A Complete Guide to Driving in Lanzarote for First-Time Visitors
Hiring a car is easily the best way to see Lanzarote. The island is small, the roads are modern and well maintained, and the distances are short enough that nowhere feels like a trek. The volcanic interior, the wine country, the quiet northern villages and the best of the beaches all open up the moment you have your own wheels. That said, if you’re used to driving in the UK or Ireland, there are a handful of differences worth getting your head around before you set off, from which side of the road you’re on to the rules the Guardia Civil will actually stop you for. None of it is difficult, but a little preparation makes the whole thing painless. Here’s what you need to know.
Here in Lanzarote, You Drive on the Right
The obvious one first. In Lanzarote, as in the rest of Spain and mainland Europe, you drive on the right-hand side of the road. For anyone coming from the UK or Ireland this takes a bit of getting used to, but it clicks faster than you’d expect, especially with the steady flow of traffic to follow on the busier roads. The moments that catch people out are the quiet ones: pulling out of a petrol station, leaving a car park, or turning onto an empty village street with no other traffic to remind you which side to be on. Those are the times to pause and consciously check. A useful habit is to remember that the driver always sits nearest the centre of the road, so if you find yourself hugging the kerb with the gearstick on the wrong side, something has gone wrong.
Getting Used to the Car
Most hire cars on Lanzarote are left-hand drive, meaning the steering wheel is on the left and you change gear with your right hand. If you’ve only ever driven a right-hand-drive car it feels alien for the first ten minutes and completely normal by the end of the first day. The pedals are in the same order, so that’s one less thing to think about. The single most common fumble is reaching for the gearstick and finding the door instead, followed by turning on the windscreen wipers when you meant to indicate, since those stalks are often reversed too. Consider an automatic if the idea of changing gear with the wrong hand doesn’t appeal, as they’re widely available and take that particular complication off the table entirely. Give yourself a few quiet minutes in the hire car park to adjust the mirrors and seat and get your bearings before pulling out into traffic.
Understanding Roundabouts in Lanzarote
Roundabouts work the same way they do across Europe, but in the mirror image of the UK. Traffic flows anticlockwise, you give way to vehicles already on the roundabout coming from your left, and you enter when there’s a safe gap. The thing that trips up British drivers is lane discipline. The Spanish convention, and the safest approach, is to stay in the outside (right-hand) lane if you’re taking one of the earlier exits, and only use the inner lane for going most or all of the way around. Signal right as you approach your exit. Lanzarote has plenty of roundabouts, particularly on the faster roads around Arrecife and the airport, and they generally flow well as long as you commit and don’t hesitate in the middle of one.
Speed Limits in Lanzarote
Speed limits on Lanzarote follow the standard Spanish system and are given in kilometres per hour, not miles, so keep an eye on your speedometer if you’re mentally converting. As a rough guide, the limit is 120 km/h on the island’s fastest dual-carriageway sections such as the LZ-2 and LZ-3 around Arrecife, 90 km/h on the main open interurban roads, and 50 km/h in built-up areas, dropping to 30 km/h on single-lane urban roads and as low as 20 km/h in some residential and pedestrian-priority zones. The 30 km/h urban default catches a lot of visitors out, so assume 30 in towns and villages unless a sign tells you otherwise. Limits are clearly signed, and the Guardia Civil use both fixed cameras and mobile radar, so it pays to stick to them. Fines for speeding are issued on the spot to non-residents and typically run from around €100 upwards depending on how far over you were.
Drink and Drug Limits in Lanzarote
This is the one to take seriously. Spain’s drink-drive limit is lower than in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, currently set at 0.5 grams of alcohol per litre of blood, or 0.25 milligrams per litre of breath. That’s roughly a single small drink for many people, and a proposed reduction to an even stricter 0.2 g/l has been under discussion, so the sensible and simple approach is not to drink at all if you’re driving. The penalties are steep, starting at a €500 fine and rising sharply, and at higher readings drink-driving becomes a criminal offence carrying possible prison, a driving ban and a permanent record. There is a zero-tolerance approach to drugs. Crucially, refusing a breath or drug test is itself a serious criminal offence, so it’s never a way out. Bear in mind too that alcohol from a heavy night before can easily still put you over the limit at breakfast, so a morning drive isn’t the clean slate people assume.
Guardia Civil Checkpoints
You will very likely see a Guardia Civil traffic checkpoint at some point during your stay, and there’s nothing to worry about if your paperwork is in order. They set up routine roadside checks, particularly at weekends, late at night, around fiestas and through the busy summer months, and they don’t need a specific reason to stop you. If you’re waved in, stay calm, be polite, and have your documents ready: your driving licence, your passport or ID, and the car’s hire documents, which live in the glovebox. They may carry out a breath test, which is routine and nothing to be alarmed by if you haven’t been drinking. Checkpoints are a normal part of Spanish road life rather than anything sinister, and the vast majority of visitors pass through them in under a minute.
Appropriate Footwear
A small point that catches people out on a beach holiday. Driving in flip-flops, sliders or bare feet is strongly discouraged and can land you with a fine if an officer considers your footwear compromised your control of the vehicle, and it would certainly count against you in the event of an accident. Loose sandals can slip off and jam under a pedal at exactly the wrong moment. It’s worth keeping a pair of proper closed shoes in the car for driving and saving the flip-flops for the beach itself. The same common sense applies to anything else that might affect your control, from sunglasses you actually need to see in the glare to keeping the car cool enough to concentrate.
Mobile Phones
Using a handheld phone while driving is illegal in Spain and enforced strictly, with heavy fines and licence points for residents. Even touching the phone at the wheel can be enough. If you want to use your phone for navigation, set the route before you set off and mount it in a proper holder, and don’t handle it while moving. Spain’s rules on this are tougher than many visitors expect, and the fines are among the more expensive on the standard list, so keep the phone out of your hands entirely while the car is in motion.
What You Must Carry in the Car
Spanish law requires every vehicle to carry certain items, and your hire car should come equipped with them, but it’s worth a quick check when you collect it. You must have a reflective hi-vis vest within reach of the driver, not in the boot, so you can put it on before getting out if you break down. One genuinely new change for 2026 is that the old red warning triangles have been officially replaced by a connected V-16 emergency beacon, a small light you place on the roof of the car that signals your location automatically. Hire cars should now carry the V-16 rather than triangles, but confirm it’s there when you pick the car up. You should also always carry your physical driving licence and passport, as digital photos are not accepted, along with the car’s paperwork.
Lanzarote Hire Car Companies and Insurance
Local Lanzarote hire companies are generally better value than the big international chains, and booking in advance secures both a better price and the car you actually want, particularly in peak season when demand is high. The most important thing to understand is the insurance. Hire cars come with a basic level of cover, but this almost always carries a large excess, meaning the amount you’d have to pay towards any damage before the insurance kicks in. Hire desks will offer to sell you their own excess-waiver product at the counter, often at a hefty daily rate. A cheaper alternative many regular travellers use is a standalone car hire excess insurance policy bought separately before you travel, which covers the same risk for a fraction of the price. Whichever route you choose, take photographs of the car from every angle before you drive off, including any existing scratches and dents, and make sure they’re logged on the rental agreement, so there’s no dispute when you return it.
The Unpaved Road Trap
One specific warning that catches out visitors heading to the island’s wilder corners. Many Lanzarote hire agreements explicitly exclude driving on unpaved or dirt roads, and if you take the car somewhere it isn’t insured to go and something happens, the recovery and repair costs land entirely on you. The most common place this bites is the dirt track down to the Papagayo beaches, but it applies to any of the rough tracks across the island. Check your specific agreement before you head off-road, and if in doubt, don’t. The paved roads reach almost everywhere worth going anyway.
Driving in Lanzarote
The roads themselves are a pleasure to drive, but a few local quirks are worth knowing. The trade winds can be genuinely strong, particularly on the exposed roads in the north and west of the island, so keep a firm hold of the wheel and expect the occasional buffet on open stretches. Fuel is cheaper on Lanzarote than in mainland Spain and much of Europe, so filling up is one of the pleasant surprises of driving here. Parking is generally straightforward and often free outside the busiest resort centres, though take the usual care not to leave anything valuable visible in the car. And finally, allow a little extra time on the roads around the airport, Arrecife and the main resorts during peak season, when the traffic can build. Beyond that, driving on Lanzarote is one of the real joys of a holiday here, and the freedom it gives you to explore the island properly is well worth the small adjustment of getting behind the wheel on the other side of the road.
