Boat trips with kids on Lanzarote – what's the minimum age?
Updated September 6, 2026 · 6 min read
The question comes up before every booking, and the honest answer starts with a number. We went through all 206 trips bookable on Lanzarote. Exactly one names a minimum age in its description – a buggy adventure from Puerto del Carmen, from age 8 accompanied by an adult. That is not a boat trip.
For boats, that means the limit isn’t in the overview at all – it sits in the terms of participation on each operator’s own site. It varies from operator to operator, it changes, and it often depends on the boat type rather than the calendar. Check before you book. Anyone relying on a general answer – including this one – risks being turned away at the jetty.
What you get here instead are the three things that actually decide how well a trip goes on this island.
1. The boat type matters more than the age
Speedboat. The shortest and cheapest trip on the island is a dolphin tour by speedboat from Puerto del Carmen: 1.5 hours for €35. It has 2,260 reviews and a rating of 3.8 stars – the lowest of the popular trips covered here. A speedboat rides hard, it sprays, the seats are narrow, and there’s usually no shade. For older children, that’s exactly the appeal. For a child who can’t yet decide for themselves whether they’ll enjoy it, it’s the least forgiving option.
Catamaran. The other extreme. A catamaran sits wide, rolls little, has trampoline nets for lying down, and as a rule shade and a toilet on board. The full-day trip to the Papagayo beaches costs €66 (4.4 stars from 1,062 reviews), with a lunch option at €85 and 4.8 stars. If it’s a child’s first time spending any length of time on the water, this is the most forgiving build. All these trips are covered under Catamaran to Papagayo.
The ferry. Órzola to La Graciosa takes around 25 minutes and costs €29 return. Short enough that almost nothing can go wrong – but the El Río strait lies open to the wind, and in a northerly the boat moves noticeably. Anyone wanting to test whether their child likes being on a boat should test it here, not on a six-hour tour. What’s waiting on the other side is covered in The north of Lanzarote.
The submarine. In Puerto Calero, a genuine diving boat goes down to 30 metres, one hour, €65, 4.6 stars from 1,394 reviews. It’s the only trip on the water where swimming plays no part and nobody gets wet. Find it under Boat trips and submarine.
2. Duration, and how much of it children can take
Boat trips on Lanzarote fall into three lengths, and the differences are bigger than the numbers suggest:
1.5 to 2 hours. The dolphin trips from Puerto del Carmen and the mini-cruise from Playa Blanca to Papagayo (€35, 4.7 stars). This is the length at which even a child who gets bored partway through doesn’t end up in real distress.
2.5 to 4 hours. The evening dolphin trip (€53, 2.5 hours) or a half-day catamaran trip with a swim stop. Here you need a reason to stay on board – a jump into the water, food, something to do.
6 hours or more. The island tour around La Graciosa with lunch (€66, 4.5 stars from 2,006 reviews) or the full-day sailing trip (€72). These are wonderful days out for families with older children and long days for everyone else. With a toddler on board, the return leg is the part everyone remembers afterwards – and rarely fondly. More on this in Lanzarote with a toddler.
3. The trade wind – the factor unique to Lanzarote
This is where this island differs from Mallorca or the Algarve. The north-east trade wind blows here almost year-round, and it picks up as the day goes on. Two practical rules follow from that:
Mornings are calmer than afternoons. A trip at ten and the same trip at four in the afternoon are two different experiences for a child.
The south lies in the wind shadow, the north doesn’t. The Playa Blanca–Papagayo route runs along a coast sheltered by the land. Trips from Puerto del Carmen and everywhere north of it are more exposed. When the forecast calls for a strong northerly, the south isn’t the nicer starting point – it’s the only sensible one.
What’s on board – and what you need to ask
None of the short descriptions in our listings say anything about shade, a toilet, or life jackets in children’s sizes. It’s common for operators to carry life jackets in several sizes; you shouldn’t count on it without asking. The same goes for a shaded spot on smaller boats – often there isn’t one.
Three questions to ask the operator before booking:
- From what age can children come along, and is there an exception if accompanied?
- Are there life jackets in my child’s size?
- Is there shade and a toilet on board?
We don’t give advice on seasickness. It happens, more often on speedboats than on catamarans, and anyone wanting to prevent it should ask a pharmacist or their child’s doctor.
When a boat trip is the wrong choice
When the wind is strong and the trip runs anyway. When nobody in the family knows how the child reacts to rolling motion, and the shortest trip available lasts two and a half hours. And when the real goal is a beach – in which case driving to Papagayo along the track (€3 per vehicle) is the shorter route to the same water.
Two alternatives that work well on this island: the submarine in Puerto Calero, if getting out on the water is non-negotiable, and a kayak and SUP tour from €45 off Papagayo for older children who’d rather do something themselves than sit.
For an overview across all ages, see Lanzarote with kids; for the youngest, Lanzarote with a baby. Everything bookable is listed under Dolphin watching and Things to do on Lanzarote.