Things to do in La Palma
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit La Palma
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best overall with September and October: long days, reliable hiking and tajinaste bloom on the high rim in late spring.
Connoisseur's pick: warmest sea, harvest and wine season, thinning crowds and shoulder prices.
Winter still works, prime paragliding and year round whales, but rain spells, cold high trails and rough seas closing pools.
Hottest, busiest and priciest, best for sea swimming and festivals, start exposed volcanic hikes at dawn.
What's on
- Los Indianos Carnival Monday, 8 Feb in 2027
Island's biggest party: white linen, Panama hats, Cuban music and talcum powder in Santa Cruz. Book months ahead.
- Bajada de la Virgen de las Nieves 29 June to 5 Aug, every 5 years, next 2030
Defining fiesta with processions, concerts and the Danza de los Enanos as the patron is brought down to Santa Cruz.
- Transvulcania May, typically
World class trail running festival over the island spine, about 73 km from Fuencaliente lighthouse to Los Llanos.
- Fiesta de la Cruz 3 May and May weekends
Neighbourhood crosses decorated with flowers and jewellery across Santa Cruz and Breña Alta.
- Corpus Christi, Villa de Mazo May/June
Famous floral and salt carpets and arches, the island's craft fiesta highlight.
- San Mauro romería, Puntagorda August
One of the best known summer romerías, with traditional dress, music and food stalls.
Best things to do in La Palma
Caldera de Taburiente National Park
The island's defining crater: La Cumbrecita viewpoints or the long Los Brecitos descent past Cascada de Colores.
Roque de los Muchachos
Highest point on the island at 2,426 m, with observatories, rim walks and views to Tenerife, La Gomera and El Hierro.
Santa Cruz de la Palma
Prettiest capital in the Canaries: Calle Real, Plaza de España, the Balcones and the Barco de la Virgen museum.
Volcán Tajogaite
Europe's newest volcanic landscape from the 2021 eruption, reached only on authorised guided trails.
Cascada de Los Tilos
Short family walk through ancient laurel forest to a tall waterfall, with a good visitor centre.
Salinas de Fuencaliente
Working pink and white salt pans between two lighthouses, with black lava fields running to the sea.
Piscinas de La Fajana
Three large lava pools with steps and shade, rated above Charco Azul for space and a full afternoon swim.
Charco Azul
The famous turquoise natural pool with a small waterfall, more iconic but smaller and busier than La Fajana.
Where to stay in La Palma
Los Llanos de Aridane and the sunny west (Tazacorte and El Paso)
most visitors, most of the year
Largest real town, sunniest side, best restaurants and shortest drives to caldera, Tajogaite tours and Tazacorte port.
Santa Cruz de la Palma
first nights, short stays, no car
Prettiest streets, best historic hotels, closest to airport and ferry, walkable everything, but wetter and cloudier.
Los Cancajos
families, resort style base
Low key beach resort with sheltered coves, dive centres and easy airport logistics, but the least local character.
Puerto Naos
west beach resort stays
Best west beach, paraglider landings and sunset facing resort stock, reopened since 2024 under CO2 monitoring.
Fuencaliente and Los Canarios
volcano, wine and salt pan lovers
Quiet, rural and dark skied base for Ruta walkers, a two night add on rather than a sole first trip base.
Rural north (Puntagorda, Garafía, Barlovento)
second visits, retreats, trailheads
Finca stays, silence and stars, but long drives to everything else, few places to eat and the wettest weather.
Think twice about
- Puerto Naos and La Bombilla
Reopened and monitored after volcanic CO2 pooling evacuated it for over two years. Anyone with respiratory vulnerability should base in Los Llanos or Tazacorte and visit by day.
- Tajogaite exclusion surroundings (Las Norias, Todoque, La Laguna)
Destroyed and evacuated eruption zones, not neighbourhoods. There is no visitor accommodation there and roads cross the lava with no stopping.
- High north in mid-winter without a car
Not dangerous, just wet, cold at altitude, early dark and bus poor. The mismatch with pretty finca photos is the main accommodation trap.
Best restaurants in La Palma
El Duende del Fuego
The island's most talked about kitchen: organic slow food from Palmero produce by chef Pedro J. Hernández.
Restaurante Chipi-Chipi
Capital institution and garden grill house famous for grilled meats, generous Canarian plates and a room full of locals.
Jardín de la Sal
Glass walled lunch restaurant on the salt pans, eating fish from this coast with flor de sal harvested metres away.
La Casa del Volcán
Canarian cooking beside the San Antonio volcano centre, with one of the south's best local wine lists.
Enriclai
Creative modern end of Los Llanos dining, tasting style plates with local ingredients and fine dining technique.
Tasca Catalina
Tapas only family terrace with valley and sunset views, Mediterranean small plates and a good vegetarian range.
Cervecería Isla Verde
Craft beer brewery restaurant with house ales, hearty pub Canarian food and a garden on the north west road.
La Isla de Goya
Seafront tapas bar under the Balcones with weekly changing sharing plates, Iberian ham, mussels and mojo verde.
Outdoor things to do in La Palma
Ruta de los Volcanes
Signature volcanic spine walk from El Pilar over a chain of craters to Los Canarios and Fuencaliente.
Nacientes de Marcos y Cordero
Adventure hike along a water channel through 13 tunnels to the Marcos and Cordero springs, then down through laurel forest.
AstroLaPalma
Established local stargazing specialist with telescope sessions and Starlight guides at astronomical viewpoints.
OceanExplorer La Palma
Marine biologist led small boat whale and dolphin trips from Tazacorte, with responsible watching and data collection.
Fancy II
Larger glass bottom catamaran from Tazacorte, better for nervous sailors and families wanting facilities and shade.
Blue Magma Diving
Well rated Tazacorte dive centre for lava formations, arches and caves including the Malpique underwater crosses.
Puerto Naos
Tandem paragliding over banana terraces and the west coast, landing around Puerto Naos, the island's adrenaline splurge.
La Palma Outdoor
Guided uplift mountain bike days with hire and a guide, on steep volcanic descents for confident intermediates and up.
Best hotels in La Palma
Hotel Hacienda de Abajo
Converted 17th century sugar hacienda in banana gardens, the island's one true luxury standout, adults only.
Parador de La Palma
State Parador above Los Cancajos in large tropical gardens, with pool, ocean views and a Canarian restaurant.
Faro de Punta Cumplida
Sleep in a working 1867 lighthouse in the far north east, with a handful of suites, infinity pool and total isolation.
Meliá La Palma
Big west coast beachfront resort with large heated pools, the easiest family week on the island when fully open.
H10 Taburiente Playa
Large dependable beach resort 300 m from Los Cancajos beach, booked for location, facilities and price.
Hotel Benahoare
Well run town hotel two minutes from the centre of Los Llanos, the sensible walkers' base in the best base town.
El Hotelito 27
Small family run design hotel in the capital, singled out for location and breakfast, the east side boutique mid pick.
Apartamentos La Palma Affiliated by Meliá
Self catering sibling to the Meliá in Puerto Naos, suited to longer and family stays.
Is La Palma expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €60 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €115 a person |
| Splurge | €250 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Caldera de Taburiente National Park: weeks ahead
- Roque de los Muchachos: a few days ahead
- Volcán Tajogaite: a few days ahead
- AstroLaPalma: a few days ahead
- OceanExplorer La Palma: a few days ahead
- Fancy II: a few days ahead
- Blue Magma Diving: a few days ahead
- Puerto Naos: a few days ahead
- La Cumbrecita parking reservation is required for car access, book as soon as dates are fixed.
- Tajogaite guided tours, days ahead in season, and match the operator to the language day.
- Reserve El Duende del Fuego, Enriclai and Jardín de la Sal: small rooms and short sittings.
- Book whale watching and stargazing early in your stay so weather rebooks are possible, and book stargazing around the moon.
Is La Palma safe?
- Crime is very low, normal town precautions suffice including at night.
- The real risk is the Atlantic: heed flags and pool closures and treat Nogales and unsheltered beaches as current prone.
- Carry water on trails, assume none on route, and respect national park and volcano exclusion boundaries.
- Follow Puerto Naos CO2 detector signage and official guidance, and use sunscreen at altitude at the Roque.
La Palma travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Expecting a Canary beach resort island: no golden sand resort strip, waterparks, nightlife strip or golf course.
- Playa de Puerto Naos as a default without the CO2 context: reopened and monitored is not the same as nothing happened.
- Roque by car at midday in cloud: early mornings and settled high pressure days are the play.
- Los Tilos and Marcos y Cordero after rain without checking closures: barriers mean it.
Getting around La Palma: public transport and more
- Car hire is the default: the island is steep, sights are dispersed and buses are infrequent off main axes.
- Budget driving time at roughly double what distance suggests: Santa Cruz to Los Llanos about 40 minutes, to Roque 75 to 90 minutes.
- Buses work for Santa Cruz, Los Cancajos, airport, Los Llanos, Puerto Naos and Tazacorte corridors and linear hike logistics.
- Taxis are part of the hiking system for Los Brecitos, Ruta returns and Marcos y Cordero. Book trailhead pickups in advance.
Who La Palma suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make La Palma your trip
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