Island capital
Arrecife
Lanzarote's working capital has a fishing lagoon, coastal fortresses, modern art and a town beach
- 16
- Places with a page
- 16
- Municipalities covered
- 31
- Photographs
- 16
- Sources cited
16 places
Choose a starting point
Lanzarote's towns and villages serve different purposes on a trip: a coastal resort can be your holiday base, while an inland village might shape a day out. Puerto del Carmen, Playa Blanca and Costa Teguise are the resort choices; Arrecife is the capital, and Puerto Calero adds a marina setting to the mix. Beyond them, the smaller settlements spread through the centre, west, north and southwest of the island. The useful distinction is not simply large versus small, but tourism-focused versus village or city life. Use the cards below to compare places, then choose a base separately from the stops you want to explore.
Resort
Puerto del Carmen
Long sandy beaches and a restaurant-lined promenade stretch east from a former fishing harbour
Resort
Playa Blanca
Sheltered swimming beaches, a seafront promenade and an underwater sculpture collection on Lanzarote's southern coast
Resort
Costa Teguise
A purpose-built coastal resort where the streets and services arrived before the buildings
Historic town
Teguise
Lanzarote's former capital has stone-framed doorways, a Sunday street market and a castle above the rooftops
Village
Haría
Palm trees, César Manrique’s home and studio, and a village base for Lanzarote’s volcanic north
Village
Yaiza
A small administrative village with tree-lined streets, an elaborate Christmas display and volcanic country close by
Village
Tinajo
A village in western Lanzarote whose municipality takes in volcanic terrain and the island’s patron saint’s chapel
Village
San Bartolomé
An inland town with farming and craft workers, linked to Arrecife and a municipality reaching the coast
Village
Arrieta
A northern fishing village with a long, narrow beach and a small sandy, rocky shore beside the pier
Village
Órzola
The village departure point for La Graciosa, with coastal pools, beaches and late-August celebrations
Village
Punta Mujeres
Natural coastal pools shaped by residents, in a village with fishing and saltmaking roots
Marina
Puerto Calero
A purpose-built marina with yacht berths, waterfront dining and boutiques on Lanzarote's volcanic coast
Village
Caleta de Famara
A former fishing settlement at the southern end of Playa de Famara, beneath the Risco de Famara
On the ground
How the island fits together
Across the island, the settlements form useful geographical groups rather than a single coastal strip. In the north, Haría, Arrieta, Punta Mujeres and Órzola belong to the same municipality; Órzola also has the harbour for access to La Graciosa. Teguise sits in the north-central part of Lanzarote, while San Bartolomé provides a central reference point. To the west is Tinajo, whose municipality reaches the northwestern coast. The southwest centres on the municipality of Yaiza, which includes Playa Blanca, Puerto Calero and Femés as well as Yaiza itself. Playa Blanca is the island's southernmost town. Tías lies in the southern part of the island, inland from the coast, with Puerto del Carmen belonging to its municipality. These groupings are a starting point for planning, not a suggested sightseeing circuit.
Worth knowing
Choosing a base or stop
What do you want the place you stay to do for your holiday? If tourism is the priority, the resort cards are the logical starting point. Puerto del Carmen is the main tourist town, Costa Teguise was deliberately planned for tourism, and Playa Blanca is the newest resort. Their shared role matters more at this stage than treating every coastal settlement as interchangeable. A capital-city stay in Arrecife is a different proposition from a marina setting in Puerto Calero. For village visits, look instead at the historic role of Teguise or the smaller settlements around Haría and Yaiza. A place can suit an afternoon without suiting your whole holiday, so keep the choice of accommodation base separate from your list of places to visit.
Are Teguise and Costa Teguise the same place?
Teguise and Costa Teguise are different settlements within the municipality of Teguise. The former is a historic village in the north-central part of Lanzarote; the latter is a coastal town purpose-built for tourism. When choosing accommodation or planning a visit, check the full place name rather than assuming the names are interchangeable.
Does staying in Yaiza mean staying in Playa Blanca?
Not necessarily: Yaiza is both a small town and the name of a municipality that includes Playa Blanca. Puerto Calero and Femés also belong to that municipality. An accommodation listing using the wider municipal name does not by itself identify the settlement, so the specific location matters when deciding where to stay.
Where do you go to reach La Graciosa?
For access to La Graciosa, the relevant village is Órzola in northern Lanzarote. Its harbour is the departure point identified here for reaching the island. That gives Órzola a practical role beyond a village visit, and makes it a useful place to investigate when your plans include La Graciosa.
Your trip starts with a month
Month pages bring together daytime highs, night temperatures, sea temperatures, sunshine and rain, so you can weigh beach days against the conditions you prefer for exploring.