Want to visit the Canary Islands? Excellent, but here’s the question: Lanzarote or Gran Canaria
Both islands have a lot to offer: beaches, cliffs, rock formations…
Here’s our photo comparison to help you decide: scenery, conditions, beaches, activities…
This opinion is completely independent, based on our experiences. We visited the region anonymously, making our own choices and paying our bills in full.
Lanzarote vs Gran Canaria? Quick response
If you don’t want to read all the criteria and photos below in the article, here’s our general answer:
- If you want volcanic landscapes and an island that’s easy to explore, then choose Lanzarote.
- If you want a wide variety of landscapes and activities, then head for Gran Canaria.
And here are our opinions on the various elements:
- The best wild beaches: Lanzarote
- Best resort beaches: Gran Canaria
- The best landscapes: Lanzarote (the most impressive) and Gran Canaria (the most varied)
- Top attractions: Gran Canaria
- Climate: equivalent
- Fewer crowds on Lanzarote
- Culture: equivalent
- Gastronomy: Gran Canaria
- Easy to get around: It’s easier to drive in Lanzarote
- Easy access: more flights to Gran Canaria
- Our preference: Lanzarote
If you’ve made up your mind, see our tips on:
- where to stay in Lanzarote
- where to stay in Gran Canaria (coming soon)
And if you can’t decide between more islands, check out our comparison of all the Canary Islands.
Best beaches: Lanzarote or Gran Canaria
Lanzarote’s most beautiful beaches
Lanzarote offers a wide variety of beaches, from wild ones to fully equipped ones.
Among our favorites:
- Playa de Papagayo, wild on the oldest part of the island
- Playa Flamingo, in the seaside resort of Playa Blanca
- Famara beach, with giant cliffs
See our top 15 most beautiful beaches on Lanzarote.
Gran Canaria’s best beaches
The island is also known for its magnificent golden and black sand beaches.
Some are in seaside resorts with all services and facilities, while others are much more isolated and wild.
Our favorites include:
- Playa de Maspalomas, superb for long walks with your feet in the sand
- Playa de Amadores for its shape and colors
- Puerto de Mogan, for its charm and cliffs
- …
To find out more, see our article on Gran Canaria’s best beaches (coming soon).
Winning island
For fully serviced resort beaches, Gran Canaria is the best option.
For beautiful, wilder beaches, Lanzarote is the winner.
OUR TIPS FOR RENTING A CAR IN THE Canary Islands
- Compare prices on our preferred platform: DiscoverCars – one of the best rated sites.
- Choose a motor powerful enough for Tenerife and La Gomera. A small car is sufficient for the other islands
- But you can also choose a larger one if you wish, as the parking spaces are rather large.
- There’s a lot of demand and these are islands, so book early.
Which island has the most beautiful scenery?
Landscapes of Lanzarote
Lanzarote is particularly famous for its volcanic landscapes and cliffs.
We fell in love with its lava fields and colorful volcanoes.
- Numerous volcanoes, including Timanfaya National Park. Some are black, some are red, and there’s even a big white one.
- There are also many fascinating volcanic landscapes, such as lava fields (smooth or rocky), lava tubes (where Cesar Manrique has fun reinventing space), lava cliffs at Los Hervideros or the green lagoon at El Golfo.
- You can also find high cliffs to the northwest at Famara.
- And vineyards at the foot of volcanoes
- And of course, the beaches we mentioned in the previous section…
Get a better idea with our article on the most beautiful landscapes in 25 photos.
Landscapes of Gran Canaria
Of all the Canary Islands, Gran Canaria offers the greatest diversity. It doesn’t have the most unforgettable scenery, but it does offer plenty of choice. It’s a mini-continent unto itself. We really enjoyed this mosaic of landscapes:
- Sand dunes
- Mountains
- Dry canyons
- Greener canyons
- Beautiful sandy beaches
- Charming mountain villages
- Fascinating rock formations
- …
Whether you’re an avid hiker, photographer or simply in search of moments of contemplation, you’ll be delighted by the diversity of panoramas offered by this island.
Get a better idea with our article on the most beautiful landscapes in 25 photos (coming soon).
Winning island
In terms of landscapes, Gran Canaria has the advantage thanks to its diversity.
But if you’re looking for landscapes that will surprise you, Lanzarote is the place for you.
A LITTLE MORE patience
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Best hotels
Both islands have a very good hotel offer.
Gran Canaria’s is larger and offers more variety.
But the architectural limitations on Lanzarote (thanks to César Manrique) make the hotels smaller and more beautiful overall, in our opinion.
Best hotels in Lanzarote
See our selection of the most beautiful hotels in Lanzarote.
CHOOSING A HOTEL IN Lanzarote
Choosing where to stay:
Select by hotel type:
- 5-star hotels
- Best boutique-hotels
- Best adults-only hotels
- Best all-inclusive hotels
- Best hotels for families
Our favorite: Hotel Cala Lanzarote – See prices, photos and availability
Select by city:
Best hotels in Gran Canaria
See our selection of the most beautiful hotels in Gran Canaria (coming soon).
Cultural attractions – which island offers the most?
Cultural activities in Lanzarote
Lanzarote’s cultural offer is very interesting. You can find out more about:
- the astonishing work of Cesar Manrique, integrating nature with architecture and art: for example at his foundation or at Jameos del Agua
See the different locations - volcanoes and enjoy a bus tour of Timanfaya and discover the activity underground with some demonstrations
Read more - The history of wine and vineyards
- The charm of historic villages like Teguise
Cultural activities in Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria has a very interesting cultural offering. We particularly like it:
- All the archaeological sites such as the Valeron caves, the Maipes burial mounds…
- Gran Canaria also has a number of fine museums, such as the Museo Canario in the capital, or the Casa de Colon.
- The island also offers a greater variety of architecture. We really enjoyed discovering the different villages and old town centers. Our favourite village is Aguïmes
Winning island
No winner. The offer is very different between the two islands, but just as fascinating.
Activities: sports, fun, sensation
Amusement parks and activities in Lanzarote
Lanzarote offers several theme parks for families:
- In Lanzarote, you can visit the Rancho Texas park, which combines a zoo, water park and other outdoor activities. It’s near Puerto del Carmen – Book your tickets
- Lanzarote also has a second water park on the Costa Teguise with a paintball area – Book your ticket
HAVE FUN WITH THESE Lanzarote activities
- Dolphin watching
- Buggy / Quad
- Kayak excursion
- But also: Diving at the Museum of the Atlantic, Catamaran outings, Paddle excursions, Parasailing
Amusement parks and activities in Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria also offers a good choice of theme parks for families:
- Aqualand Maspalomas, the big water park – book your skip-the-line tickets
- Holiday World Woodland, for thrill rides – reserve your tickets
- Angry Birds Park, with games for younger children – book your tickets now!
- The famous Poema del Mar Aquarium – book your tickets now
- Mundo Aborigen, find out more about the Guanche people – book your tickets now
- Palmitos Park, the zoo – book your tickets
- …
To find out more, see our article on Gran Canaria’s best theme parks (coming soon).
HAVE FUN WITH THESE activities in Gran Canaria
Dolphin watching
Buggy / Quad
Horseback riding
Snorkeling
Canyoning
Via Ferrata
Coasteering in Agaete
Kayaking in the Mogan caves
Winning island
Gran Canaria has a wider choice of amusement parks and activities (thanks to the changing terrain).
Driving in Gran Canaria vs. Lanzarote
Roads on both islands are in fairly good condition. We drive on the right.
Driving in Lanzarote
On Lanzarote, the roads are very easy.
They are in good condition, with good visibility and little traffic.
We strongly recommend renting a car to discover all the island’s most beautiful landscapes. See our tips for renting a car in Lanzarote.
Our preferred car rental platform is Discovercars: see offers.
Driving in Gran Canaria
Driving around Gran Canaria is easy enough. There’s an expressway that covers a good part of it.
However:
- as soon as you want to go up into the mountains, you find narrower, more winding roads
- there’s a lot of traffic between locals and tourists
We didn’t find any major difficulties.
We strongly recommend renting a car to discover all the island’s most beautiful landscapes.
Our preferred car rental platform is Discovercars: see offers.
Winning island
It’s clearly more pleasant to drive in Lanzarote than in Gran Canaria.
Gastronomic offer
Because of the Canaries’ shared history and similar weather conditions, you can find similar foods on both islands.
Local cuisine combines seafood and traditional Spanish recipes with Latin American influences.
As Gran Canaria is a more touristic island, with more inhabitants, the gastronomic offer is more developed.
See our selection of the best restaurants in Gran Canaria (coming soon).
See our selection of the best restaurants in Lanzarote.
Climate
Let’s take a look at the travel conditions you can expect on both islands.
Being very close to each other, there are no major differences.
- Generally speaking, the weather is warm and dry all year round.
- Both islands are windy, but Fuerteventura is considered to have more wind.
- Gran Canaria receives a little more rain because its mountains can stop the clouds.
- In winter, we can expect a temperature of around 21°C, while in summer it rises to 28°C – 30°C.
See our article on when to go to Gran Canaria (coming soon).
See our article on when to go to Lanzarote.
Combination: visit Gran Canaria and Lanzarote
Both islands can be reached by ferry.
There are crossings between:
- Arrecife to Lanzarote and Las Palmas de Gran Canaira in 5 hours
See ferry options between the two islands.
DISCOVER THE Canary Islands
- Which Canary Island to choose?
- Most beautiful beaches in the Canary Islands (coming soon)
- Most beautiful hotels in the Canary Islands (coming soon)
- When to visit the Canary Islands (coming soon)
- Lanzarote or Fuerteventura
- Gran Canaria or Fuerteventura
- Gran Canaria or Lanzarote
