Lanzarote for Adventure

Get active in an exciting volcanic landscape

With its year-round warm climate, lively surf, volcanoes, mountains and crystal-clear waters, Lanzarote is an outdoor enthusiast’s dream.

Let’s start with cycling. Lanzarote offers a beautiful and varied landscape, with routes that take in villages, volcanoes and vineyards.

You can potter along the coast roads, take your mountain bike over the low-lying hills and mountains (nothing over 650 metres) or get seriously adventurous on the Iron-Man route. Get ready for a 180km challenge that climbs 2550 vertical metres. Otherwise there is a network of especially controlled roads to provide a safe environment for the many road cyclists who come to the island.

Winds here are a fact of life. The directions and strength vary from October to April. This is the flying season for hanggliding and paragliding. The trade winds then set up for the summer, with consistent strong northerly winds, which perfect conditions for windsurfing and kitesurfing.

Then there’s surfing, in what’s become known as the ‘Hawaii of Europe’. Lanzarote offers some of the finest surfing in the Canaries. The best beaches for beginners are Orzola and Las Cuchuras, or Famara (where many schools are based). More seasoned surfers might want to try Famara, in the shadow of beautiful Risco Mountain and the famous break at La Santa.

The island has become an increasingly popular SCUBA diving destination. The lack of surface water draining into the sea and the coarse sand and strong sun creates great underwater visibility. You’ll love the crystal waters of the underwater park at Puerto del Carmen at Playa Chica. Watch out for shoals of bream, wrasse, damselfish, goat fish, barracuda and human-sized groupers. Also to be seen are sea horses, rays and moray eels. More recently the underwater museum at Playa Blanca [hyperlink] is a special draw to the island.

Stay on the water for a little jet-skiing at Puerto del Carmen (Playa Chica) and Playa Blanca, or slow the pace with some stand-up paddleboarding. Get your Lycra and booties on and take an introductory course with Windblue Sports at Playa Blanca.

Horse-riding is a great way to explore the roads less travelled on Lanzarote and, indeed, to get away from the roads altogether and find some seriously rugged terrain.

Explore it further on foot, with a hiking tour of the Los Volcanes Nature Reserve. Trek over lava flows, discover lava tunnels, craters and volcanic cones. Book a guided tour and learn how the lava renews itself over time.

Runners will love the choice of flatness at the coastline of Lanzarote and the option of uphill routes. come in springtime and take part in the Ironman Triathlon.

There are golf courses and go-kart tracks, and almost every hotel has tennis courts and squash courts.

In fact, it would be quicker to list the activities you can’t do on Lanzarote.