Timanfaya National Park, Lanzarote: tickets, the volcano route and tours

Timanfaya is the national park left behind by the eruptions of 1730–1736 in the south-west of Lanzarote, and the visit almost everyone makes is to Montañas del Fuego (the Fire Mountains): the visitor centre on Islote de Hilario, run by the island's Centros de Arte, Cultura y Turismo (CACT). This is where your ticket is checked, where you board the coach for the Ruta de los Volcanes (Route of the Volcanoes), where staff demonstrate the geothermal heat and where, if you like, you can have lunch at El Diablo.

The rule that surprises most people: inside the park there are no open trails and no stopping your car. You see it from the coach, from the viewpoint on the Islote or on the free guided walks run by the park itself, which have very few places. Below: how to buy the ticket, what time to go, whether to go independently or on a tour, and which tour to pick.

Timanfaya tickets: price and how to buy them

Tickets for Montañas del Fuego are sold only through the CACT online shop: ventaonline.cactlanzarote.com. The booth at the entry checkpoint no longer sells tickets. None of the platforms (GetYourGuide, Tiqets, Civitatis) sells the ticket on its own: you either buy it from the CACT or get it bundled into a tour.

The ticket covers parking at Islote de Hilario, the Ruta de los Volcanes coach tour, the geothermal demonstrations and the viewpoint. There is also free wifi at the top, which helps because mobile coverage in the park is poor.

Worth knowing before you pay:

• One QR code per booking: the whole group goes in together. If you are arriving at different times, make separate bookings.
• Reduced rates only with a physical document: reduced tickets require a physical Spanish ID card, NIE or passport (plus a certificate of residence if the address is not on the document). Without it, the reduced ticket is cancelled with no refund and you have to buy a full-price one.
• Download the QR code at your hotel: take a screenshot before you leave, because the signal drops on the park road.

If you also plan to see Jameos del Agua or Cueva de los Verdes, note that the CACT has no combined pass: each centre is paid separately. The five big ones add up to €82 per adult.

Timanfaya opening hours, queues and the best time to go

The centre is open every day from 09:30 to 15:45 according to the CACT; the park authority gives 15:45 as last entry. The visit at the Islote takes about 90 minutes including the coach tour.

Timed tickets have sorted out the queue at the booth, but not the queue of cars. Lines still build up at the Taro barrier by mid-morning: travellers who drove straight in at 09:30 have reported hour-and-a-half queues at 11:30 the same day. That matters if your slot is later: get stuck in the queue, arrive late, and the ticket is not refunded.

The park's own advice: the best times are 09:00 to 10:30 and after 13:30, and the quietest day is Sunday.

Ruta de los Volcanes and the demonstrations: what you see

The visit always runs in the same order. You drive in through the Taro checkpoint and up to the car park at Islote de Hilario; on that stretch you may not stop or get out of the car. At the top, the Ruta de los Volcanes coaches are waiting, leaving roughly every 20 minutes.

The route is a loop: the CACT says about 14 km and 35–40 minutes; the park authority says 12 km and 45 minutes. It passes the Valle de la Tranquilidad and the Caldera del Corazoncillo, between 251 and 453 m above sea level, with commentary in Spanish, English and German. You cannot get off the coach during the route. Look out for the white patches on the lava: a lichen, Stereocaulon vesuvianum. You will also see both kinds of lava, the smooth (pahoehoe) and the rough ("aa").

Back at the Islote, staff run the geothermal demonstrations: they pour water into a pipe sunk into the ground and a jet of steam shoots up instantly, and they set a bundle of brushwood alight by pushing it into a hole. Beneath your feet temperatures reach up to 610 °C at a depth of 13 metres, according to the park. After that there is the viewpoint, the shop and the restaurant.

To understand why it all looks like a moonscape: the main eruptions lasted from 1730 to 1736 and the last one was in 1824. The park was declared in 1974, covers 5,107 hectares between Tinajo and Yaiza, and the park authority describes it as the only national park in the Canaries that reaches the sea.

El Diablo restaurant: lunch on the volcano

El Diablo is the Islote's restaurant, designed by César Manrique: a circular glass-walled dining room above the lava field, with a grill set over a 5-metre well where the volcanic heat reaches about 250 °C. It serves lunch only, within the centre's opening hours (09:30–15:45), and takes no reservations: first come, first served.

Menu prices: papas arrugadas (wrinkled potatoes) with mojo €7.50, half a volcano-grilled chicken €21, skewer €20, entrecôte €26, wreckfish fillet €24.50; children's dishes €7 to €9. Not cheap, but eating chicken roasted by the heat of the earth while looking out over the lava is what makes this stop different.

Timanfaya by car or on a tour

With a hire car, going independently is cheapest: €30 per adult and that's it. Montañas del Fuego is about 29 minutes from Playa Blanca and 33 from Puerto del Carmen. Without a car it is a different story: no public bus (guagua) reaches Islote de Hilario, so your options are a taxi or a tour. See our guide to Lanzarote without a car if that's you.

The less obvious advantage of a tour is free cancellation: if the weather turns or plans change, you lose your CACT ticket but not your tour. The downside is time: a half-day tour takes 5 hours for a visit that is 90 minutes plus the drive if you go yourself.

Going independently, the classic combination is Timanfaya first thing, the Timanfaya camel ride 2 km from the checkpoint, then in the afternoon El Golfo and the Charco de los Clicos or the wineries of La Geria.

Which Timanfaya tour to book

Most Timanfaya tours cost the same everywhere: the half-day tour is €59 on GetYourGuide, Civitatis and Viator, because the platforms resell at the operator's price. Choose by length, language and what each one adds, not by platform.

The Timanfaya tours we recommend

1

Half day, with hotel pick-up

The most-reviewed option (over 2,800 reviews). About 5 hours with the Ruta de los Volcanes and the demonstrations; ideal if you only want Timanfaya and have no car.

GetYourGuide5 hours

Lanzarote: Timanfaya National Park – Half-day tour

4.4 (2,823)

from €59Check availability

2

Full day: Timanfaya + Jameos + Cueva

The three headline sights in one day for €89. The three tickets alone add up to €64, so transport and guide come to about €25.

GetYourGuide9 hours

Lanzarote: Timanfaya Park, Jameos Agua & Cueva Verdes Tour

4.5 (2,873)

from €89Check availability

3

Express from Yaiza, if you have a car

Leave the car in Yaiza and go in with a guide in 2 hours, at a fixed time. It costs €27 more than the ticket, but you don't have to manage the time slot.

GetYourGuide2 hours

From Yaiza: Timanfaya Express Tour with No Queues

4.6 (367)

from €57Check availability

4

Evening with dinner and sunset

An agency tour outside normal hours, with a volcano-grilled dinner. Pricey (€134), but public visits end at 15:45, so this is the way to see the park at sunset.

GetYourGuide5 hours

Timanfaya National Park: Evening Tour with Volcano Dinner

4.5 (323)

from €134Check availability

How to choose between the formats:

• Half day (€59–63): Timanfaya with pick-up in Playa Blanca, Puerto del Carmen or Costa Teguise. Some add La Geria (tour with La Geria, €63, 5.5 h). A longer day takes in the Green Lagoon (with Lago Verde, €65, 8 h, with an optional camel ride).
• Full day (€87–95): Timanfaya plus Jameos del Agua, sometimes Cueva de los Verdes and El Golfo. There is a version with lunch included for €95. If you want to see a lot in one day and aren't driving, this is the best value. More in our guides to Jameos del Agua and César Manrique.
• Express from Yaiza (€57): 2 hours, departures between 09:00 and 11:00, in Spanish, English, German and French. The operator also sells it direct on canarytripbooking.com for €54 with the ticket included: €24 more than going on your own, in exchange for a guide and a guaranteed time.
• Evening with dinner (€134): sunset, demonstrations, Ruta de los Volcanes and a three-course dinner with wine and music. Shared tables; not recommended during pregnancy or for anyone with heart or breathing problems. On GetYourGuide you can cancel free up to 24 h before; on Headout, the same tour at the same price is non-refundable.
• Cruise passengers: if you arrive by ship, there are tours built around the port call, such as Timanfaya and the Green Lagoon from €49. More in our guide to Lanzarote cruise excursions.

Before paying, check on the listing that the €30 ticket is included and where you are picked up. If you are staying in Corralejo, there are also Timanfaya tours from Fuerteventura.

GetYourGuide5 hours

Lanzarote: Timanfaya National Park – Half-day tour

4.4 (2,823)

from €59Check availability

GetYourGuide7 hours

Arrecife/Playa Blanca: Timanfaya National Park Area Day Tour

4.3 (886)

from €65Check availability

GetYourGuide8 hours

Lanzarote: Timanfaya Park and Jameos del Agua Full-Day Tour

4.5 (2,054)

from €87Check availability

GetYourGuide9 hours

Lanzarote: Volcanoes of Timanfaya and Caves Tour with Lunch

4.5 (573)

from €95Check availability

GetYourGuide5 hours

Timanfaya National Park: Evening Tour with Volcano Dinner

4.5 (323)

from €134Check availability

GetYourGuide8 hours

Lanzarote tour: Timanfaya National Park & Lago Verde

4.2 (886)

from €65Check availability

See all on GetYourGuide →Prices checked on 5 October 2026

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Walking in Timanfaya: free guided routes and hikes nearby

In the core of the park you can only walk with the national park's own guides. The routes are free, but groups are capped at 8 people, open only to over-16s (16–17-year-olds with an adult) and must be booked on the National Parks booking portal. Places open a month ahead and go fast: book on the day they are released.

• Tremesana route: about 3 hours including transfers, 3–3.5 km, easy. Meet in the Plaza de Los Remedios in Yaiza, 15 minutes early. It passes jameos (collapsed lava tubes), the meeting of lava flows at Montaña Hernández and Montaña Encantada, a lava lake and volcanic stalactites. There are Spanish- and English-speaking groups, booked as separate activities: you must understand the group's language. Closed shoes with a heel strap and ID are compulsory.
• Short Coastal route (Ruta corta del Litoral): about 2–2.8 km along the coast from El Golfo, 2.5 to 3 hours, moderate. Meet at the north car park of El Golfo village, next to the playground. Walking boots and water are compulsory; stay on the path, as there is a risk of rockfalls and there are seabird nests.
• Long Coastal route (Ruta larga del Litoral): the only one with no guide or permit. From Playa de la Madera (Tinajo) to El Golfo it is 9.75 km and 5–6 hours, difficult, with no signal for long stretches. The park recommends the out-and-back version from Playa de la Madera to Playa del Cochino (9 km), which is gentler.

Guided walks are cancelled under yellow, orange or red weather warnings.

If your group includes under-16s or you didn't get a place, there are two open routes very close by: Volcán del Cuervo, easy, 2.5 to 4.5 km from a car park on the LZ-56 near Masdache, where you walk into the crater; and Caldera Blanca, about 10 km and 3 hours over shadeless lava from the church in Mancha Blanca. All the routes are in our guide to hiking in Lanzarote.

The other way to set foot in the interior with permission is Insólita Montaña, the CACT's premium visit: €59.90 per adult, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at 08:45, in Spanish and English, in a small group. It adds closed-off areas to the normal visit, a short walk to the Montaña Rajada viewpoint over the "sea of lava" and a tasting with Lanzarote wine. The CACT lists it at about 3 hours on the booking page.

Mancha Blanca Visitor Centre

The park's interpretation centre is on the LZ-67 at km 9.6, is run by the Canary Islands Government (not the CACT) and is free. It is open every day from 09:00 to 16:00. It has a permanent exhibition, an eruption simulation, a room with four audiovisual shows, a library and a viewpoint. The centre's guided tours are only for schools, associations and senior groups.

Mancha Blanca explains what you only glimpse from the coach: what six years of eruptions were like and why the ground is still hot. It is the ideal place to wait if you arrive before your slot. Road closures or changes to park hours are posted on the park's incidents page; check it the day before.

Timanfaya with children, pets and park rules

It works well with children: the coach tour involves no walking and the steam and fire demonstrations are usually what they remember most. Under-7s go free and 7–12-year-olds pay €15. A pushchair is awkward at the Islote; the CACT recommends a baby carrier. There are adapted coaches for people with reduced mobility. More ideas in Lanzarote with kids.

Rules that are actually enforced:

• No pets, except accredited assistance dogs.
• No stopping on the access road, leaving authorised paths or taking stones or plants.
• Drones, kites and balloons are banned. Professional filming needs a permit.
• No fire, except for the staff demonstrations.

Volcano countryTimanfaya camel ridefrom €59 Volcano countryEl Golfo & Green Lagoonfrom €22 Volcano countryLa Geria wineriesfrom €24 Whole islandHikingfrom €42

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