Off-road buggy tours on Lanzarote: volcano routes, safari tracks and what may change

"Off-road" on Lanzarote doesn't mean open country, beaches or dunes. It means authorised dirt tracks, linked by stretches of road, always in convoy behind a guide. No tour uses tracks inside Timanfaya National Park, and none of them touches the sand. If you're picturing a desert all to yourself, it's better to adjust that expectation before you pay.

What "off-road" means on a Lanzarote buggy tour

Tours combine three kinds of terrain:

• Dirt tracks between villages, old quarries and farmland. That's where the dust and the bumps come from.
• Local roads to link one track to the next or to cross protected areas.
• Stops on foot: viewpoints, a winery in La Geria, some old lime kilns.

There's no unguided buggy or quad hire on the island: everything runs in convoy. The only motor vehicle you can hire without a guide is H2O's Can-Am Ryker three-wheeler. We explain it in buggy hire.

Which buggy tour has the most off-road?

No company publishes exact kilometres of dirt track. What there is:

The practical takeaway: the north route from Costa Teguise and the 3-hour tour from Puerto Calero describe the most dirt track. Southern tours cross the volcano area by road, so by definition they involve more tarmac. If you just want volcanic scenery without the dust, the on-road buggy is more honest about what it offers.

Lanzarote volcano buggy tours: you see Timanfaya, you don't drive in it

Timanfaya National Park bans all off-road driving. Private vehicles, buggies included, may only use the LZ-67, the road that crosses it, and may not stop on the access road to the Islote. No buggy tour goes onto tracks inside the national park, however much the title says "volcano tour".

Two areas that are often confused with it:

• Parque Natural de Los Volcanes: it surrounds the national park and includes El Cuervo volcano, El Golfo and Los Hervideros. Several tours pass through it and stop at viewpoints such as Los Hervideros.
• Paisaje Protegido de La Geria: the vineyards planted in pits of volcanic gravel (picón). Several tours stop at a winery. Driving off authorised tracks in a protected area is an offence carrying a fine of €600 to €6,000 under Canary Islands law.

And two places that are not buggy destinations: beaches and dunes (Spain's Coastal Law bans driving on beaches; no tour goes into Famara) and Papagayo / Los Ajaches, where a buggy convoy was fined €4,500 in 2025. More detail in dune buggies and beach buggies.

The Cabildo consultation: what may change

On 2 October 2026 the Cabildo de Lanzarote (the island council) opened a one-month public consultation on a provisional island bylaw to regulate buggies, quads, trial, enduro and motocross bikes on dirt tracks and rural land, on Lanzarote and La Graciosa. The aim is a single framework for the whole island that could restrict or ban tourist use of those tracks. The consultation is due to close in early November.

Nothing is banned today. Tours are still running their routes. But the background goes back years:

• Since 2017 Canary Islands law has required each island council to approve an official network of routes for motor vehicles in the countryside, and off that network it bans convoys of more than three vehicles. Lanzarote never approved its network.
• In 2025 the Cabildo warned the town councils that organised tourist buggy or quad excursions on rural land are not permitted, and called for tighter checks.
• In January 2026 the Seprona (the Guardia Civil's environmental unit) caught six buggies in convoy off the tracks in the Barranco de Las Piletas, in Guatiza, and the Cabildo opened disciplinary proceedings.
• In July 2026 the island's councillor for territorial policy said he expected a precautionary ban before August that would keep buggies on tarmac only. It didn't happen: the council opted for the consultation instead.
• Residents of Guatiza complain about dust, noise and the visual impact.

What it means for you: routes with dirt tracks may move onto roads at short notice. If dirt is what you're after, book with free cancellation, read the description just before the tour and ask the operator which route you'll be doing. On GetYourGuide every buggy tour has free cancellation; on the H2O tour, up to 24 hours before.

Safety: what has happened and what to learn

There have been accidents, and it's worth knowing about them before you get in:

• May 2023, Los Roferos de Teseguite (Teguise): during a guided tour, a buggy carrying two tourists left the convoy and the track and fell about 20 metres into a ravine. Both occupants died. The Cabildo said the company complied with the law and held municipal authorisation for the area.
• July 2025, Teguise: a buggy overturned on a dirt track and a 29-year-old man was seriously injured. It isn't known whether it was a tour or a private vehicle.
• 2018, LZ-35 near Montaña Blanca: a collision between a buggy and a van left two people slightly injured.

The lesson is simple: stay in the convoy, at the distance the guide sets, and don't leave the track even if the ground looks easy. Since the equipment rules of 1 October 2026, buggies whose roll cage and seat belts are recorded on their vehicle registration document don't legally require a helmet, but H2O provides one anyway: wear it. On quads and three-wheelers, helmets, closed shoes and gloves on inter-urban roads are compulsory. More tips in what to wear and what to expect.

How to choose: H2O, Buggies Lanzarote or LanzaBuggy

The three companies running two-seat buggies on dirt tracks, compared:

Choose H2O if you're staying in Costa Teguise or the north, want height and views of Famara, or are travelling as a group (it has 4- and 6-seaters). Check dates for the Costa Teguise off-road buggy. Full review: H2O Sports Lanzarote.

Choose Buggies Lanzarote if you're in Puerto del Carmen, Puerto Calero or the south, and want a route with plenty of track through the centre and a stop at a La Geria winery. Going by route and starting point, the GetYourGuide listing belongs to this company: see the 3-hour tour from Puerto Calero. Booking direct on its website works out about €20 cheaper. More in Puerto Calero buggies.

Choose LanzaBuggy if the driver is 18 or 19 (the Trail is the only tour that allows it), if you're staying in Playa Blanca (it has 16 pick-up points there) or if you want more power with the Maverick X3. See the Can-Am Trail or the 3-hour Maverick.

Buggies Lanzarote and LanzaBuggy are separate companies with routes through the same central villages. Full comparison, including road tours, in compare buggy tours.

Dust, wind and other downsides of the tracks

• Dust: a common complaint in reviews of Buggies Lanzarote and LanzaBuggy. You're given goggles; a scarf over your face helps.
• Wind: the trade wind blows most in summer (70% of days in July), and on the northern ridges you feel it through the steering wheel.
• Convoy pace: you follow the guide, with stops. It isn't a race.

Reviewed: 6 October 2026