Buggy Tour Lanzarote AIDA: An Arrecife Port Day on the Volcano

• Top choice Off-Road Volcano Buggy from US$173 Duration2 - 3 hours^[1]Rating4.67 from 5,246 reviews^[1]GuidingCatalan, English, French, Spanish^[1]PaymentReserve now & pay later^[1] Check availability
• Can-Am Trail Buggy from US$196 Duration3 hours^[4]Rating4.54 from 243 reviews^[4]GuidingEnglish, Spanish^[4]PaymentReserve now & pay later^[4] See this tour
• On-Road Volcano Buggy from US$207 Duration2.5 hours^[5]Rating4.58 from 627 reviews^[5]GuidingEnglish, Spanish^[5]PaymentReserve now & pay later^[5] See this tour

Why a buggy day fits a cruise call

Lanzarote is easy to read from the deck: black lava fields, white villages, green vines planted in ash. Ships dock at the Puerto de los Mármoles, which is 3 km (1.9 miles) from the city centre, so the run out of Arrecife is short.^[2] The island receives just over 3 million holiday tourists per year, plus a further 500,000 day visitors arriving by cruise ship, which tells you how practised the place is at handling a busy port morning.^[7]

A buggy suits that kind of day. The Lanzarote: Guided Off-Road Volcano Buggy Tour is the one booked from this site: from US$173, rated 4.67 from 5,246 reviews, and run as a small group limited to 10 participants with a live tour guide in Catalan, English, French and Spanish.^[1]

Guests from German-speaking ships often plan the day as a buggy tour Lanzarote Kreuzfahrt outing, and the practical rules are the same for them. The drive lasts 2 - 3 hours, you can reserve now and pay later, and free cancellation is offered up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.^[1]

What the off-road volcano buggy tour involves

You meet your guide, get a briefing on the controls and the convoy order, then head out of town behind the lead vehicle. The buggies are open, low to the ground and loud in a good way, and the route mixes rough volcanic tracks with stretches of ordinary road, with stops for photos and explanations along the way.

The logistics are kept simple. Pickup is available, and you check availability for pickup options when you book. Starting times vary, so check availability to see them, and the whole drive runs 2 - 3 hours.^[1]

Wear something you do not mind getting dusty and bring a buff or scarf if dust irritates you. Glasses work better than contact lenses on a dry, breezy day, and sun cream on the back of your neck is not a joke on these tracks. The guide leads the whole way, so there is no navigating to do; keep a safe gap, follow the line and enjoy the lava.

Open buggies on a dirt track below the volcanic cones of Lanzarote.

Buggy tour Lanzarote Arrecife: gangway to grid

Cruise calls come into Arrecife on the east coast, and the berth at the Puerto de los Mármoles sits 3 km (1.9 miles) from the city centre.^[2] From there the island opens up quickly: the vineyards of La Geria and the Timanfaya lava fields are inland, and the resort strip at Puerto del Carmen is a short run south.

Island distances are small. Lanzarote Airport is 12 km from Puerto del Carmen, and Playa Blanca is 33 km from the airport.^[8][9] If your ship berths in Arrecife, you are already on the right side of Lanzarote for an inland buggy loop, and taxis or shuttle buses cover the short hops.

If a pickup is offered for your slot, take it and save yourself the logistics. Ask at booking where cruise passengers are collected, and note the port name for the return trip: Puerto de los Mármoles, Arrecife.^[2] Allow more time than you think for the walk out of the terminal and any queue for taxis.

Timing the drive around your ship

The ship's schedule rules the day. The buggy drive runs 2 - 3 hours, so work backwards from your all aboard time rather than forward from the advertised start.^[1] Add the transfer at each end, the briefing and the walk from the berth, and you have a realistic block of your port call.

A morning slot leaves the afternoon free and gives you a cushion if anything runs late. If your call is short, be honest about it: a drive that finishes close to departure is a gamble, whatever the cancellation terms say, and no refund is worth watching your ship leave without you.

Free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund helps with the decision, but it cannot bend a sailing time.^[1] Some travellers first meet the idea as a TUI buggy tour Lanzarote shore day, and the timing arithmetic is exactly the same whether you book it yourself or through the ship.

Who can drive and who can ride

Driving is the fun part, and it comes with rules. To drive a buggy on this tour, drivers need to be 20 or older, with a driving licence held for two years or more.^[3] Check your licence dates before you book, not on the morning of the tour.

Passengers ride along, take photos and swap seats at the stops if the group agrees. Carry your licence even if you plan only to ride, since plans change once everyone sees the tracks. If two of you want a turn at the wheel, say so before you set off so the briefing covers you both.

Wear closed shoes rather than flip flops and tie back long hair. A thin windproof layer is worth packing, because Lanzarote sits in the trade winds, where the wind blows steadily from the north-east all year round, though its speed varies.^[10]

Volcano country beyond the buggy route

The landscape you drive through is young in geological terms. The Timanfaya eruption lasted six years and covered 23% of Lanzarote in fresh lava and spatter.^[11] The island and its northern islets are listed as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.^[12] Colours shift through the day, from charcoal to rust, depending on the light.

Watch for the vineyards of La Geria, where vines are grown in pits dug in volcanic ash, a centuries-old technique that uses the properties of that ash.^[13] Near Yaiza, the crater of an extinct volcano submerges into the Atlantic to form the lagoon known as Charco de los Clicos, or the Green Lagoon.^[14]

Inland, Peñas del Chache is the tallest mountain on Lanzarote, standing 672 meters (about 2,205 feet) above the sea.^[15] On the wild south-west coast, Los Hervideros is a stretch of black lava cliffs where the Atlantic surges into sea caves and blowholes.^[16]

Booking, weather and paying on the island

Weather seldom spoils the plan. Lanzarote has a warm climate throughout the entire year, with an average annual temperature of about 21ºC.^[6] Sun, dust and wind matter more than rain here, so pack a buff, sunglasses and high-factor cream, and keep a light waterproof in your bag for the odd passing shower.

On the money side, Lanzarote currently does not charge a general overnight tourist tax, so there is no nightly levy to add to your stay.^[17] The buggy tour itself is from US$173, and you can reserve now and pay later when you book.^[1]

Other buggy options run different routes at different prices: an on-road guided buggy volcano tour from US$207, a guided Can-Am trail buggy tour from US$196, and a four or six seater off-road buggy volcano tour from US$230.^[4][5][18] If your port call is fixed, book before you fly.

Your port day, step by step

1. Plan around the ship

   Start with your ship's arrival and departure times, then check the tour's starting times before you commit to a slot.

2. Sort the pickup

   Pickup is available on this listing; check availability for pickup options and confirm where you will be collected.^[1]

3. Bring the paperwork

   Take your driving licence. Drivers need to be 20 or older, with a licence held for two years or more.^[3]

4. Follow the guide

   The guided drive lasts 2 - 3 hours over volcanic ground, with a live guide leading the convoy.^[1]

5. Guard your buffer

   Leave a gap between the end of the drive and your all aboard time, and save the port address on your phone.

Answers before you go