Papagayo (Yaiza): how to get there and today's wind
The Papagayo coves, inside the Los Ajaches natural monument in Yaiza: golden sand, calm water, a dirt track and a toll. How to get there and what to know first.
Papagayo is not one beach: it is a run of coves set between low headlands at the southern tip of the island, inside the Los Ajaches natural monument, in the municipality of Yaiza. The sand is golden and fine — uncommon here — and the water is nearly always still: the coves face south, sheltered from the trade wind that blows from the north all year.
It is the most photographed spot on Lanzarote and it shows: in summer, around midday, the main coves are full. Walk ten minutes further along the path that links them and you will find something quieter — Caleta del Congrio, Playa del Pozo, the cove below Montaña Bermeja.
There are no sunbeds and no lifeguards. There is one beach bar up on the cliff and little else: water, a hat and shoes that cope with hot sand are the minimum kit.
Getting there
From Playa Blanca take the dirt track east: a couple of kilometres of stones, passable in any car but slowly. At the park entrance there is a toll per vehicle. You can also walk along the coast from Playa Blanca (about an hour), or come by boat from Playa Blanca harbour — there are regular summer connections.
Worth knowing
The bottom shelves gently and the water is calm: fine for children. There is no natural shade. Wind, when it comes, curls around the headlands: on a breezy day it is worth checking the live reading before setting off, because here the difference from one cove to the next is real.