Best Things to Do in Lanzarote: Family Road Trip, Lanzarote, Spain

Lanzarote is unlike anywhere else in Europe. An island of black lava fields, rust-red volcanoes, turquoise coves and white-washed villages - this family guide covers the whole island.

Lanzarote is unlike anywhere else in Europe. An island of black lava fields, rust-red volcanoes, turquoise coves and white-washed villages, it feels more like landing on another planet than arriving at a holiday destination. The volcanic eruptions of the 1730s reshaped the landscape so dramatically that large parts of the island still look as though the lava cooled yesterday.

We spent a week here in February 2022, driving the island from tip to tip with the children. Lanzarote is one of those rare places where art, nature and geology collide - thanks largely to César Manrique, the local artist who turned the island into an open-air gallery by building his most ambitious works directly into the volcanic landscape. Here is our complete guide to exploring Lanzarote as a family.

Lanzarote is special because it has evolved unlike any other Mediterranean destination. Most popular islands have been shaped by tourism development - beaches built up with resorts, cultural sites packaged for visitors, landscapes commercialized. Lanzarote has done something different. The artist César Manrique convinced the island's government that sustainable tourism required respecting and enhancing the landscape, not dominating it. As a result, large parts of Lanzarote still feel wild, authentic and utterly distinctive. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).