Lanzarote greets travellers with an advantage other islands lack: César Manrique-Lanzarote airport (IATA code: ACE) sits on the edge of Arrecife, in the middle of the east coast, and from there almost everything is within easy reach. What shapes your first hour is not the distance but choosing well how to cover it.

One detail before you leave the terminal: the Canaries run on UK time, an hour behind mainland Spain. If you flew in via Madrid, put your watch back.

The essentials

  • Airport: César Manrique-Lanzarote (ACE), in the municipality of San Bartolomé, next to Playa Honda and very close to Arrecife.
  • Bus to Arrecife: line 22 (weekdays) and line 23 (weekends and public holidays).
  • Bus south: line 161 runs towards Puerto del Carmen and Playa Blanca.
  • Timetables: check the official Intercity Bus Lanzarote timetable; guides disagree.
  • Taxi: rank outside arrivals.
  • Time: one hour behind mainland Spain, all year round.

The options, one by one

The bus: cheap, but it does not go everywhere

In the Canaries the bus is called a guagua, and on Lanzarote the scheduled lines are run by Intercity Bus Lanzarote. Two lines share the week to Arrecife: the 22 from Monday to Friday and the 23 at weekends and on holidays. Heading south, the 161 follows the coast to Puerto del Carmen and on to Playa Blanca, with a good number of stops along the way.

Before you count on the bus, check the current timetable on the Intercity Bus Lanzarote website. Guides disagree on frequencies and on the last service, and there are fewer buses at weekends. If you land at night, do not take it for granted.

Costa Teguise and the rural north (Haría, Arrieta, the inland villages) have no direct line from the airport: you change in Arrecife, which is a chore with suitcases.

Taxi: the simplest choice for a short hop

The rank is just outside arrivals. For Arrecife, Playa Honda or Costa Teguise it is the most comfortable way to arrive without thinking. To Playa Blanca, at the southern tip, the journey is longer and the fare reflects it; ask for an approximate price before you get in.

Hire car: the island makes sense from behind the wheel

The rental desks are in the airport itself. Lanzarote is easy to drive, and much of what justifies the trip — César Manrique’s centres, the north, La Geria — lies off the busiest bus routes. We explain it in getting around Lanzarote. Read the contract: many companies exclude dirt tracks.

A pre-booked transfer

If you land late, travel with children or are heading to a house inland, a transfer booked in advance — with a driver waiting when your flight comes in — spares you the taxi queue and the bus change. Book with a company licensed in the Canary Islands and confirm the pick-up with your flight number.

Which to choose

  • Staying in Arrecife → bus 22 or 23, or a taxi: it is a short trip.
  • Staying in Costa Teguise → taxi; by bus you change in Arrecife.
  • Staying in Puerto del Carmen → bus 161 if you travel light; a taxi if not.
  • Staying in Playa Blanca → hire car or transfer; the bus is slow and stops a lot.
  • Staying in the north or in a house inland → hire car or pre-booked transfer.
  • Heading to La Graciosa → you need to reach Órzola, at the northern tip, for the boat; a car is the most practical way. Step by step in getting to La Graciosa.
  • Not sure yet where to stay → sleeping quietly in Lanzarote, area by area.

Our view

Lanzarote is an island to explore rather than to sit still in, and that tips the balance towards a hire car from the first minute. The bus makes sense if you are staying in Arrecife or Puerto del Carmen and travelling light; the taxi, for a short and uncomplicated hop. And if you land at night bound for a house inland, where the roads are dark and the villages small, having someone waiting at arrivals changes the tone of the first evening.

Information as of October 2026. Bus lines have been checked against public tourism sources; confirm timetables and fares on the Intercity Bus Lanzarote website before you travel.