Should I Visit Gran Canaria or Lanzarote? [2024]
/Deciding whether to visit Gran Canaria or Lanzarote? The good news is that both of these Canary Islands are fantastic, and you’re bound to enjoy your time in either. But which one should you choose? We break it down.
7 min read
Vegueta, Gran Canaria
Mirador del Rio, Lanzarote
We’re no stranger to choosing between places, as we’ve chosen between Oslo and Bergen, and Krakow and Warsaw. Now, it’s time to compare these amazing Canary Islands side by side. So should you visit Gran Canaria or Lanzarote? Let’s find out through this quick guide.
Where to stay Gran Canaria and Lanzarote
Visiting Gran Canaria or Lanzarote? Check out our recommendations on the best places to stay on each island!
Where to stay in Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria is an incredibly affordable place to stay, so your money will go a long way - even luxury hotels are relatively inexpensive. Here are our top accommodation options in Gran Canaria.
Budget: Tasarte Guesthouse
Want to stay at a Guesthouse with a view? What about neat, clean and intricately decorated rooms? Look no further than Tasarte Guesthouse, which ticks off all the boxes for a budget stay.
You can take a closer look at Tasarte Guesthouse by clicking here.
Mid-Range: Hotel s.XVI
I stayed at this absolutely amazing boutique hotel and loved every single second of it! Featuring a beautiful rooftop pool, this hotel combined traditional architecture with a modern touch, and the results are gorgeous. Hotel s.XVI is located in the quaint town of Telde - the perfect location for an unforgettable stay.
You can take a closer look at Hotel s.XVI by clicking here.
Luxury: Santa Catalina, a Royal Hideaway Hotel 5*GL
Gran Canaria is full of the most opulent luxury resorts, and Santa Catalina, a Royal Hideaway Hotel 5*GL is one of the best on the island! Consistently winning awards for its excellence, this is a great choice for those wanting a getaway.
You can take a closer look at Santa Catalina, a Royal Hideaway Hotel 5*GL by clicking here.
Where to stay in Lanzarote
Like Gran Canaria, Lanzarote is also an oasis of jaw-dropping accommodation options. From budget to luxury, we’ve got you covered with the best places to stay in Lanzarote.
Budget: ANCONES LEJANOS GuestHouse
Costa Teguise is one of the best places to stay in Lanzarote, and this guesthouse is located firmly within the township. Close to the beach, shops and restaurants, this is one of the best budget accommodations on the island.
You can take a closer look at ANCONES LEJANOS GuestHouse by clicking here.
Mid-Range: Luxury Senator Apartments
You can afford luxury on a budget when staying at Luxury Senator Apartments. Featuring a beautiful pool area and spacious apartments, this property is popular for its comfort and convenience.
You can take a closer look at Luxury Senator Apartments by clicking here.
Luxury: Meliá Salinas
This hotel is the ultimate in luxury, and is also conveniently located in Costa Teguise. Guests especially love the stunning pool area, buffet breakfast, and lux-looking rooms.
You can take a closer look at Meliá Salinas by clicking here.
What the Islands Have in Common
If you’re headed towards the Canary Islands, chances are that you’re coming for a slice of the sun. Luckily, both Gran Canaria and Lanzarote are year-round destinations that are worth visiting at any time. Both get plenty of sunshine for you to be able to enjoy your stay.
Volcan El Cuervo, Lanzarote
Both islands are relatively touristic, but you won’t really see swarms of tourists in any place, on either island. The most crowded place I can think of is probably the resort area of Playa del Ingles (Maspalomas) or Puerto de Mogan. These two areas can see high crowds when the weather is warm.
Puerto de Mogan, Gran Canaria
In Lanzarote, the most popular place for tourists is the resort town of Puerto del Carmen, followed by Costa Teguise. However, we’ve visited all these places above and didn’t found the crowds to be overwhelming.
Playa del Jablillo (Costa Teguise), LanzarotePlaya del Jablillo (Costa Teguise), Lanzarote
Gran Canaria and Lanzarote both have great beaches, if that’s what you’re coming to the islands for. Lanzarote’s beaches are slightly more unconventional, as some may have black sand instead of the typical golden sand you might find in other places. Gran Canaria’s beaches are nice, and more of what you would normally expect from a beach.
Black sand beach in Lanzarote.
Maspolamas Sand Dunes, Gran Canaria
Both are reasonably priced (I didn’t notice a big difference in costs) and have equally friendly people. Now, let’s jump into the differences between the two islands.
Why I loved Gran Canaria...
Diversity of Nature
The diversity of Gran Canaria’s is breathtaking.
This was just a stop on the road in Gran Canaria!
For me, I preferred Gran Canaria’s scenery over Lanzarote’s. You get a real variety of nature in the GC.
Maspolamas Sand Dunes, Gran Canaria
By driving through the island, you’ll get to witness dramatic cliffs and mountains, nice beaches, verdant greenery, sand dunes (see: Maspalomas Sand Dunes) and more. It’s like having a few continents in one small island. You’ll get a hint of African desert-looking sand dunes, Yosemite-esque scenery, and Mediterranean beaches reminiscent of the Greek islands.
Mirador del Pico de los Pozos de las Nieves, Gran Canaria
Puerto de Mogan, Gran Canaria
Of course, beauty is subjective and you might find that you prefer Lanzarote’s scenery – but I felt like Gran Canaria’s range of nature was much more diverse.
Colourful Small Towns and Cities
I also preferred Gran Canaria’s small towns and cities. I found them to be more colourful, alive and charming. Lanzarote’s towns and villages seem to be centred on just a few colours (usually white, brown, blue), whereas Gran Canaria’s feature brighter aspects.
Puerto de Mogan, Gran Canaria
Telde, Gran Canaria
Places like Puerto de Mogan, Firgas, Tejeda and Arucas just felt like they had a bit more dimension to them.
Teror, Gran Canaria
If we’re comparing capitals, I would choose Las Palmas in Gran Canaria over Arrecife in Lanzarote. Arrecife is perfectly fine as a place to visit for a day, but it’s not the most attractive city you’ll find. If you’re visiting Las Palmas, you should definitely make a trip to Vegueta and go up the The Basilica Cathedral of Santa Ana, where you’ll be treated to amazing views of the island.
Vegueta, Gran Canaria
Make sure you climb up Santa Ana Cathedral to get this view of Las Palmas.
So Many Hiking Opportunities
Gran Canaria is a mountainous island, so hikers will find no shortage of trails to embark on.
Ralph hiking at Roque Nublo
Mirador del Pico de los Pozos de las Nieves,
From the Roque Nublo area to the Pico de Las Nieves, Gran Canaria is teeming with hiking opportunities.
Mirador Degollada de Becerra, Gran Canaria
A mixture of local culture and good tourism infrastructure
Gran Canaria attracts visitors from all around the world, so it’s no surprise that it’s very well-suited to handling visitors. However, it also has a much larger local population than Lanzarote – around 865,750 compared to around 151,000 – and this will be felt throughout your visit to the islands.
Teror, Gran Canaria
Vegueta, Gran Canaria
I liked seeing local life in Gran Canaria just as much as I liked checking out the sights, so you will get more of this cultural blend in the GC over Lanzarote.
What I didn’t love about Gran Canaria...
Driving in Gran Canaria
Driving in Gran Canaria isn’t the most difficult thing I’ve done, but it also isn’t the easiest. If you’re going along the main highways, then you’ll be fine. However, if you’re traveling inland to places like Tejeda and Roque Nublo, you’ll likely have to drive through some hairpin turns that can get kind of dicey!
Tejeda, Gran Canaria
We drove from Puerto de las Nieves to Playa de la Aldea (both beautiful beachside places), and encountered many semi-scary turns where large trucks would squeeze past us on the narrowest of winding streets. This was a little bit anxiety-inducing.
Playa de la Aldea, Gran Canaria
We were fine in the end, but we did find driving in Gran Canaria to be more difficult than in Lanzarote.
Puerto Nieves, Gran Canaria
Distances between sights
As the third largest Canary Island (behind Tenerife and Fuerteventura), Gran Canaria is slightly bigger than Lanzarote, which comes in fourth out of all the islands. This means that the distances between sights are slightly bigger than what you would find in Lanzarote, so you should set aside more time to see all that you want to see.
Puerto de Mogan, Gran Canaria
The plus-side to Gran Canaria’s shape is that it’s basically a circle, so you’ll never actually be that far from any point on the island. Even going from one end of the island to the other (for example, driving from Vegueta to Puerto de Mogan) will only take about an hour.
Busy Resort Towns
I’ve touched on this before, but if you’re not someone who enjoys crowds, you might want to stay away from the Playa del Ingles area, where the partying and nightlife scene is well and truly alive.
Maspolamas Beach, Gran Canaria
Still, it’s easy to find peace and quiet in Gran Canaria, even just a short drive away from these touristy areas.
Where did I stay in Gran Canaria?
I stayed in Hotel s.XVI, which is located in the small charming town of Telde. Although parking was a small issue, I absolutely loved my stay here. The rooms were immaculate, the staff were super friendly, and the property even had a rooftop pool.
Telde, Gran Canaria
The town of Telde was super cute, and a great base to explore other areas of the island. 10/10 would recommend.
Don’t plan to drive? Check out these handpicked tours of Gran Canaria!
Roque Nublo, Gran Canaria
If you’re not planning on renting a car, Gran Canaria is still totally worth visiting. By joining these tours, you’ll still get to see the best of the island!
Gran Canaria Peaks Full-Day Tour from Las Palmas - ticks off all of Gran Canaria’s highlights from the capital city.
Roque Nublo, volcanoes and local lunch at the Biosphere Reservation - best if you want to tour Gran Canaria’s mountains and volcanoes.
Private Tour Guide in Gran Canaria - suitable for travelers who are looking for a private tour of Gran Canaria.
What I loved about Lanzarote...
Out-of-this-world Landscapes
An example of Lanzarote’s alien-like landscapes.
Lanzarote’s most unique aspect is its alien-like landscape. Because Lanzarote is a highly volcanic island, the nature here will be different than any of the other Canary Islands.
Volcan El Cuervo, Lanzarote
Charco de los Clicos (Verde), Lanzarote
You almost feel like you’re not on planet earth as you check out sights like Volcan el Cuervo, Timanfaya National Park and Charco de los Clicos. The scenery here is really peculiar and surprising in the best way.
View from Lagomar Museum, Lanzarote.
Proximity of sights
Lanzarote is a smaller island than Gran Canaria, so you’ll find that driving between the majority of must-do attractions takes much less time. This might be a major contributing factor to your choice if you only have a limited amount of time to explore.
Mirador Del Rio, Lanzarote
From Mirador Del Rio, which is right at the top of the island, to Playa del Papagayo, which is right at the bottom of the island, it will only take just over an hour by driving.
Mirador Del Rio, Lanzarote
Playa del Papagayo, Lanzarote
Mixture of manmade sights and natural sights
Jameos del Agua Water Cave, Lanzarote
Something really cool about Lanzarote is the mixture between natural sights and man-made attractions such as Lagomar Museum, Le Jardin de Cactus de Lanzarote and Jameos del Agua.
Lagomar Museum, Lanzarote
Inside look at Lagomar Museum, Lanzarote
Le Jardin de Cactus, Lanzarote
Very interesting-looking Cactuses at Le Jardin de Cactus, Lanzarote
In fact, I actually preferred the manmade sights over the natural ones in Lanzarote. You’ll find that Lanzarote has a lot of these quirky, unique, architectural attractions that are designed by César Manrique, an artist, sculptor, architect and nature activist from the island. This gave Lanzarote sort of a mysterious, fashionable, editorial feel to it.
Jameos del Agua, Lanzarote
Inside Jameos del Agua’s Rock Cave, Lanzarote
Easy driving
Driving around Lanzarote is a lot more straightforward than in Gran Canaria. There are only a few major roads that will take you through most of the highlights on the island.
Driving around Lanzarote.
There aren’t as many hairpin turns and difficult passages to drive through in Lanzarote, compared to Gran Canaria. A lot of it will be like driving on any highway, so for the most part, it is totally safe to drive in Lanzarote.
What I didn’t Love about Lanzarote...
Repetitive Scenery
Le Jardin de Cactus, Lanzarote
Lanzarote doesn’t have as much diversity in its nature as Gran Canaria. Although its alien-like landscapes are truly one-of-a-kind, most of the island features this kind of nature.
Los Hervideros, Lanzarote
Volcan el Cuervo, Lanzarote
The island is not a particularly fertile one, so you won’t see much in the way of greenery or mountains. For some, this might be what they’re looking for. For others, they might get easily bored at the nature after spending more than a few days.
More tourist-oriented
Playa del Papagayo, Lanzarote
Some may not agree with me on this, but I feel like the whole island is a lot more geared towards tourism than Gran Canaria. While Gran Canaria is alive, even without tourists, how ‘alive’ Lanzarote feels really depends on the number of tourists.
Salinas de Janubio, Lanzarote
This means if you visit off-the-beaten track places on the island, you might be the only one there. But if you visit more popular attractions, it’s almost a guarantee that a lot of people will be there. We found this to be the case when visiting Jameos del Agua, Le Jardin de Cactus, Los Hervideros and more. There were a lot of tour buses pulling up every few minutes, and in general, Lanzarote just felt a lot busier than Gran Canaria (apart from the area of Playa del Ingles).
Volcan el Cuervo, Lanzarote
As a result of this, I did feel that Gran Canaria was culturally richer than Lanzarote, as there was more of a mix between local life and tourist sites.
Where did I stay in Lanzarote?
I stayed in a cute little apartment in the resort area of Costa Teguise. The area was central and really convenient – with easy access to the beach, restaurants, shops and pharmacies. Overall, I was pretty satisfied with my stay here and would recommend it!
Not driving in Lanzarote? Check out our handpicked tours!
Caleta de Famara, Lanzarote
Don’t worry if you’re not planning to drive in Lanzarote, there are a few great tours out there that will maximise your sightseeing on the island. Check out these tours that we’ve handpicked for you:
Grand Tour Lanzarote Experience: the footprint of the landscape - this is the best tour of the island you can find, as it ticks off all the major highlights in Lanzarote.
3 Hour Buggy Tour of the beautiful Island of Lanzarote - a unique experience riding buggies on the island.
Tour to Timanfaya, Jameos del Agua, Cueva de los Verdes and viewpoint from the cliff - an affordable, comprehensive 9-hour tour of the island.
So which should I visit – Gran Canaria or Lanzarote?
Puerto de Mogan, Gran Canaria
I preferred Gran Canaria for its natural diversity, but it’ll depend on your interests.
If you only have 2-3 days, you should visit Lanzarote - especially if you want to check out volcanic landscapes, architectural sites and you’re looking for an easier driving experience.
Le Jardin de Cactus, Lanzarote
On the other hand, if you have more than 3 days, you should visit Gran Canaria, as to me, there’s more to see and do, and overall was the more interesting island culturally of the two.
Playa de la Aldea, Gran Canaria
However, if you have time to visit both, then I would recommend doing so as I really enjoyed my time visiting both of these contrasting islands.
How do I get around the islands?
Mirador Degollada de Becerra, Gran Canaria
There are public transportation options, but honestly, driving is by far the best way to go – especially if you’re short on time like we were. Driving will just give you that extra flexibility to stop whenever you feel like (and trust me, there are a lot of those random stops that somehow have no name but are totally worth stopping for).
Driving around Lanzarote in our rental car.
This was just a random turn-off from the road in Gran Canaria. Amazing, right?
Europcar is a reliable car hire company available in both Gran Canaria and Lanzarote. CICAR is also a great local company that operates out of the Canaries.
Los Hervideros, Lanzarote
Playa de la Aldea, Gran Canaria
Ralph admiring the views in Gran Canaria.
Jameos del Agua, Lanzarote
Agree or disagree with us? What do you think? Did you like Gran Canaria or Lanzarote more? Let us know in the comments below!
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