Arrecife de Lanzarote cruise port, Spain
Between 1730 and 1736 the ground opened and buried a quarter of the island under lava; the Timanfaya field is still hot enough a metre down to cook on. The artist Cesar Manrique later talked the island out of high-rise hotels and billboards, which is why it looks as it does.
Worth knowing. The vines here grow one to a pit, each in its own hollow dug into the ash with a low stone wall on the windward side. From above, whole valleys look cratered.
What to do in Arrecife de Lanzarote for free
The Charco de San Gines is the old fishing quarter built round a tidal lagoon, and walking round it costs nothing. It is three kilometres from the pier, which is three quarters of an hour on foot with no shade, or ten minutes on the port shuttle. The doors and window frames are painted to match the water, which is the whole look of the place.
What costs money
The ship's own excursions usually cost more than booking the same trip yourself. Two things come with the price. The ship waits for its own excursions and does not wait for you. And if the port is missed, P&O refunds its own without you asking. A trip you booked yourself is a claim on your travel insurance, so check what your policy covers. The ship sells its own trips to all of these, and the desk is open on board if you would rather do it that way. That advice points at links I am paid for, so weigh it accordingly.
I get a small commission if you book through these links. It costs you nothing extra.
Timanfaya. The fire mountains, three quarters of an hour across the island. The road through the lava is closed to everything but the park's own coaches, and lunch up there is cooked over a hole in the ground.
Jameos del Agua. A lava tube whose roof fell in, turned by Cesar Manrique into a garden and a concert hall. The lake in the bottom of it is full of small white blind crabs that live nowhere else on earth.
Which ship calls at Arrecife de Lanzarote, and when
Every call here between 15 August and 28 November 2026, with the hours ashore P&O published. These times are a guide, not a promise: the captain gives the real ones the day before.
| Ship | Sails | Day | Ashore |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iona | 3 October 2026, 14 nights | Day 8 | 07:00 to 18:00 |
| Iona | 7 November 2026, 14 nights | Day 8 | 07:00 to 18:00 |
| Iona | 21 November 2026, 14 nights | Day 8 | 07:00 to 18:00 |
| Iona | 5 December 2026, 14 nights | Day 8 | 07:00 to 18:00 |
| Iona | 19 December 2026, 16 nights | Day 10 | 07:00 to 18:00 |
| Iona | 27 February 2027, 14 nights | Day 8 | 07:00 to 18:00 |
| Iona | 13 March 2027, 14 nights | Day 8 | 07:00 to 18:00 |
| Iona | 2 October 2027, 14 nights | Day 5 | 09:00 to 18:00 |
| Iona | 30 September 2028, 14 nights | Day 5 | 09:00 to 18:00 |
How long you get ashore in Arrecife de Lanzarote
The published times give you between about 9 and 11 hours alongside, depending on the sailing. Take off the time it takes a few thousand people to get off, and the time you need to be back on board before the ship leaves, and that is your day. P&O give the real hours the day before, and the all-aboard time is earlier than the departure time.
The other stops on these cruises
Every one of these is on at least one of the sailings that calls at Arrecife de Lanzarote.
- Cadiz (tours to Seville)Probably the oldest continuously lived-in city in western Europe: the Phoenicians founded Gadir here around 1100 BC.
- FuerteventuraThe oldest of the Canaries and the flattest, a hundred kilometres off Africa and made mostly of wind, sand and goats.
- Gran CanariaColumbus put in at Las Palmas in 1492 to mend a rudder on his way west, and the house he is said to have stayed in is now a museum about him.
- La CorunaThe Spanish Armada sailed from this harbour in 1588, and it is still guarded by the Tower of Hercules, a Roman lighthouse from about the year 100 which has never stopped working: the oldest one on earth still doing its job.
- LisbonOn All Saints' Day 1755 an earthquake, then a tsunami up the Tagus, then three days of fire destroyed most of the city and shook Europe's confidence in a benign universe.
- MadeiraPortuguese sailors found it uninhabited in 1419 and set the forest alight to clear it; the fire is said to have burned for years, and the island is named for the wood.
- TenerifeMount Teide stands 3,715 metres over the island, the highest point in Spain and, measured from its base on the sea floor, the third largest volcano on earth.
- VigoEurope's biggest fishing port by weight landed, and it smells honestly of it near the market.
Money and language in Spain
Euro (EUR, €). Cards are normal, though a small market stall or a taxi may want coins. The Canary Islands are Spain and use the euro too. Onboard is always charged in sterling, so this only matters ashore.
English is common in the ports and thinner a street back.
| English | Spanish | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| Hello | Hola | OH-la |
| Goodbye | Adiós | ah-DYOSS |
| How much? | ¿Cuánto cuesta? | KWAN-toh KWESS-ta |
| Thank you | Gracias | GRA-syass, and GRA-thyass on the mainland if you want to blend in |
| Please | Por favor | por fa-VOR |
Free, and it works with no internet. Give it the dates you sail and it works out your own stops and saves the street map for each one. It shows you round the ship too.
All the ports written up so far, the things to do before you sail, or the ship pages for Iona and Arvia.