Lanzarote with kids: what actually works at what age

Lanzarote has one advantage for families that the larger Canary Islands don’t have: the island is barely sixty kilometres long, and almost everything lies within an hour’s drive. There’s no mountain road that costs two hours, and no north-west that only a half-day trip can reach.

The drawback sits right next to it: this is a volcanic island with no shade and a wind that never really stops. Both affect children more than adults, and neither shows up in any activity description.

The age question – and what operators actually say about it

We went through the 206 activities bookable on this island. Exactly one states a minimum age of its own accord: a buggy adventure from Puerto del Carmen, which allows children from age 8 to take part accompanied by an adult. All the others – boat trips, cave tours, catamaran trips, dives – say nothing about it in the short description.

That doesn’t mean there are no limits. It means they only appear on the operator’s own booking page, under the participation conditions. Check there before booking, rather than relying on what’s written here or anywhere else. Get it the wrong way round and you end up on the jetty with four people, only three of whom are allowed on board.

The full picture for boats is in Boat trips with kids – what’s the minimum age?.

Timanfaya: from what age it’s worth it

The national park is the island’s emblem, and for children it’s a double-edged outing. Entry costs €30; children under 7 pay nothing. Inside, you sit for 35 to 40 minutes in a bus that drives along a narrow road through the craters. Getting out isn’t allowed, the windows don’t open, and there is no break.

For children from about six or seven, it works: the landscape is so alien that it carries itself. For a child under four, it’s just a bus. What does work for every age, though, are the demonstrations at the Islote de Hilario – dry brushwood that catches fire on its own in a hole in the ground, and water that comes back up seconds later as a column of steam.

Guided Timanfaya tours from €44 last between 3 and 9 hours. With younger children, the nine-hour version is a long day on a coach – the shorter ones aren’t worse, just different. More on the park itself is in What to see in Lanzarote.

The caves: fascinating or frightening

At Cueva de los Verdes, the tour lasts around 50 minutes and covers one kilometre inside a lava tunnel. It’s dark, low in places, and the lighting works with shadow. Children aged 7 to 12 pay €8.50; under 7s go free.

Honestly, visitors split into two camps here. Some children talk about it for a week afterwards. Others want out after five minutes, and there’s no quick way back – the group moves as a group. Anyone who knows their child gets restless in dark spaces should skip it and go to Jameos del Agua instead: open, bright, with a lake full of tiny blind crabs you view from above. Both belong to the Manrique buildings.

Water, without having to get on a boat

The Aquarium in Costa Teguise costs €16, has 4.3 stars from 549 reviews, and a tunnel you walk through beneath the sharks. It’s indoors, which is worth more than it sounds on a day with a northerly wind.

Aquapark Costa Teguise comes in at €28 (4.2 stars, 558 reviews), and the Aqualava water park in Playa Blanca at €30. Aqualava, though, manages only 3.9 stars from 349 reviews – the weakest of the three land-based water destinations. Given a free choice, the reviews point to Costa Teguise.

And then there’s the submarine in Puerto Calero: a real diving vessel that descends to 30 metres, one hour, €65, 4.6 stars from 1,394 reviews. It’s expensive, and it’s the only activity on this island where a child who can’t swim experiences the same trip as everyone else. Found under Boat trips and submarine.

On the water

The island’s shortest boat trip is a dolphin-watching speedboat trip from Puerto del Carmen: 1.5 hours, €35. It has 2,260 reviews and rates 3.8 stars as a result – the lowest score among the major operators here, and worth knowing before booking it on price alone. The evening trip with transfers costs €53 with 4.2 stars from 3,033 reviews and lasts 2 hours. Both are listed under Dolphin watching.

The south is calmer. A mini-cruise from Playa Blanca to the Papagayo beaches costs €35 with 4.7 stars, lasts between 1.5 and 3 hours depending on the trip, and includes a swim stop in a sheltered cove. The larger catamaran trips to Papagayo with lunch cost €66 and take half a day.

On seasickness, we’ll say no more than this: it happens, especially on speedboats and in a northerly wind, and anyone wanting to prevent it should ask at a pharmacy or their child’s doctor. Recommending remedies has no place on a comparison site.

The wind is what people underestimate

The trade wind blows on Lanzarote almost all year round. It’s not unpleasant as long as you’re dry. A wet child on the beach gets cold faster than parents expect at 24 degrees with wind – an extra towel and a windbreak are not overcautious here.

That also decides which beach to choose. Playa Dorada near Playa Blanca and the town beaches of Puerto del Carmen are sheltered and shallow. Playa de las Cucharas in Costa Teguise is lovely but the island’s windsurfing beach – it’s always blowing there. Famara in the north-west is the wrong place to swim with children: open Atlantic, currents, constant surf. Where swimming does work in the north is covered in What to see in North Lanzarote.

What a day costs for four

Worked out with the starting prices from our records: the Aquarium begins at €16 per person, the mini-cruise at €35, the submarine at €65. Timanfaya admission is €30 for adults, free under 7; for older children the park lists its own reduced rates, shown at the point of purchase. For a family of four, that means almost every activity booked quickly adds up to a three-figure sum – and the hire car comes on top.

That’s why mornings outdoors plus one paid activity a day has proven the better rhythm on this island – not to save money, but because three admissions in one day simply don’t work with children anyway. What’s bookable is listed under Things to do in Lanzarote.

For the youngest age groups there are dedicated guides: Lanzarote with a baby and Lanzarote with a toddler.