa Blanca for an afternoon swim. The water there is calmer than on the east coast.
• Day 4: Cueva de los Verdes is dark, narrow and includes one loud acoustic moment near the end. Some children love it, some find it stressful. Swap it for an extra hour at Jardín de Cactus and a longer lunch in Punta Mujeres if you want to keep the day softer.
• Day 6: trade the bodega afternoon for an afternoon at the Lanzarote Aquarium at Centro Comercial El Trébol in Costa Teguise (33 tanks, shark tunnel, daily 10:00 to 18:00). Our things to do in Costa Teguise with kids post covers the family-friendly version of the week in more detail.

Why a Costa Teguise base works for the week

Every site on this itinerary is within a 35 minute drive of the villa, the airport is 15 minutes the other way, and the resort itself has the kind of infrastructure that makes a week of day trips actually pleasant: paved seafront promenade, four beaches in walking distance, the Aquapark, the Aquarium, the windsurf schools at Las Cucharas, the Pueblo Marinero plaza for evenings out, and the supermarket five minutes from the front door for the day you cannot face another restaurant. We compare the alternatives in Costa Teguise vs Puerto del Carmen and Costa Teguise vs Playa Blanca for families if you want the full case.

Casa Los Alisios sits in the quiet residential zone two streets back from the seafront, with parking at the door for the rental car, a gear storage room for bikes, scuba kit and surfboards, a full kitchen for the kind of dinners that follow a long Timanfaya day, and the communal pool for the afternoon you do nothing at all. The full picture of the property is on our home page, and our digital nomad guide to Costa Teguise covers the workspace setup if anyone in the group plans to log in for a half day.