If you read nothing else
- A 9-hour coach day covering Timanfaya National Park, Cueva de los Verdes and Jameos del Agua, with 61 pickup location options listed at booking.[1]
- Pickup is included and starting times depend on your stop, so check availability to see starting times for your date before you commit to the day.[1]
- The live tour guide on this day speaks English, French, German and Spanish, so you can ask about timings and stops in your own language.[1]
- At Islote de Hilario the surface reaches around 250 ºC and more than 600 ºC at 13 m deep, and the Route of the Volcanoes has adapted coaches.[2][3]
- Reserve now and pay later, and cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund if your flight or your plans shift.[1]
- Top choice Timanfaya & Caves Day from US$102 Duration9 hours[1]Guide languagesEnglish, French, German, SpanishRating4.47 from 2,662 reviews[1]PickupPickup included, check availability[1]Free cancellationUp to 24 hours before[1] Check availability
- Timanfaya & Green Lagoon from US$57 Duration2.5 - 5 hours[4]Guide languagesEnglish, German, SpanishRating4.58 from 2,154 reviews[4]PickupArrecife start for cruise passengersFree cancellationUp to 24 hours before[4] See this tour
- Timanfaya Park Tour from US$68 Duration6 hours[5]Guide languagesEnglish, SpanishRating4.40 from 885 reviews[5]PickupPickup included, check availability[5]Free cancellationUp to 24 hours before[5] See this tour
Located in a stone structure near the dining area, it uses natural heat from the subsoil, where temperatures exceed 600 °C just 15 meters below the surface. Thanks to this energy source, meat and vegetables are cooked without fire or electricity, directly on a grill placed over an open cavity in the rock.
Is this the right day for you?
Prepare for the day
- Check availability for a pickup stop near where you are staying
- Have your booking ready on your phone for the guide at pickup
- Sun hat, sunglasses and sunscreen for the open lava fields
- A little cash for a drink or a snack at the stops along the way
On the day
- Be at your pickup point a few minutes before the time you were given
- Tell the guide early if you need a comfort stop or have mobility needs
- A light jacket, because the wind across the park can bite
- Sturdy closed shoes for the cave floors, steps and uneven rock
From Lanzarote Spain airport to the pickup point
Most people who join this coach day do it from a resort rather than from the terminal. Lanzarote Spain airport sits on the eastern side of the island and the runs down to the main holiday towns are short, so an evening arrival followed by a next-morning tour is a comfortable plan. Pickup is included on this nine-hour day, and the listing shows 61 pickup location options and 61 drop-off locations, so open the availability panel and find the stop closest to where you are staying.[1]
The start time is not the same for everyone on board. Coaches work a delivery round, collecting from one area and then the next, and the time you are given depends on where your stop sits on that round. Check availability to see starting times for your date, and treat the time on your booking as the moment to be standing outside, not the moment to start looking for your keys. The live tour guide speaks English, French, German and Spanish, so if anything about the plan is unclear you can ask in your own language.[1]
Timanfaya: how long the day runs and how it is paced
Lanzarote day trips come in every shape, and this one is a full day: nine hours from the first pickup to the last drop-off.[1] The coach covers the fire mountains in the south and the caves in the north, and the listed stops are Timanfaya National Park, Cueva de los Verdes and Jameos del Agua.[1] Timanfaya alone is not a small place: the park covers about 51 square kilometers (20 square miles), a landscape of ash, lava and cinder cones that was declared a National Park by a decree of August 9, 1974.[6][7]
Inside the park, the classic way to see the lava fields is the Route of the Volcanoes, a coach circuit through the terrain, and the park notes that this route has adapted coaches.[3] At Islote de Hilario the ground itself is the draw: surface temperatures reach around 250 ºC, and they can even reach more than 600 ºC at 13 m deep.[2] You will not be walking over that. You watch it from the coach and from the viewpoints, while the guide explains what happened here and when.
If you would rather visit the park on your own, tickets for independent entry to the Montañas del Fuego can only be purchased online and for a specific time slot, and the standard adult entrance ticket costs 30.00 EUR.[8][9] The lava fields have stood in for other planets on screen too: several films inspired by other planets have been filmed in Timanfaya, including Enemy Mine, Krull, Mission Stardust, Stranded and Operation Ganymed.[10]
Black lava fields and a road that cuts through the ash in Timanfaya National Park.
Timanfaya National Park toilets, breaks and comfort stops
The practical side of a long coach day deserves a straight answer: go before you board, and ask the guide at the first stop when the next break is coming. On a route that runs from the resorts down to the park and then north to the caves, the coach pauses several times, and those pauses are your moments to stand up, stretch and find a loo. Saying something early is much easier than saying it urgently later.
Take a small pack of tissues and some hand gel, and keep a sealed water bottle in your bag rather than an open cup. The wind on the lava is constant and the dust gets everywhere. If you are travelling with children or with an older relative, mention it to the guide at pickup so the timings can be watched. There are cafes and restaurants along the way where coach groups stop, so a coffee and a quick bite are usually within reach at some point in the day.
Closer to the park, the Centro de Visitantes e Interpretación de Mancha Blanca is open Monday to Sunday from 9:00 to 16:00, and it gives free access to its exhibition and audiovisual programme.[11][12] The camel ride at the Timanfaya camel station lasts approximately 20 minutes, which is an easy thing to slot into another day of your holiday.[13]
Cueva de los Verdes: the underground stretch of the day
Cueva de los Verdes is a lava tube, and walking through it is the part of the day people remember for the light and the silence. The tunnel was formed by a flow from the Corona volcano and runs a long way under the surface towards the coast. Inside, the air is cool and still after the heat of the lava fields, which catches out anyone who has dressed only for sunshine.
Expect steps, low ceilings in places and a guided walk at the pace of the group. Flat closed shoes are the right call, and a light layer helps. The floor is uneven volcanic rock, so take your time and use the handrails. This stop is part of the day, and the entry is handled as skip the ticket line, which keeps the group moving at the entrance.[1]
from US$102
The nine-hour day links Timanfaya National Park, Cueva de los Verdes and Jameos del Agua, with pickup included.[1]
Jameos del Agua: the volcanic lake and the last stop
Jameos del Agua is the final sight of the day: a collapsed section of the same lava tube where the roof has fallen in and left an open cavern with a clear pool at the bottom. The pool is home to small blind albino crabs, and the whole place is laid out as terraces, stairs and paths down to the water. It is the most photographed stop on the route, and the one where people slow down.
It is also your marker for the end of the day. Once you have walked down to the lake and back up, the coach turns for home and the drop-offs begin. Use the stop to refill water, take your photos and ask the guide roughly when you will be back, since that answer is what decides whether you can book a late dinner or an evening show with any confidence.
Lunch, snacks and what to carry on the coach
The day runs nine hours, so plan for food that travels well rather than a sit-down meal at a fixed hour.[1] Sandwiches, fruit, nuts and a filled water bottle work on a coach. Lanzarote is windy and bright at the same time, so a bottle that seals properly beats an open cup, and a bag you can close keeps the ash and dust out.
There is food to buy along the way, and the island's volcanic cooking is a genuine curiosity. At El Diablo, the restaurant in the park, the grill 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.[14] Even if you only read the menu, it is worth knowing how the food is made.
Return time, cruise ships and late flights
The coach brings you back to the same area it collected you from, and the listing shows 61 drop-off locations, so the return works in the same way as the morning.[1] The day runs nine hours and the start time depends on your stop, so the end of the day tracks your own pickup time.[1] If you have a flight to catch, leave a generous buffer. If you are on a cruise, weigh the ship's all-aboard time against the expected return before you book.
Free cancellation helps here. You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund, and you can reserve now and pay later, so you are not handing over money long before your plans are settled.[1] If the day sits close to your flight home, book it early in the holiday rather than on the last afternoon, leave your luggage at your accommodation and let the airport transfer happen the next morning.
For context if you are weighing up doing this under your own steam, Puerto del Carmen and Timanfaya National Park are about 22 km apart directly, with a road distance of about 23.5 km.[15] Line 60 passes through Yaiza on its route between Arrecife and Playa Blanca.[16]
How long each Timanfaya tour runs
From-prices on the day tours compared here
Adult from-prices in US dollars for the listings cited:[1][4][5][17]
When to book, check and cancel
Your day, step by step
Prepare for the day
Check availability for a pickup stop near you, keep your booking on your phone, and pack water, a layer and closed shoes.
The morning pickup
Be outside a few minutes early. The live guide speaks English, French, German and Spanish.[1]
The fire mountains
The park covers 51 square kilometers (20 square miles) and the Route of the Volcanoes has adapted coaches.[3][6]
The cave and the lake
Both cave stops come after the lava, so keep a layer handy for the drop in temperature underground.
The ride home
The coach returns to the same area it collected you from, and the whole day runs 9 hours.[1]
See the full nine-hour day and choose your pickup stop
from US$103Reserve now & pay later
