Lanzarote
You can be here in December for about €1,258, 4 days, 1 stop.
Why now
Prime time in December: 21°C days, dry, sea 21°C.
Winter is the season for the resorts and the sun, spring for walking before the heat, and summer is hot and windy but rarely crowded. The island is small enough that timing matters less than on Tenerife; book Timanfaya's entry slot early regardless.
Best months here: September, October, November. December is not one of them — the label above measures the month against a fixed bar, not against the rest of the year here. Daytime highs, sea temperature and rainy days from three years of Open-Meteo reanalysis; a rainy day is one with at least 1 mm of rain, which is the WMO threshold and not the same as "it drizzled".
The place
Lanzarote is a lava island that decided how it would look: César Manrique persuaded it to build low, white and without billboards, and the result is a volcanic landscape with a designed edge. It suits people who like walking on cinders, wine grown in ash hollows and a resort holiday that does not feel like one; it is windy, and there is no shade.
What you can do
- 01Take the Timanfaya coach loop through the Fire Mountains, then eat at the volcano-heated grill at El Diablo.
- 02See Manrique's house at Taro de Tahíche, built in five lava bubbles, and the Jameos del Agua's underground pool and concert hall.
- 03Walk the Caldera Blanca crater rim from Mancha Blanca, a half day across the lava field with the island below.
- 04Taste Malvasía at a La Geria bodega, where each vine grows in its own black hollow behind a stone wall.
- 05Swim at Papagayo's coves beyond Playa Blanca, or surf at Famara under the cliffs, where the wind belongs.
Where to stay · neighbourhoods
Stay in Puerto del Carmen or Playa Blanca for a resort base, Teguise or Famara for the island; Costa Teguise is windier than either.
Unusual things
- ◦The Cueva de los Verdes, a lava tube from the Corona volcano with a trick at the end that the guides do not spoil.
- ◦The Museo Atlántico, an underwater sculpture park off Playa Blanca visited by divers and snorkellers.
- ◦The Salinas de Janubio, salt pans in a lagoon behind a black beach at the south-west corner, still worked.
Day trips
Flight options
Routes come from OpenFlights (historical) and a 2026 route reference compiled from public timetables. Durations are the published schedule where we have it, otherwise a block-time model fitted on measured nonstop flights. Verify schedules with the airline before booking.
Entry requirements · IT passport
Source: passport-index-data, March 2026 (coarse indicator), covering 258 of our 268 destinations for each of 199 passports. Always confirm with the destination's official site.
Airports
Distances are centre to airport derived · nonstop counts are our route reference for 2026, not every flight that exists.
Local transport
- Airport to city
- Bus, 20 min, €1.50; car recommended
- Car needed?
- Recommended for most of what is worth seeing
- Getting around
- The airport is ten minutes from Arrecife and 15 from Puerto del Carmen; buses connect the resorts and the capital, but a car is needed for Timanfaya, the north and the wine country.
- Clock
- 8 hours ahead of San Francisco (Atlantic/Canary) derived
- Daylight
- 10.3 hours of daylight in December · sunrise 07:40, sunset 17:59 derived
- Currency
- EUR
Good to know
There is almost no shade and the wind hides the strength of the sun; the trade wind blows most days and can cancel the La Graciosa boats.
Alternatives at a similar price
Whole trip per person for 4 days from San Francisco in December, then the flight time; estimates, like the total above.
Hawaii
Hong Kong
Sharm El Sheikh
Cairo
Cape Verde
Luxor