← Maratón de Corralejo·2 nights

Playa Blanca, Lanzarote: Across the Strait

Two nights on Lanzarote's southern tip, a short ferry ride from the Corralejo finish, with a flat seafront promenade, the Papagayo coves and a drive to the volcanoes of Timanfaya before flying home from Arrecife.

Duration2 nights
TransitFerry, about 30 minutes from Corralejo to Playa Blanca
DepartsCorralejo ferry port

After the Maratón de Corralejo: Playa Blanca, Lanzarote

The Route: Corralejo → Playa Blanca → Timanfaya → Lanzarote Airport Logistics: Ferry across the strait, then a hire car on Lanzarote. Fly home from Lanzarote, not Fuerteventura. Marathon Month: December Duration: 2 nights

Corralejo ──(about 30 mins by ferry)──> Playa Blanca ──(about 30 mins by car)──> Timanfaya
                                              │
            Lanzarote Airport (ACE) ◄──(about 35 mins by car)──┘

The Maratón de Corralejo finishes a few hundred metres from the ferry port, and Lanzarote is visible across the strait. Taking the boat and flying home from Lanzarote adds a second island without adding travel time at the end.

December on Lanzarote is mild and dry, with sunny afternoons warm enough for the beach and cooler, windy evenings. It is high season for winter-sun holidays, so book hotels and the hire car early.

Fred. Olsen Express and Naviera Armas run ferries between Corralejo and Playa Blanca, the crossing taking about 30 minutes, with several sailings a day. Book on their websites. Winter wind occasionally cancels sailings; do not take the last boat before a flight.

Nights One and Two: Playa Blanca

Playa Blanca was a fishing village and is now Lanzarote's southern resort, built along the coast facing Fuerteventura.

The seafront promenade is the recovery walk: paved, level and several kilometres long, running from the ferry port past the town beaches to Marina Rubicón, a marina with restaurants and a Wednesday and Saturday market. Benches and cafés line the way.

East of the town, the Papagayo beaches are a string of small coves of pale sand between cliffs, within a protected area reached by an unpaved road with a small charge for cars. The coves are sheltered and the water calm; the paths down from the car parks are short but steep.

On the second day, drive about 30 minutes north to the Timanfaya National Park, the lava fields of the eruptions of the 1730s. Visitors drive to the Islote de Hilario, where staff demonstrate the heat just below the surface, and take a coach tour along the Ruta de los Volcanes, which needs no walking at all. Check opening times and whether entry needs booking.

Where to stay. Princesa Yaiza Suite Hotel Resort is on the seafront between the town and Marina Rubicón. H10 Rubicón Palace is a large resort above Marina Rubicón.

Where to eat. The restaurants around Marina Rubicón and along the promenade serve fish, Canarian tapas and wrinkled potatoes with mojo. In Timanfaya, the park's restaurant cooks meat over the volcanic heat of the ground.

Getting to Lanzarote Airport

Lanzarote Airport (ACE), near Arrecife, is about 35 minutes from Playa Blanca by car. Drop the hire car at the terminal. It has direct flights to many UK airports.