It’s one of the first things people ask before a trip to Lanzarote, and the answer is more interesting than a simple yes or no. The short version is that the tap water here is safe to drink by law, but almost nobody actually does, and there’s a good reason for that. Understanding why comes down to how the island gets its water in the first place, which is a genuinely remarkable story. This guide covers what’s safe and what isn’t, whether you need to boil it, when to buy bottled, how to handle water for babies and children, and the everyday questions about brushing teeth, showering and making the most of a scarce resource on one of the driest islands in Europe.
Where Lanzarote’s Water Actually Comes From
Lanzarote is one of the driest places in Europe. It has no rivers, no lakes and virtually no natural groundwater, and it sees less than 150mm of rain in an average year. So where does the water come from? Almost all of it is made from the sea. The island has relied on desalination, the process of removing the salt from seawater, since 1964, when it opened the very first desalination plant in Europe. Today more than twenty plants across the island turn Atlantic seawater into fresh water using reverse osmosis, and that’s what comes out of the taps in your accommodation. It’s a genuine feat of engineering that a place this arid supports both its residents and millions of visitors a year, and it’s worth pausing to appreciate just how unusual it is.
Is It Safe to Drink Tap Water in Lanzarote?
Yes. The tap water on Lanzarote is treated to full European Union drinking-water standards, tested regularly across the island’s mains network, and is officially safe to drink. Experts have gone out of their way to reassure the public on this point. At a recent round-table event on the island, specialists pointed out that the desalinated water is remineralised with calcium and magnesium and disinfected with chlorine within the normal legal limits, exactly as it is across Europe, and that regular sampling ensures it meets the standards. One chemistry professor even noted that the reverse-osmosis process leaves the tap water with less plastic residue than bottled water. So on paper, and in reality, it’s perfectly safe.
So Why Does Almost Nobody Drink It?
The catch is the taste. Desalinated water has a distinctive flat, slightly mineral flavour, with a hint of chlorine from the disinfection process, and most people find it noticeably less pleasant than the tap water they’re used to at home. This isn’t a safety issue, it’s purely a matter of taste, but it’s the reason the overwhelming majority of both locals and visitors drink bottled water instead. There’s also a bit of history at play. For a long time, not every part of the island had reliable access to good drinking water, and older properties sometimes store water in tanks called aljibes that may not be as clean as the mains supply, which has left a lingering habit of caution. The water arriving at the tap is fine, but if it’s been sitting in an old rooftop tank, that’s a different matter, and it’s part of why bottled water remains the default.
Buy Bottled Water
Bottled water is cheap and available absolutely everywhere on Lanzarote, which is why it’s the simplest answer for most visitors. The best value by far is the large five and eight-litre containers sold in supermarkets like Mercadona and HiperDino, which cost only a euro or two each. Most self-catering visitors simply pick up a couple of these on arrival and keep them going for the duration of the stay, refilling smaller bottles to carry out for the day. Smaller 1.5-litre bottles are around fifty cents to a euro, while a 500ml bottle from a resort shop or restaurant will cost you more, so stocking up at the supermarket is the way to keep costs down. If you’re driving from the airport, a quick supermarket stop on the way to your accommodation sets you up for the whole holiday.
Do You Need to Boil Lanzarote Tap Water?
No. Boiling the tap water isn’t necessary, because it’s already treated and free from harmful bacteria. Boiling won’t improve the mineral taste that leads most people to bottled water in the first place, so it achieves nothing for the average visitor. The only situation where boiling comes into play is when preparing food or drinks for very young infants, which we come to below. For everyone else, there’s no need to boil, filter or treat the water in any way before using it.
Brushing Teeth and Showering using Lanzarote Tap Water
This is where people tend to overthink it. The tap water is completely fine for brushing your teeth, and there’s no need to reach for a bottle to do it. It’s equally fine for washing, showering and bathing, so you can enjoy a normal shower without a second thought. Cooking with it is also perfectly safe, and many residents use it for cooking, tea and coffee without issue, though some prefer bottled for hot drinks purely because the taste comes through. In short, the only thing the taste really affects is drinking it straight, and even then it’s preference rather than safety. Wash, shower, brush and cook with the tap water as normal.
Is the Ice Safe?
Yes. The ice served in bars and restaurants across Lanzarote is safe. It’s generally made by specialist companies using filtered water and delivered to venues across the island, rather than being frozen from the tap, so you don’t need to worry about ordering a cold drink with ice or asking for it to be left out. This is a common worry for visitors used to being cautious about ice abroad, but on Lanzarote it’s a non-issue.
Water for Babies and Young Children
This is the one area where a little extra care is worth taking, and where it’s always best to follow your health visitor’s or doctor’s advice for your particular child. For older children, the same rules as for adults apply: the tap water is safe, though most families use bottled for drinking simply for the taste. For making up formula for babies, the guidance is more specific.
Standard advice for infant formula anywhere is to use freshly boiled water cooled appropriately, and if you’re using bottled water you should choose one with a low mineral content, since water high in sodium or other minerals isn’t suitable for babies. In Spain, low-mineral bottled waters are widely available and often labelled as suitable for infants, sometimes with a baby pictured on the bottle. Look on the label for low sodium (bajo en sodio) and low mineralisation (mineralización muy débil), and Bezoya and Lanjarón are two commonly recommended low-mineral Spanish brands.
Because formula preparation and infant hydration guidance can be specific to your baby’s age and health, it’s worth checking with a health professional before you travel if you have any doubts, and bringing your usual formula with you rather than relying on finding the exact same product on the island.
A Word on Preserving Water
It’s worth remembering, as you go, just how precious water is on an island that has to manufacture almost every drop from the sea. Desalination is energy-intensive, and fresh water is a genuinely scarce resource on Lanzarote in a way it simply isn’t back home. None of this means depriving yourself on holiday, but a few small habits make a difference and are appreciated by the island: not leaving taps running while you brush your teeth, keeping showers reasonable rather than marathon, reusing pool and beach towels rather than having them changed daily, and reporting any dripping taps or running toilets in your accommodation to the owner or reception.
It’s the same common sense you’d apply anywhere, just with a little more meaning in a place where the water on your table started life as seawater.
In Summary
To sum up the whole question: the tap water on Lanzarote is safe to drink, safe for brushing your teeth, safe for showering, safe for cooking, and the ice is safe too. It meets full European standards and is tested regularly. The only real drawback is the taste, which is why the vast majority of locals and visitors drink cheap bottled water instead, stocking up on large containers from the supermarket. Take a little extra care over water for babies by choosing a low-mineral bottled water and following your usual guidance, be mindful that fresh water is a scarce resource on the island, and otherwise don’t give it another thought. A few euros on bottled water and you’re sorted for the whole trip.
