Of all the Canary Islands, Lanzarote feels the most polished. White houses with green shutters, black lava fields and, always in exactly the right spot, a building by artist César Manrique. It was the final stop of our long trip around the Canary Islands, and we spent a few weeks roaming the island. But if we had to pick just one place to settle down, where would it be?
With our two kids we explored the island from Papagayo in the south to Órzola in the north. For a holiday, we’d look for a coastal village or a relaxed resort town, with the sea close by and a few good terraces for the evening. The catch? Most hotels are in the three big resorts. Outside them, you’ll find old manor houses, small fincas and holiday homes instead.
That’s why this guide looks beyond the hotel itself. From the sandy streets of Famara to the beaches of Playa Blanca, these are seven great areas to stay in Lanzarote, with the vibe, the pros and cons and our pick of special places to sleep.
Where to stay in Lanzarote at a glance
- Best for a relaxed resort with kids: Costa Teguise (our pick: Oasis Lanz Beach Mate)
- Best for beaches and comfort with kids: Playa Blanca (our pick: Hotel LIVVO Volcán Lanzarote)
- Best for a small coastal village: Arrieta and Haría (our pick: Finca de Arrieta)
- Best for sunsets and volcanoes: El Golfo and Yaiza (our pick: El Hotelito del Golfo)
- Best for surfers and a wild beach: Famara (our pick: La charquita)
- Best for a holiday without a car: Puerto del Carmen (our pick: Aqua Suites)
- Best for vineyards and historic villages: Teguise and La Geria (our pick: Finca Isolina)
Can you explore all of Lanzarote from one base?
Yes, and that’s one of the best things about this island. Lanzarote is only about 60 kilometres long, so the drive from Playa Blanca in the south to Órzola in the north takes just over an hour. No need to repack your suitcase halfway through the holiday to see the caves up north or the volcanoes of Timanfaya.
So pick your base on what you want at the end of a day out. A short walk to the beach and plenty of choice for dinner? Then a resort town works well. Prefer a quiet village and a pool among the palm trees? Then the north and the interior are more your thing. Staying two weeks? A week in the south and a week in the north is a fun combination, but it’s not a must.
→ Discover the 16 best things to do in Lanzarote
Do you need a car in Lanzarote?
If you want to see more than the beach by your hotel, we’d definitely rent a car. Lanzarote’s best spots are spread out across the island: the caves in the north, the volcanoes of Timanfaya, the vineyards of La Geria and the bays of Papagayo, which you reach along a dirt road. With a car you can easily combine them in a day, and outside the resorts the roads are quiet.
The easiest way to compare rental cars is Discover Cars, which lists local and international companies side by side. Check what’s included in the insurance before you book. If you’re staying in Haría or Famara, a car is pretty much essential, because getting around by bus there takes a lot of planning.
→ Compare rental cars in Lanzarote
Staying in Puerto del Carmen, Costa Teguise or Playa Blanca and mainly planning beach days? Then you can manage without: buses run regularly between the resorts and Arrecife. Do check the address when you book, though. A hotel ‘in Playa Blanca’ can easily be a few kilometres out of town, and you’ll notice when you’re walking back after dinner with tired little legs in tow.
Are Arrecife and Puerto Calero good places to stay?
Arrecife is the capital and feels like a real Canarian town, with shopping streets, the seawater lagoon of Charco de San Ginés and the town beach of El Reducto. We were there during carnival, which was a party. For a whole holiday we’d rather stay in a coastal village or resort, but it’s handy for a first or last night close to the airport.
Puerto Calero is a small, well-kept marina southwest of Puerto del Carmen. This is where the real submarine sets off, and we took the kids down past shipwrecks and shoals of fish. There are a few luxury hotels, but life here revolves around the marina; for a classic beach holiday, Puerto del Carmen makes more sense.
The 7 best areas to stay in Lanzarote
Below are the seven areas we think work best, from the big resorts to the quiet villages in the north and the interior.
#1 Costa Teguise: a relaxed resort with family-friendly beaches
If we had to choose one place, it would be Costa Teguise. It’s the calmest of the three big resorts, with lovely beaches, a long promenade for an evening stroll and a central location, about twenty minutes from Arrieta and Haría and around 45 minutes from Playa Blanca. Our favourite beach here was Playa Jablillo. At low tide it turns into a kind of toddler pool in the sea, sheltered by breakwaters, with little fish swimming around your legs. With small kids, it doesn’t get much better. Las Cucharas, a bit further along, is more of a windsurfers’ beach.
The flip side is that Costa Teguise was built as a holiday resort, and it shows. There’s no old town; for that you drive to historic Teguise, about fifteen minutes inland. It can also get pretty windy on this east coast. So look for a hotel close to Jablillo or around Pueblo Marinero, and you’ll be on a terrace in no time in the evening.
#1 Oasis Lanz Beach Mate sits right in the middle of Costa Teguise, a few minutes’ walk from Playa Jablillo. You can choose between rooms and apartments, and besides two pools for grown-ups there are two kids’ pools.
#2 Barceló Lanzarote Active Resort is a big, sporty resort two minutes from the little beach of Playa del Ancla, with activities, sports classes and entertainment all day. Handy if everyone in the family wants something different, though it’s not the place for local character.
#3 Paradisus by Meliá Salinas Lanzarote is for guests aged 16 and over and runs all-inclusive. The building by architect Fernando Higueras is a slice of architectural history, with lush indoor gardens and lagoon pools that César Manrique helped create.
#2 Playa Blanca: sun, sand and the bays of Papagayo
Playa Blanca sits on the southern tip of Lanzarote and is a sunny resort with sheltered swimming beaches. Its big bonus is right around the corner: the bays of Papagayo, a protected nature area with sandy coves between golden cliffs. The best-known beach was busy during the day, but we liked the quieter Caleta del Congrio much better. Bring your own water and snacks, because apart from a beach restaurant there’s hardly anything there.
Playa Blanca itself is a spread-out resort with a long promenade, the beaches of Playa Dorada and Playa Flamingo and the Marina Rubicón. It’s not a village with a little square, and some hotels are a long way from the centre. For convenience, look between the centre and Marina Rubicón; the west side has more peace and space. Keep in mind that day trips to the north mean over an hour in the car.
#1 Hotel LIVVO Volcán Lanzarote is built like a little Canarian village with white houses, small squares and five pools, right next to Marina Rubicón. There are roomy suites for families and a spa, and the beach of Las Coloradas is within walking distance.
#2 Princesa Yaiza Suite Hotel Resort sits right on Playa Dorada and is big, with six pools, a whole string of restaurants and a large kids’ club. Not a boutique hotel, but one of the easiest options for a family holiday where you barely need to leave the grounds.
#3 Hotel Casa del Embajador is adults only and set in a former diplomat’s house on the promenade, with just thirteen rooms looking out over the sea. Breakfast is included, and the restaurants in the centre are a few minutes’ walk away.
#4 Kamezí Boutique Hotel Villas is made up of villas with their own heated pool and garden, on the quiet west side of Playa Blanca. Perfect if you’re travelling with a bigger family or friends and want space, but expect a drive or a decent walk to the centre.
#3 Arrieta and Haría: a coastal village and palm valley in the north
Looking for more peace and fewer tourists? Head north. In Arrieta we parked our camper right by the beach, and it was one of the most relaxed spots of the whole trip: a village of white houses, a few fish restaurants and the sandy beach of Playa de la Garita. Nearby are the natural sea pools of Punta Mujeres, and towards Órzola the blue rock pools of Caletón Blanco, although it was too chilly for a swim when we were there.
A few kilometres inland lies Haría, in the so-called valley of a thousand palms. This is where César Manrique spent his final years, there’s a lovely weekly market, and a trail leads up to the ridge, which Sebastiaan set off on one morning. Jameos del Agua and Cueva de los Verdes are a short drive away. I took our daughter to Jameos del Agua: beautiful, but not quite worth the hype or the price for us. The choice of hotels here is small and you really need a car.
#1 Finca de Arrieta is a small eco village 300 metres from the beach in Arrieta, with yurts and stone cottages in a garden with mango trees, among others. Everything runs on sun and wind and there’s a shared pool: an adventurous but comfortable choice with kids.
#2 Vv Maruja is a two-bedroom apartment in the village of Arrieta itself, three minutes’ walk from Playa de la Garita. Great if you like to cook for yourself and stroll to the village’s fish restaurants in the evening.
#3 Hotel Emblemático La Casa de los Naranjos is a restored manor house in the centre of Haría, with a garden, a terrace and eight rooms that are each decorated differently. A lovely base for exploring the village and the market, with Haría’s restaurants around the corner.
#4 El Golfo and Yaiza: volcanoes, salt pans and sunsets
On the west coast, between the lava fields of Timanfaya and the ocean, lies the white fishing village of El Golfo. We walked along a path through the lava fields, looked down on the green lagoon of Charco de los Clicos from the viewpoint and then drove on to Los Hervideros, where the waves come crashing and foaming through the rocks. Touristy, but impressive. El Golfo itself is small, but the landscape around it is spectacular. In the evening you eat fish by the water with the sunset as your backdrop.
Yaiza, a few kilometres inland, is one of the prettiest white villages on the island and close to the entrance of Timanfaya. From Yaiza it’s easy to head out to the Janubio salt pans, the vineyards of La Geria and the beaches of Papagayo. Don’t expect a swimming beach on your doorstep, though: the sea at El Golfo is rough. This area suits people who want to drive around and hike.
#1 El Hotelito del Golfo is a small hotel in the coastal village of El Golfo, with sea views and the village’s fish restaurants around the corner. Perfect for a few nights on the west coast, with the sunset as your evening entertainment.
#2 La Casona de Yaiza is an 1825 manor house in the white village of Yaiza, with an outdoor pool, a restaurant and furniture designed especially for the hotel. There are family rooms, so it’s also a great base for Timanfaya with kids.
#3 Hotelito La Era B&B is adults only and set in a traditional Canarian building in Yaiza, next to Jardines La Era, the old country house that César Manrique turned into a restaurant. A small-scale place with a garden and a bar, for couples who like quiet village life.
#4 Casa de Hilario is a country house high on the edge of Yaiza with a garden, an outdoor pool and a terrace. A peaceful place to unwind after a day among the volcanoes.
#5 Famara: a surf village on an endless beach
Famara is the opposite of a resort. Sandy streets, low white houses, surfboards leaning against the walls and, behind the village, the cliffs of the Risco de Famara rising hundreds of metres into the sky. The beach is huge and wild. We loved walking along it and flopping down in a hip little coffee place afterwards, but swimming isn’t a good idea here because of the waves and currents.
Famara suits you if you want to surf, hike or just watch the waves for a few days. You’ll mostly stay in apartments, bungalows and holiday homes, and there are surf schools and a handful of restaurants. With young kids who want to paddle, we’d go for Costa Teguise or Playa Blanca instead. The Ciudad Estratificada, a field of weirdly shaped rocks we visited at sunset, lies inland between Teguise and Guatiza.
#1 La charquita is a three-bedroom apartment in Caleta de Famara, with a terrace and less than a kilometre from the beach. Plenty of room for a family, and you can walk to the surf schools and little restaurants in the village.
#2 Lanzarote Famara Beach Bungalow is in Famara’s quiet bungalow area, six minutes’ walk from the beach and with sea views. A great spot for surfers and walkers who want to hit the beach early.
#3 Ático Surf is an apartment with a terrace, a ten-minute walk from Famara beach. An affordable choice for couples or a small family who mostly want to be outdoors.
#6 Puerto del Carmen: lots of choice, with quiet edges
Puerto del Carmen is Lanzarote’s biggest resort, with a promenade of about six kilometres along Playa Grande towards Los Pocillos and Matagorda; Playa Chica is near the old town. This is where we spent our last beach days before the ferry took us back to mainland Spain. You can walk to everything: restaurants, supermarkets, dive schools and the bus to Arrecife.
In the middle of the Avenida de las Playas it gets busy in the evening, with bars and souvenir shops, and that’s not quite our thing. It’s calmer at the edges: around the old fishing harbour of La Tiñosa with its fish restaurants, and towards Los Pocillos and Matagorda. Inland, near Montaña Blanca, are Las Grietas, narrow cracks in the lava rock where we bumped into lots of other Dutch visitors, and the submarine leaves from Puerto Calero.
#1 Aqua Suites is a boutique hotel with modern suites, each with its own terrace, plus pools and a separate adults-only jacuzzi. The beach and promenade are about a ten-minute walk away, and there are family suites too.
#2 Lani’s Suites de Luxe is adults only and right on the beach on the Avenida de las Playas. The suites look out over the sea and the pool, and with just 25 suites it feels a lot calmer than the rest of the promenade.
#3 Casas Heddy Well-being Resort is all about relaxing and healthy living, with a heated outdoor pool, a therapy pool, a gym and a breakfast buffet with plenty of vegetarian and vegan options. A good pick in Puerto del Carmen if you want an active holiday.
#7 Teguise and La Geria: historic villages and vineyards inland
Teguise was Lanzarote’s capital for centuries, and you can tell by the cobbles, the church and the old manor houses, a few of which are now boutique hotels. Every Sunday, the well-known Teguise market draws people from all over the island to its hundreds of stalls. From Teguise it’s a short drive to Famara, the Ciudad Estratificada and the remarkable house of LagOmar in Nazaret, built into a rock face.
In the heart of the island lies La Geria, the wine region where the vines grow in pits dug into black volcanic grit, each behind a little semicircular wall against the wind. We skipped the wine tasting with the kids, but just driving through this landscape is worth it. Staying inland works best if the place itself is part of the holiday. You will drive to the beach every day, though, and the nicest places here tend to be aimed at adults.
#1 Finca Isolina is in the little village of Mácher in the hills above Puerto del Carmen, with a pool, a garden and a breakfast guests rave about. In the evening you can have dinner from the chef’s menu; the finca is mainly aimed at adults and children are welcome from about nine years old.
#2 Hotel Boutique Palacio Ico is set in a 1690 manor house in the middle of historic Teguise. There are just nine rooms, art on the walls and a gastronomic restaurant worth keeping an evening free for; children are welcome from ten.
#3 Casa de las Flores is adults only: a restored manor house in the historic centre of Teguise, with art that sits beautifully alongside the old architecture. The square and the Sunday market are around the corner.
More tips for your trip to Lanzarote
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