The One Drive in Lanzarote Worth Hiring a Car For: Teguise to Órzola
Updated October 1, 2026 · 9 min read
The short answer: if you hire a car in Lanzarote for one day only, hire it for the north. The bus to Yé leaves the Arrecife bus station four times a day and not at all at weekends, and Mirador del Río shuts at 5:00 PM — that is the part of the island where a timetable genuinely stops working. But add up the admissions: Mirador del Río €9, Cueva de los Verdes €17, Jameos del Agua from €17, together €43 a head before you have paid for the vehicle or the fuel. For two people, the north premium tour covering exactly these three stops is the easier sum: 9 hours, from €83 per person, 4.8 out of 5 from 92 reviews — though that is a small sample.
See times and prices for the north premium tour
| Tour | Duration | from | Rating | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lanzarote North Premium with Mirador del Río | 9 hours | €83 | 4.8 from 92 reviews | couples who want these three stops without their own car |
| Magical Lanzarote: Northern Island Tour | 5 hours | €75 | 4.7 from 122 reviews | those who want a small group and a half day instead of nine hours |
| Cueva de los Verdes & Jameos del Agua | 5 hours | €63 | 4.4 from 405 reviews | those who just want the two lava tubes and can skip the viewpoint |
| Lanzarote Caves: Half-Day Trip | 5 hours | €68 | 4.5 from 180 reviews | those who need the same two caves on a different date |
This is one route, not a list of things in the north. It runs inland from the resorts up to Teguise, over the ridge and down into Haría, out to the cliff at Mirador del Río, then back along the east coast through the lava-tube sights. You can drive it in either direction; the order below exists for a reason, and the reason is opening times.
Build the day backwards from 4:40 PM
Two numbers decide everything: Mirador del Río is open 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, with last admission at 4:40 PM, and Jameos del Agua is open 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM, with last access at 5:15 PM. Add the fact that the cave sights sell timed slots online, and an improvised day stops being possible.
So: leave after breakfast, be at the viewpoint by early afternoon at the latest, and put the lava tubes on the way home. Do not try to add Timanfaya. That is a different day and a different corner of the island, and we make the case for it separately in Timanfaya half-day tours.
Teguise: go, but check the day of the week first
The old capital is the natural first stop — and on Sunday it is the natural first mistake. The Teguise market runs every Sunday from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM, the town hall calls it the most important popular market in the Canaries, and the island’s bus operator puts four dedicated lines on it from Costa Teguise, Puerto del Carmen, Playa Blanca and Arrecife.
That tells you what parking is like. If your one driving day is a Sunday, take the bus to the market and drive the north on a different day — or start at 8:30 AM and accept that you will spend part of your morning looking for a space. On any other day of the week Teguise is a quiet white village with a castle above it and no crowd at all, which is arguably the better visit.
The descent into Haría
The road from Teguise climbs to the ridge and then drops in tight bends into the Haría valley — the one they call the valley of a thousand palms. There is a viewpoint on the ridge before the descent, and it is the picture most people take home from the north.
Two practical notes. The bends are proper bends, taken slowly, and this is the stretch where a passenger who gets carsick will tell you about it. And Haría itself is where you stop for lunch: it is the last village of any size before the cliff, it holds a craft market at the weekend — check the current day before building a trip around it — and it is where César Manrique spent his last years. If that side of it interests you, there is a guided walk through his home village at €35 for an hour and a half, though with only 5 reviews it is a small operation rather than a known quantity.
Mirador del Río: €9, 45 minutes, and wind
The viewpoint is cut into the top of the Famara cliff, looking down on La Graciosa and the strait between the islands. Entry is €9 for adults, free for children up to 6, it is open 365 days a year, and the official estimate for the visit is about 45 minutes.
Three things the ticket page says that are worth knowing before you drive up there. Strong wind is possible all year — this is a cliff edge, not a terrace. The upper floor with the shop is not adapted for wheelchair users because of the structure of the building. And pushchairs are awkward on the upper level; the centre suggests a baby carrier instead. Our fuller account of whether the entry fee earns its keep is in Mirador del Río: is the entrance worth it.
From here the road continues down to Órzola, the fishing village at the northern tip where the ferries to La Graciosa leave. Even if you are not crossing, it is a five-minute detour to a harbour with a completely different character to the resorts — and if you are thinking of crossing, do it on a separate day, because there are no asphalt roads on La Graciosa and your hire car stays in the car park.
The way back: the lava tubes
The coast road south from Órzola runs through Punta Mujeres and Arrieta, and within a few minutes of each other sit the two halves of the same lava tube. Cueva de los Verdes is a guided walk of about 50 minutes, €17, sold with a fixed date and time. Jameos del Agua is from €17 and open-ended, 60 to 120 minutes, with the blind albino crabs in its lake — and no pushchairs inside the cave, so a baby carrier again.
Both are described properly in our Cueva de los Verdes and Jameos del Agua guides. Doing both on the same afternoon is possible but brisk; if you have children with you, pick one.
When the coach is the better buy — and it genuinely can be
Add the entry fees up before you congratulate yourself on the car. Mirador del Río €9, Cueva de los Verdes €17, Jameos del Agua from €17: that is €43 a head before you have paid for the vehicle or the fuel.
Against that stands the north premium tour with all three stops for €83 over nine hours at 4.8 out of 5 from 92 reviews, and the five-hour small-group tour “Magical Lanzarote” through the north costs €75 at 4.7 from 122 reviews. Check what each includes before comparing, because the gap between €43 and €83 is transport, a guide and somebody else doing the timed bookings.
See availability and prices for the small-group north tour
For one or two people, the coach is close to a draw and wins on effort. For three or four, the car wins clearly — and it also lets you stop at the viewpoint above Haría, which no coach schedule has ever waited for. Price a one-day or two-day hire against the per-person total before you decide; the rest of the calculation, including who should not bother at all, is in do you need a hire car in Lanzarote. More guided drives into this corner are under César Manrique.
Two things this route deliberately avoids
The Famara beach road is not on it. Famara is worth a separate afternoon and it points the other way; folding it in turns a relaxed loop into a rush.
No unsurfaced tracks. Rental conditions here commonly forbid driving on unsurfaced roads — Autoreisen’s do, in as many words — and the whole of the route above is asphalt. That constraint is the reason Papagayo is not in it either — see excess, deposit and counter charges for what that clause actually does to your cover.
Summer and winter are different days
In high summer, start early: both cave sights are busiest in the middle of the day, and the cliff is exposed from the moment you step out of the car. In winter, the light is the reason to go — and the reason to leave Mirador del Río to the end is gone, because the viewpoint closes long before sunset either way. There is no sunset from the Mirador. Plan that for somewhere on the west coast instead.
Our recommendation
For three or four people: the hire car for this one day. €43 of admissions a head is fixed, everything else is shared across the group, and the stop at the viewpoint above Haría is on no coach itinerary.
For couples and solo travellers: the nine-hour north premium tour for €83 per person, 4.8 out of 5 from 92 reviews. It runs exactly the three stops on this route, and somebody else handles the timed cave tickets. The 4.8 is the highest rating here, but it rests on a small number of reviews — read them before booking.
Anyone who does not want to spend nine hours on a coach: the five-hour small-group tour through the north for €75, 4.7 out of 5 from 122 reviews. Shorter day, smaller group — check the inclusions to see which admissions are covered, because Mirador del Río is not on every northern tour.
For anyone who only cares about the lava tubes: the five-hour tour to Cueva de los Verdes and Jameos del Agua for €63, 4.4 out of 5 from 405 reviews — the largest number of reviews here, though without the viewpoint. The half-day caves trip looks almost identical: also 5 hours to the same two destinations, €68 and 4.5 out of 5 from 180 reviews.
See availability and prices for the Cueva de los Verdes and Jameos del Agua tour
This route is not for you if your only driving day is a Sunday and you want to see the Teguise market — take the bus to the market instead and drive the northern loop on a different day. And if you are expecting Timanfaya in the same itinerary: the Fire Mountains sit in the other half of the island and are a day of their own.
Opening hours, last admission and prices for Mirador del Río, Jameos del Agua and Cueva de los Verdes are as published by CACT Lanzarote; Teguise market times are from the Ayuntamiento de Teguise; bus departures are from Intercity Bus Lanzarote. Subject to change.
