If you read nothing else
- The full-day Timanfaya, Cueva de los Verdes and Jameos del Agua tour lists 61 pickup location options across Lanzarote.[1]
- Coaches come up from the southern resorts before turning inland towards the lava, so pick the stop nearest your hotel when you book.
- Pickup is included on the full-day tour, and you choose the option that suits you as you book. Check availability for the details.[1]
- Reserve now and pay later, with free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund on the full-day tour.[1]
- Going without a tour means buying a timed Montanas del Fuego ticket online; the standard adult ticket costs 30.00 EUR.[2][3]
- Top choice Timanfaya, Jameos & Cueva from US$102 Duration9 hours[1]Pickup61 pickup location options[1]Guide languagesEnglish, French, German, Spanish[1]Rating4.47 from 2,662 reviews[1]CancellationFree cancellation up to 24 hours[1] Check availability
- Volcanos & Caves Tour from US$109 Duration9 hours[4]PickupPickup included[4]Guide languagesSpanish, English, French, German[4]Rating4.52 from 531 reviews[4]CancellationFree cancellation up to 24 hours[4] See this tour
- Timanfaya Park Tour from US$68 Duration6 hours[5]PickupPickup included[5]Guide languagesEnglish, Spanish[5]Rating4.40 from 885 reviews[5]CancellationFree cancellation up to 24 hours[5] See this tour
Before starting the visit, we advise you to check out the Visitor Centre located in Mancha Blanca, which gives free access to an exhibition and an audiovisual programme offering a complete overview of the Park in several languages.
Book the full day and let the coach handle the transfer
Before you travel
On the day
- Your confirmed pickup point is used for the morning collection and the evening return
- Sun cream, a hat and water for the bright, exposed lava fields
- A light jacket for the wind and the temperature drop up on the park road
- Adapted coaches run on the Route of the Volcanoes[7]
Pickup points across Lanzarote's resorts
Pickup is what makes a Lanzarote park tour easy. The full-day trip that combines Timanfaya, Cueva de los Verdes and Jameos del Agua lists 61 pickup location options and 61 drop-off locations, so you choose a stop near where you are staying and the day begins there.[1] That is a long list for an island, and it reflects the shape of Lanzarote: resorts spaced around the coast, the national park inland in the south west, and a handful of villages that every coach passes through.
Pickup also changes how you compare tours. Some coach tours include it and others ask you to reach a meeting point under your own steam. The nine-hour Volcanos of Timanfaya and Caves Tour with Lunch lists pickup included, with the options shown when you check availability.[4] The six-hour Lanzarote: Timanfaya National Park Tour does the same.[5] If you are staying outside a main resort, that single line on a listing matters more than the itinerary does.
Playa Blanca pickups and the journey north
Playa Blanca sits at the southern tip of the island, close to the Papagayo beaches and the ferry crossing to Fuerteventura. The drive from Playa Blanca to Timanfaya National Park runs north past the salt flats, then turns inland towards Yaiza and the first lava. Pickup points along that stretch are often on the main road rather than at a reception desk, so read the list carefully and note the exact name of the stop you choose.
The full-day tour works back along the same list in the evening, with 61 drop-off locations, and its stops are Timanfaya National Park, Cueva de los Verdes and Jameos del Agua.[1] Journey times depend on traffic and on how many pickups the coach makes before yours, so leave the evening loose rather than booking a tight dinner reservation. If your time ashore is short, the Arrecife: Timanfaya and Green Lagoon for Cruise Passengers tour runs 2.5 to 5 hours, from US$57, calling at Timanfaya National Park, the Green Lagoon, Casa Museo y Monumento al Campesino and La Geria.[8]
Coaches climb into the fire mountains from the villages below
Puerto del Carmen and the eastern pickups
Puerto del Carmen sits on the eastern side of the island, within easy reach of the park. The distance between Puerto del Carmen (Port) and Parque Nacional de Timanfaya is 22 km, with a road distance of about 23.5 km.[9] Coaches collect along the seafront and the streets behind it, and several listings publish very long pickup lists: the Timanfaya National Park Volcanic Craters Tour has 53 pickup location options and runs 5 hours, from US$68.[10]
Longer days from the same resort add the caves. The Lanzarote: Timanfaya Park and Jameos del Agua Full-Day Tour lists 66 pickup location options over 9 to 10 hours, from US$86.[11] Travellers who can reach the park area themselves have another route: the Timanfaya National Park Express Tour takes 3 hours, from US$66, and uses a skip the line through express security check.[12]
Pickup along a coastal strip like this is rarely a single stop. Coaches work one line through the resort and then head out, so the order of the stops decides how long you sit aboard before the park road begins. Keep that in mind when you weigh a tour with pickup included against one that leaves from a meeting point nearer the lava.
Costa Teguise, Puerto Calero and central pickups
Resorts in the east add distance to the transfer. Costa Teguise and Arrecife sit on the opposite side of the island from the fire mountains, and coaches from there tend to join the southern route near Yaiza before climbing into the park. The Arrecife/Playa Blanca: Timanfaya National Park Area Day Tour runs 7 hours with pickup included, from US$75, guided in German, Spanish and English.[13]
Smaller bases such as Puerto Calero and the marinas along the way are covered by the same broad pickup lists as the larger resorts, and your stop may be a short walk from the water rather than at the harbour itself. The Lanzarote: Guided Day Trip to Timanfaya Park & Lago Verde lists 51 pickup location options over 8 hours, from US$80.[14] Evenings are an option too: the Timanfaya National Park: Evening Tour with Volcano Dinner lists 37 pickup location options and runs 5 hours, from US$155.[15]
from US$102
The nine-hour full-day tour reaches Timanfaya, Cueva de los Verdes and Jameos del Agua, with pickup from 61 locations.[1]
Yaiza and the regrouping stop
Yaiza is the village where the southern roads come together, and where coaches from different resorts end up on the same stretch of tarmac. Line 60, the public route between Arrecife and Playa Blanca, passes through Yaiza as well.[16] On a tour day it is a natural gathering point for the group before the park gates, and a useful landmark if you are following the route on a map.
The park is bigger than it looks from the road: about 51 square kilometers, 20 square miles, of lava and ash.[17] Timanfaya was declared a National Park by a decree of August 9, 1974, published in the Official State Gazette on September 17, 1974.[18] Heat is still close to the surface. At Islote de Hilario the surface reaches around 250 ºC, and more than 600 ºC at 13 m deep.[19] The restaurant there cooks meat and vegetables over heat from the subsoil, where temperatures exceed 600 °C just 15 meters below the surface, without fire or electricity.[20]
Changing your pickup point or missing the coach
Pickup details are confirmed at the time of booking, and they can be changed through your booking while there is space on the coach. The full-day tour can be reserved now and paid later, with free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.[1] The Lanzarote: Timanfaya Park and Jameos del Agua Full-Day Tour carries the same free cancellation terms.[11]
If you are not at the stop when the coach arrives, the rest of the group is waiting and the driver has a schedule to keep. Call the number on your confirmation as soon as you realise, and ask whether you can join at a later pickup point or move to another day. While you are inside the free cancellation window, that conversation is simpler: cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.[1]
Drop-off, timings and public buses
The full-day tour runs 9 hours, and starting times are shown when you check availability, so choose a date before you fix any evening plans.[1] The day ends with a drop-off from the same list of 61 locations.[1] Other departures vary just as widely: the Lanzarote: Timanfaya National Park Tour runs 6 hours, from US$68[5], and the Arrecife cruise tour runs 2.5 to 5 hours, from US$57.[8]
Public buses are a different kind of journey. Line 60 passes through Yaiza on its route between Arrecife and Playa Blanca.[16] For the park itself, tickets for independent entry to Montanas del Fuego can only be purchased online and for a specific time slot.[2] The standard adult ticket costs 30.00 EUR.[3] Once inside, the Route of the Volcanoes uses adapted coaches.[7]
There is more to add around the visit. The Centro de Visitantes e Interpretacion de Mancha Blanca is open Monday to Sunday from 9:00 to 16:00, and its exhibition and audiovisual programme are free.[6][21] The camel ride at the Timanfaya station lasts approximately 20 minutes.[22] The Termesana Route brings visitors close to the volcano and to the culture of Lanzarote's inhabitants during the 1730-1736 eruptive period.[23] Films inspired by other planets have been shot in the park, among them Enemy Mine, Krull, Mission Stardust, Stranded and Operation Ganymed.[24]
Pickup location options listed per tour
Each bar is the number of pickup location options stated in that tour listing.[1][10][11][14][15]
From-prices of coach tours with park pickups
From-prices in US dollars from the tour listings.[1][4][5][8]
When to lock in your pickup point
Booking your pickup
Choose your resort
Start with the tour listing that matches your base, then look at the pickup list before you compare anything else.
Find your stop
Read the options for your resort and note the one closest to your hotel, apartment or marina.
Confirm the time
Check the starting times shown for your date and make sure the pickup fits your plans for the day.
Keep the details
Save your confirmation with the pickup point and meeting time, and have it on your phone on the day.
Wait at the stop
Stand somewhere visible, watch the road, and let the driver see you as the coach pulls in.
Pick your pickup point and see times for the full-day park tour
from US$103Reserve now & pay later
