If you read nothing else
- The Wine and volcan private tour runs as a private group, so your day is your own, with a live guide in Spanish, English, Italian or French.[1]
- The Wine and volcan private tour listing is marked wheelchair accessible, and pickup is included, with details shown when you check availability.[1]
- Pickup is included on the private tour, and availability details appear when you check dates, so confirm your area before booking.[1]
- Cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund, and use reserve now and pay later to hold your date.[1]
- The private tour is valid 1 day, with starting times shown when you check availability.[1]
| Wine and volcan private | Park, Jameos and Caves | Independent visit | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | from US$374[1] | from US$102[2] | 30.00 EUR[3] |
| Group | Private group[1] | Shared coach, 61 pickup points[2] | Your own car or line 60[4] |
| Duration | Valid 1 day[1] | 9 hours[2] | Your own pace |
| Guide | Spanish, English, Italian, French[1] | English, French, German, Spanish[2] | No guide |
| Booking | Pickup included[1] | Skip the ticket line[2] | Online, timed slot[5] |
Tickets for independent entry (without a guided tour) can only be purchased online (they are not available at the ticket office) and for a specific time slot on the official website of the Lanzarote Centres for Art, Culture and Tourism (CACT).
Our verdict: a private day for wine and volcanoes
Things to check
- Check that your hotel or apartment sits inside the pickup area for the private tour.
- Book the private tour online and keep the confirmation on your phone.
- Pick a date with a little slack, in case the wind changes your plans.
- GetYourGuide from-prices are in US dollars, for example from US$374.[1]
Why a private tour in Timanfaya National Park
Timanfaya is the youngest-looking landscape in the Canary Islands, a field of craters, black lapilli and rust-coloured ash spread over about 51 square kilometers (20 square miles) of south-west Lanzarote.[8] It has held National Park status since a decree of August 9, 1974, published in the Official State Gazette on September 17, 1974.[9] Most of the interior is closed to walkers, and the classic way to see the heart of it is the Route of the Volcanoes, which has adapted coaches.[7]
A private tour changes the shape of the day. Rather than a fixed coach slot with a large group, you travel as a private group.[1] That suits a landscape where the stops are spread out: the lava plain, the wine country of La Geria, the coast, the caves. Booking a Timanfaya National Park private tour also takes the ticket question off your hands. Tickets for independent entry to Montañas del Fuego can only be purchased online and for a specific time slot.[5] With a vehicle waiting and a guide who knows these roads, the day stretches and shrinks around your pace instead of the other way round.
What the Wine and volcan private tour offers
The Wine and volcan private tour is listed from US$374 on GetYourGuide, where it is rated 5.00 from 3 reviews.[1] It runs as a private group with a live tour guide in Spanish, English, Italian and French.[1] The listing is valid for 1 day, it is marked wheelchair accessible, and pickup is included, with details shown when you check availability.[1] What a private group really buys is time: lingering at a viewpoint, waiting for the light, or adding a short stop on the way back.
Booking terms are straightforward. Free cancellation runs up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund, and reserve now and pay later is available.[1] Starting times appear when you check availability for your date.[1] The name points at the two halves of the day, the ash-covered wine country of La Geria, where vines grow in hollows scooped out of volcanic grit, and the raw interior of the park further south. Both sit within a short drive of each other in the south-west of the island, which makes them an easy pairing in one private outing.
Lava fields and vine hollows share the same stretch of south-west Lanzarote.
Inside the park: craters, heat and film sets
The centrepiece of the park is the Montañas del Fuego, the fire mountains. At Islote de Hilario the surface temperatures reach around 250 ºC, and they can even reach more than 600 ºC at 13 m deep.[10] Standing there, the heat under the ground is close enough to feel through your soles. The Route of the Volcanoes climbs through ash and lava that still look freshly poured, and it has adapted coaches.[7] The Termesana Route goes deeper, allowing visitors to come into close contact with the volcano and the culture of Lanzarote's inhabitants during the 1730-1736 eruptive period.[11]
El Diablo Restaurant makes use of that heat. Its volcanic oven uses natural heat from the subsoil, where temperatures exceed 600 °C just 15 meters below the surface, and meat and vegetables are cooked without fire or electricity directly on a grill placed over an open cavity in the rock.[12] The landscape has doubled for other planets on screen: several films inspired by other planets have been filmed in Timanfaya, including Enemy Mine, Krull, Mission Stardust, Stranded and Operation Ganymed.[13] It is an odd, wonderful feeling to stand where desert planets have been imagined while black ash crunches underfoot.
Private tour, shared coach, or your own car?
If a private vehicle is more than you need, the shared options are good. A 9-hour Timanfaya Park, Jameos Agua and Cueva Verdes tour is listed from US$102, with skip the ticket line, 61 pickup location options and a live guide in English, French, German and Spanish.[2] A 6-hour Timanfaya National Park tour with pickup is listed from US$68.[14] The express version, which skips the line through an express security check, is listed from US$66 and runs 3 hours.[15]
Driving yourself is workable, with planning. Tickets for independent entry to Montañas del Fuego can only be purchased online and for a specific time slot, and the standard adult entrance ticket costs 30.00 EUR.[3][5] From Puerto del Carmen the park is about 22 km away directly, with a road distance of about 23.5 km.[16] Public line 60 passes through Yaiza on its route between Arrecife and Playa Blanca.[4] Fuel up before you head south and treat the drive across the lava as part of the day; the road itself is one of the island's sights.
from US$374
The Wine and volcan private tour runs as a private group with pickup, a live guide and free cancellation, from US$374.[1]
Timing your visit: time slots, hours and light
Time slots are the thing to plan around. Tickets for independent entry to Montañas del Fuego can only be purchased online and for a specific time slot.[5] If you want background before you drive up, the visitor centre in Mancha Blanca is open Monday to Sunday from 9:00 to 16:00, and it gives free access to its exhibition and audiovisual programme.[6][17] It makes a sensible first stop on the way south, especially on a grey morning when the peaks are hiding.
The Wine and volcan private tour is valid 1 day, and starting times are shown when you check availability.[1] Mornings usually give the clearest photographs over the ash plains, and the wind tends to build later in the day. The camel ride at the Timanfaya camel station lasts approximately 20 minutes if you want to add it to the drive.[18] Winter days are mild and bright, summer is fierce and open, and the park sits high enough to catch a breeze even when the coast is still.
What to wear and bring to the lava fields
Treat the volcanic south as high desert with a sea breeze. Mornings can be cool and windy, midday is bright and exposed, and the black ash holds the heat. Thin layers, a light windproof jacket and closed shoes with a decent sole work best; sandals and smooth soles make rough lava paths unpleasant. A hat, sunglasses and high-factor sunscreen earn their place even in winter, and water matters more than you expect. If you burn easily, a long-sleeved shirt is easier than reapplying cream in the wind.
Pack light: a small daypack with water, a snack and a light rain shell covers most days. Bring something for a café stop in Yaiza or La Geria, and keep your booking reference on your phone for the timed entries. If you are joining the private tour, the pace is yours to set and there is room for an extra stop when something catches your eye. Photographers should carry a spare battery; the light over the ash plains changes fast and you will shoot more than you expect.
Booking the private tour and getting picked up
Pickup is included on the Wine and volcan private tour, and the details appear when you check availability.[1] For comparison, the shared 9-hour park and caves tour lists 61 pickup location options and 61 drop-off locations.[2] If you are staying somewhere without a clear entrance, have a landmark ready when you confirm, and be outside a few minutes early. Pickups in the south often run along the coast road, so a short wait in the open air is normal.
Reserve now and pay later is available, and free cancellation runs up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.[1] The Wine and volcan private tour is rated 5.00 from 3 reviews and runs as a private group.[1] Dates in the busy weeks can go early, and looking a few weeks ahead is wise. Once your date is confirmed, the rest of the day is yours to shape around the wine country and the fire mountains.
GetYourGuide reviews for Timanfaya tours
Review counts taken from GetYourGuide listings:[2][14][19][20][21]
Private and shared options compared
All amounts are GetYourGuide from-prices in US dollars:[1][2][14][15]
When to book and what to check
Plan your Timanfaya day
Pick your date
The Wine and volcan private tour is valid 1 day; check availability first so you can match it to the rest of your trip.[1]
Check your pickup area
Pickup is included on the private tour, and the details appear when you check availability.[1]
Reserve with pay later
Reserve now and pay later is offered on the listing, which keeps your options open while you sort out flights.[1]
Add the visitor centre
Mancha Blanca is open Monday to Sunday 9:00 to 16:00 with free access to the exhibition and audiovisual programme.[6][17]
Know the cancellation rule
Free cancellation runs up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund, so you can book early and still change your mind.[1]
See Timanfaya, La Geria and the coast with a private guide
from US$374
