Lanzarote does not have one season; it has several. Its mild climate keeps it open all year, so the useful question is not when is the weather good but what do you want to find. This is the island’s calendar told season by season, with the dates that genuinely change a trip.

The essentials

  • Winter (November–March): high season, mild weather, and Arrecife’s carnival between late January and early March.
  • May: the Lanzarote Ironman, with 34 editions behind it.
  • Summer: the grape harvest in the ash vineyards of La Geria.
  • August: the San Ginés festival in Arrecife, until the 25th.
  • 15 September: the Dolores pilgrimage to Mancha Blanca.

Winter: carnival

Arrecife’s carnival is the island’s great street party. Its date shifts each year with Lent, between late January and early March, and it closes with the Burial of the Sardine, the procession that sends the festival off. It falls in the middle of high season, so if it coincides with your trip, book well ahead. For everything else about winter — weather, sea, pace — read Lanzarote in winter.

May: the Ironman

For 34 editions, the Lanzarote Ironman was based at Club La Santa, in Tinajo. The race of 23 May 2026 was the last they organised: from 2027 it continues under IRONMAN’s own organisation. It is a tough course — the island’s wind and climbs are notorious among triathletes — and roads are affected on race day. If you are not coming to compete, check the date before you book: the island feels it.

Summer: harvest in the ash

In La Geria, the vines grow in hollows dug into volcanic ash and sheltered by crescent-shaped stone walls. The harvest is done by hand in summer, and it is the best time to understand a landscape that exists thanks to the tenacity of those who work it. The wineries open for visits and tastings; check times with each one. More in La Geria and its wine.

August: San Ginés

The festival of San Ginés, Arrecife’s patron saint, fills the week ending on 25 August and is centred on the Charco de San Ginés, the seawater lagoon in the heart of the capital where fishing boats rock at their moorings. Music, community events and a town turned out into the street. It is Lanzarote’s most local summer. The full festival calendar in Lanzarote festivals.

September: the Dolores pilgrimage

On 15 September, the island walks to Mancha Blanca, in Tinajo, home to the shrine of the Virgen de los Dolores, the Virgin of the Volcanoes. The pilgrimage is made on foot from different parts of the island, many in traditional dress, and ends in a fiesta beside the lava fields of Timanfaya. It is the most heartfelt date of the year, and a good reason to travel in September, when the sea is still warm and summer begins to ease.

When to go, depending on what you want

  • Soft light and mild temperatures → November to March.
  • A street festival → Arrecife’s carnival (moveable, between January and March).
  • Sport → May, Ironman week (or avoid it if you want quiet roads).
  • Wine and landscape → summer, with the harvest in La Geria.
  • The most local island → San Ginés in August or the Dolores pilgrimage in September.

Our view

The best Lanzarote is not on a particular date; it lies in knowing what each season brings. Winter is the calm, luminous island; summer, the island of the harvest and the village fiestas. If you can choose only one date, make it the Dolores pilgrimage: it is when the island moves for itself rather than for those visiting.

Information as of October 2026. Moveable festivals and sporting events change every year: confirm the programme on each town council’s or organiser’s website before you travel.