The best beaches in Lanzarote, cove by cove

Lanzarote's beaches are nothing alike: white sand and still water in the southern coves, turquoise pools between black lava in the north, five kilometres of surf at Famara and long town beaches lined with sunloungers in the resorts. Choosing well comes down to three things: do you want facilities (showers, lifeguards, a beach bar), are you travelling with children, and which way the wind is blowing that day.

Here are all the ones worth the trip, cove by cove, with what it costs to get there, what they lack and who they suit. If you are looking for somewhere to stay near the sand, see also the guides to Playa Blanca, Puerto del Carmen and Costa Teguise.

Papagayo beaches: the coves one by one

Papagayo is a string of coves of fine white sand inside the Los Ajaches Natural Monument, next to Playa Blanca, in the municipality of Yaiza. The Los Ajaches basalts are up to 15.5 million years old: the oldest lavas on the island, which is why the landscape is soft brown hills, quite unlike the young lava fields of Timanfaya.

All of them have calm water and a lot of visitors, and none has a lifeguard according to the council's listing. These are the measurements Yaiza publishes:

Playa Mujeres is the only one with parking and cleaning in the official listing, and the widest: if you arrive late in high season, this is where you will most easily find space. Playa El Papagayo is the postcard, small and tucked between cliffs, and it fills up before any other. Puerto Muelas and Caleta del Congrio are the naturist coves; the tiny Caletón de San Marcial can only be reached on foot.

What none of them has: showers, shade or lifeguards. Bring plenty of water, a parasol and shoes for the rocks. As they are all anchorage zones, by midday you will see catamarans moored offshore.

Papagayo beach: price and getting there by car

Entry to the Natural Monument costs €3 per vehicle, payable by card only; Lanzarote residents do not pay, and nor does anyone arriving on foot or by bike. The barrier is only staffed during the day, from 09:00, and with very few staff, so on some days nobody collects the fee; do not count on it and bring your card.

Access is along a dirt track. Before taking a hire car down it, check what your rental agreement says about unpaved roads. Yaiza council also complains about cars leaving the track and driving across the plains; stay on the marked route. The official listing is at https://yaiza.es/playas/playas-punta-del-papagayo/.

Papagayo on foot, by bike or by boat

The free option is to walk from the Las Coloradas area of Playa Blanca, next to the Castillo de las Coloradas (closed to the public). You also get in free by bike; there are hire shops in Playa Blanca.

From the sea it looks different. The Líneas Romero mini-cruise leaves from Playa Blanca port and Marina Rubicón, takes about 2 hours and costs €35 (€25 children), against €66 or more for the full-day catamaran. On GetYourGuide there is a mini-cruise to Papagayo with a swimming stop from €35. If you would rather paddle, the kayak and snorkelling tour in Papagayo (from €50, 3.5 hours) is the best rated on the list. Jet skis only reach Papagayo from Marina Rubicón; we explain this under jet skis, and the other boats under boat trips.

GetYourGuide3.5 hours

Kayaking & Snorkelling Adventure in Papagayo with Photos

4.8 (502)

from €50Check availability

GetYourGuide10 minutes

Lanzarote: Parasailing Adventure in Puerto del Carmen

4.8 (244)

from €55Check availability

GetYourGuide6 hours

From Lanzarote: Sailing Day Trip Around La Graciosa

4.4 (1,186)

from €72Check availability

See all on GetYourGuide →Prices checked on 5 October 2026

Caletón Blanco: how to get there and when to go

Caletón Blanco is a series of natural coves with white sand and turquoise water on the road between Órzola and Arrieta, in the municipality of Haría. The sand is very pale because it is made of fragments of calcareous algae, and it contrasts with the black lava walls that enclose each pool. The sea is usually calm and the Cabildo (island government) presents it as good for families.

Getting there: it is next to the LZ-1, at around kilometre 30, with free parking on the verge. By guagua (bus), line 9 Arrecife–Órzola (five departures a day) has a stop about 1.2 km away.

When to go: best in the morning on a falling tide, when the pools are still and shallow. On very big tides (coefficient above 100) the water covers the pools and the beach loses its charm. Check the tide table before driving up north.

It combines well with the rest of the north: Mirador del Río, Jameos del Agua or the Cueva de los Verdes. It is all in the guide to the north of Lanzarote. Beyond Órzola lies La Cantería beach, beautiful from above but with strong waves and currents: the Cabildo advises against swimming.

Playa Blanca: Flamingo, Dorada and the town beach

The Playa Blanca coast has the calmest town beaches in the south, with a seafront promenade and bus 6 stopping at all three.

• Playa Flamingo (200 × 20 m): fine white sand, calm water, showers, sunloungers, green areas and step-free access. It is not a Papagayo cove but a semi-urban beach west of the town, on the Montaña Roja coast. For families with small children it is one of the best on the island, although it has no Blue Flag.
• Playa Dorada (300 × 10 m): a man-made bay of white sand, still water, sunloungers, parasols, water-sports hire and parasailing. There is parking nearby.
• Playa Blanca (40 × 8 m): the small town beach, golden sand, showers. This is the one with the Blue Flag, not Papagayo; plenty of people mix them up.

Beyond Flamingo, the Montaña Roja coast continues with La Mulata (80 m, sand, gravel and pebbles), La Campana (140 m) and Montaña Roja (260 m). Off Las Coloradas, at a depth of 12–14 m, lie the sculptures of the Museo Atlántico: it has not operated as a museum since 2020, but dive centres still take divers and snorkellers there. We cover it under diving.

Puerto del Carmen: Playa Chica, Playa Grande and Los Pocillos

Puerto del Carmen's Avenida de las Playas strings together several kilometres of golden sand and calm water, with bars and shops across the road.

Playa Grande (or Playa Blanca de Tías) is about 1,190 m long and is the town's classic family beach. Los Pocillos is over a kilometre long, with sunloungers, toilets and parking, followed by Matagorda. All three, together with Pila de la Barrilla, have a Blue Flag: four in a row, which won it back after losing it for a year.

Playa Chica is something else: a small cove by the old harbour that is one of the island's main dive sites. The house reef drops from 10 to 18 m, and you can see seahorses, rays and angel sharks there without needing a boat. It is also the base for jet skis and parasailing. Note: Playa Chica does not have a Blue Flag, although some local press include it on the list.

Between Puerto del Carmen and Puerto Calero runs the Líneas Romero water bus: €11 a trip, the cheapest way to see the coast from the water.

Costa Teguise: Las Cucharas, Bastián and El Jablillo

Playa de Las Cucharas is Costa Teguise's main beach: about 650 m of fine, light-brown sand, sheltered by breakwaters, usually calm and with the best facilities in town. It is the windsurfing bay: several schools work on the beach and the north-easterly wind comes in side-on. If you have small children, stay at the northern end, away from the water-sports area.

El Jablillo is the quieter alternative: white sand and still water behind a breakwater, with try-dives. Playa Bastián has light-brown sand, stone walls, steps and gardens, with bars on the promenade. Further north, on the Teguise coast, Charco del Palo is a naturist village with no beach, where people swim in rock pools.

Famara: surf, wind and currents

Famara beach runs for more than 5 km, from the village of Caleta de Famara to the foot of the Risco cliffs, inside the Chinijo Archipelago Natural Park. Behind it are dunes; in front, the northern islets. At low tide the wet sand acts as a mirror, and at high tide part of the beach disappears. The Cabildo recommends walking it when low tide coincides with sunset.

Famara is the island's surf-school beach, with lessons every day of the year. The main wave season runs from October to March (north and north-west swell); in summer the waves are smaller and better for learning. There is also kitesurfing, bodyboarding and windfoiling, and paragliders take off from the Risco. Part of the beach is a naturist area.

The clifftop path (Camino de Los Caleteros) is currently closed since the rockfall of 12 May; do not try to climb that way. You will find alternative routes under hiking. To get there without a car: bus 20 from Arrecife (weekdays) or 31 from Costa Teguise, which has more departures on Sundays.

El Reducto and Playa Quemada

El Reducto, in Arrecife, is a 500 m town beach of fine golden sand, protected by a reef that shows at low tide. It has a promenade, facilities and a Blue Flag. But it has been closed to swimming several times because of sewage spills: it was shut for months, reopened in spring and closed again in September. It is currently open (it reopened on 25 September), but check its status with Arrecife council on the day you go.

Playa Quemada, in south-east Yaiza, is the quiet escape: 310 × 8 m of gravel and pebbles, calm water, few people and parking. From there you can walk to isolated black-sand coves: La Arena (85 m), Los Pozos (345 m), Valle de la Casa (105 m), El Parrado (280 m) and La Fuentecita (60 m). Do not expect facilities. Some catamarans leaving Puerto del Carmen anchor at El Poril, on this same coast.

Blue Flag beaches in Lanzarote

On ADEAC's official Blue Flag list, Lanzarote has six beaches:

Four marinas and harbours also have one: Marina Puerto Calero, Playa Blanca port, Órzola and Caleta de Sebo (La Graciosa).

The practical upshot: the beaches famous for being wild (Papagayo, Famara, Caletón Blanco) have no flag and no facilities. If you want showers, lifeguards and toilets, start with this list.

Beaches for what you are after

Best beaches in Lanzarote for families

The easiest: Flamingo and Dorada in Playa Blanca, Playa Grande and Los Pocillos in Puerto del Carmen, Las Cucharas (northern end) and El Jablillo in Costa Teguise. All have calm water, facilities and a bus stop nearby. The natural pools at Punta Mujeres and the pools of Caletón Blanco are a big hit with children, but have no facilities at all. Soap and shower gel are not allowed in beach showers. More ideas in Lanzarote with kids.

Beaches for snorkelling

The easiest is Playa Chica in Puerto del Carmen: Safari Diving runs a 2-hour guided snorkel for €39 (ages 6 and up, Monday to Saturday at 15:00) and hires out mask and snorkel for €5. The Papagayo coves, with still water and a clear seabed, are best enjoyed from a kayak or an anchored boat. And you can snorkel over the Museo Atlántico sculptures, off Las Coloradas, with a dive centre. It is all under diving and snorkelling.

Beaches for surfing and windsurfing

Famara is the surf beach (schools in Caleta de Famara from about €50 for a group lesson, compared in Famara surf schools; Lanzarote's first surf school has 2- or 4-hour lessons from €50). Las Cucharas is the bay for windsurfing and wing foiling, with wind mainly from March to September. Kitesurfing is learnt at Famara, not Costa Teguise. Details in water sports.

Nudist beaches in Lanzarote

The official ones are Puerto Muelas, Caleta del Congrio and Caletón de San Marcial in Papagayo; Charco del Palo on the Teguise coast; and a section of Famara beach.

La Graciosa beaches

From Órzola, about 25 minutes by ferry, you reach La Graciosa. Playa Francesa is the one for swimming: sheltered, small waves, no facilities (bring water and sun cream). La Cocina is 10–15 minutes' walk further on, with no shade or bar. La Laja, next to the harbour, is the one for children. Playa de las Conchas, the postcard beach, is not for swimming: big waves and dangerous currents. The return trip costs €29 with either of the two ferry companies, Líneas Romero or Biosfera Express; more in La Graciosa.

What to know before you go

• The water is cool: 18.3 °C in February and March, 23.0 °C in September. The sea warms up later than the air: September and October have the warmest water.
• There is no natural shade on almost any of the wild beaches. Bring a parasol or windbreak.
• Charco de los Clicos (the green lagoon at El Golfo) is seen from the marked path; there is no access to the shore and no swimming.
• Do not take stones or volcanic sand away: it is prohibited.