Lanzarote is one of those destinations full of places to discover, so visiting the island in one day can be a complicated task. The ideal amount of time to see the island would be four or five days so you can get a better overview and enjoy it without rush.
Anyhow, if you only have one day, use half for the north of Lanzarote, and the other half heading south.
Although it may seem too little time, you will be able to see volcanoes, caves, virgin beaches and drink the best wine on the island, in just 24 hours.
Spending the morning up north
The day will begin at 10 in the morning with a visit to one of the main works of the Lanzarote artist César Manrique, known as Jameos del Agua, followed by the Cueva de Los Verdes, in Haría, up north. Both are located inside a volcanic tunnel generated by the eruptions of La Corona volcano.
You can visit Jameos del Agua on your own. There you can see an inland lake formed by sea water seepage, where a unique endemic species called “the blind crab” lives.
In addition, the place also has a restaurant, an outside swimming pool (in which you cannot swim), an interactive info area where you can learn about the origin of volcanic eruptions, and an auditorium where concerts take place.
After visiting part of this volcanic tube, if you want to escape from the sun and heat, the best option is to continue with a visit to Cueva de los Verdes, which is right in front of Jameos del Agua. It is a seven kilometre cave, full of legends, that was used as a refuge by the islanders during pirate attacks in the 16th and 17th centuries.
According to history, it is called Cueva de Los Verdes because of a family with that surname that kept their cattle in the surroundings. In the cave you can also find an auditorium where concerts take place sometimes and music sounds with enviable acoustics.
During the 50-minute visit you will go through different galleries, some of them up to 50 metres high and with a big surprise at the end that, as happens in Vegas, what happens in Cueva de los Verdes, stays in Cueva de los Verdes.
The ticket to Los Jameos and La Cueva, have a price of 10 euros per adult and 5 euros per child each, although if you have them included in the tourist voucher you will not have to pay anything.
Moving south in the afternoon
The second half of the day will continue in the South, in Timanfaya National Park, so you can see one of the biggest attractions of Lanzarote: the volcanoes. The journey by car is about 45 minutes, since you have to cross the entire island.
Once there, you can leave the car a the parking lot and start enjoying the geysers, a bus route through the Montañas del Fuego, and also the dishes cooked with the heat of the volcanic earth at Restaurante El Diablo, a work by César Manrique. There you can take the opportunity to eat and taste typical dishes of the island with unparalleled views.
After the visit, the best will be to continue south, towards Playa Blanca, where you will find the small town of El Golfo. Once there, you can go up to a viewpoint to enjoy a landscape that will remind you of Mars, with a black sand beach that contrasts with the reddish rocks, and where you can also find the Lake of the Clicos, better known as the Green Lake, a colour produced by algae found at its bottom.
After several hours of travelling around, you can finally relax on the beaches and coves of Papagayo, at the southernmost point of the island. There is an entrance fee to Papagayo of three euros. Be aware that you will arrive there by following a dirt road with the occasional stone, so you will have to be careful.
To end the day, what could be better than drinking a glass of wine from Lanzarote in La Geria area and enjoya nice sunset. La Geria is a protected natural area of more than 5,000 hectares, where vineyards are grown in holes excavated in the volcanic ash.
