Isla de Lanzarote Travel Forum

Our cruise boat gets to Lanzarote and we have a day to explore...following the forum and it sounds like the best idea is to rent my own car and get around...

1) Definitely plan to do the Timanfaya National Park the first thing in the morning? Any suggestions on how to do the camel ride? Is it an option between the bus tour or the camel ride?

2) Sounds like there is a lot more to do and I am a little confused as to how much I can accomplish in one day...It would be helpful if someone can suggest an itinerary that they think is manageable and covers most of the important sites...

3) Should I book a rental car ahead of time or are they easily available from the port?

thanks,

Hi.
In my opinion, Timanfaya is a "must", and then for just one day, I would sugest to go to the northern point of the island for the spectacular views(there is a "scenic point", but if you donīt pay and just walk arround you will get the same views), and pass through the old village of Teguise, very nice.

Have fun.

Timanfaya - Montanas del Fuego is a must, if you hire a car you can stop either on the way to the volcanoes or on the way back to ride the camels, as you will be driving right by. The scenery throughout the island is both spectacular and varied, from the volcanoes you could go to the Green Lagoon at el Golfo and then on to Los Hervideros where the cliffs have been eaten away by te Atlantic currents. However for me a visit to the Manrique Foundation at Tahiche is a must, it was built over 5 Lava bubbles as a house by Cesar Manrique, since his death it has been available to visit as a gallery and museum, I'm sure you will find this a fascinating example of contemporary architechure.

thank you for the help...

how many hours would you think I need to cover all that...

You donīt need many hours. The Timanfaya trip is about 1 hour by bus...it is the only vehicle authorized to go through the lava fields.
Then, driving from one point to another in the island is fast. The Cesar Manrique house/museum is very famous and it is worthy(I must confess we never went) and I donīt know how much time is needed to see it.

The "Hervideros" is a cool place to go.

How many hours do you have?

We heard that the Timanfaya was very touristic and avoided it. But we had a car and visited two other volcanoes that are hardly visited by other people, we were completely alone most of the day. I wrote a tip about it here: http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/tp/1a0e50/

Except from the above mentioned House of Cesar Manrique, also his Jardin de Cactus is worth while. The green lagoon El Golfo is very special as well!

Enjoy,
Dennis

A rough guide to time required would be
Arrecife to Timanfaya including volcano tour 2 hours
Camel ride 1 hour
El golfo and los Hervideros 1 hour
Manrique foundation 1 hour
Return to Arrecife 1/2 hour

Timanfaya is touristy However the Coach tour around the park is complete with very interesting and informative commentary in three languages from which in your timescale will definetly be well worth it.

I am currently living in Lanzarote if you need any more info drop me a mail

We'll also be a day in Lanzarote on a cruise (9:00am-5:00pm) and trying to decide on what and how...
We'd like to visit:
-Timanfaya National Park with the bustour but not the camels.
-César Manrique foundation
-Cueva de los Verdes or Jameos del Agua (haven't decided on this, since I'm not sure which is better)
-Cactus Garden
and if possible also El Golfo with Los Hervideros

Would this be possible timewise?

Since the cruise excursions are all limited to a visit to just one of these, that's not an option (we'd like to see everthing, oke, as much as possible ;) ).

Since we rather not drive ourselves we'd like a driver/guide for the day, someone who points out interesting things on the way like photostops etc. What is the best way to arrange this and what would it cost? There is just the two of us, but we might get some other people interested in joining as well, to save costs and perhaps have a minibus (but also with driver).

So I hope someone on Lanzarote can tell me if my program is too much, and what to skip if so, and how to arrange a driver with an indication of the costs.

Oh just another question, I've read somewhere that the amount of people that can go into Timanfaya Park is limited and that tickets need to be arranged in advance, is this true?

Timanfaya, el Golfo, los Hervideros and Manrique foundation are possible within the timescale, however to also include Jamos del Aqua in your timescale is ambitious. You don't say when you arrive and i am currently travelling myself but may be able help if i know when you are going to arrive.

I was in Lanzarote in Feb, and took a FREE guided walking tour in Timanfaya. This beats the bus tour, because on that tour you can't get out of the bus at any time. This requires a litte pre-planning but is highly advisible: the park's visitor center at Mancha Blanca offers a free guided walk three times a week called the Ruta de Tremesana (see http://reddeparquesnacionales.mma.es/parques/timanfaya/recomen/recomendaciones172.htm)

There is a very limited number of participants, so you have to call or e-mail the Mancha Blanca visitor center a few weeks in advance if you want to reserve a place for this hike, and you have to re-confirm 2 days before the actual tour. The hike was easy enough - you just have to have closed walking shoes and need to bring water with you. Our park ranger was very knowledable about the history and the details of the volcanic landscape and we all really enjoyed the tour (there were only 7 of us including 1 teenager, 2 girls in 20's, couple in 40s and couple in 50s). It's a nicer way to see the park!