La Palma is such an amazing island and a hidden gem of the Canary Islands. Not only for the volcano, but it has also truly been one of the most breathtaking trips I’ve ever done. I hope you like our La Palma itinerary!
In our case, we traveled to La Palma when Cumbre Vieja’s volcano had its biggest volcanic activity, so we organized our La Palma itinerary to take the best from this phenomenon (photographically speaking). In the beginning, we felt bad for visiting a volcano that was destroying lots of houses and jobs, but when we met the locals, they emphasized that La Palma needs help. And tourism IS in fact help.
Overview: 4 Days in La Palma Itinerary
Here is an overview of an ideal 4 days in La Palma Itinerary, with my recommendations of places to visit in this order:
- Day 1: El Paso (Volcano)
- Day 2: Porís de Candelaria
- Day 3: Roque de Los Muchachos
- Day 4: Los Tilos Waterfall & Charco Azul
Our Epic 4 Days La Palma Itinerary
Day 1: El Paso (Volcano’s lava fields)
We arrived at 6 pm at the airport and rented a car there. We then headed to El Paso, which is the closest town to Cumbre Vieja’s volcano.
It was raining ash, all the time, so I highly recommend you dress up! We walked around El Paso’s surroundings, searching for different lookouts to the lava fields. The visibility was not the best on day 1, but just listening to the sound of the volcano was already really impressive.
Day 2: West of La Palma
Porís de Candelaria
During the day, the lava is not visible, so we went to discover the west side of La Palma. We had an amazing lunch at Isla Verde, (which we highly recommend!) and went all the way down a very extreme road to a town located within a cave.
The town is Porís de Candelaria, and it’s one of the best things to do in La Palma.
This is a must for your La Palma itinerary.
Roque de Los Muchachos
In the afternoon, we went all the way up to Roque de Los Muchachos mountain (2.426m!) and pitched the tent at Mirador de Los Andenes, which is a secret spot just for photographers and locals. We had planned this in advance, so we’ve decided to wear some tents with us on the trip. If you like camping, I recommend you have a look at our Patagonia itinerary.
We had a stunning view of the volcano and a clear sky to admire the Milky Way.
Stargazing and Milky Way in Roque de Los Muchachos
In fact, Roque de Los Muchachos is the best place to watch the sky not only in the Canary Islands but in the whole Northern Hemisphere. Camping here has been one of my favorite experiences so far.
Day 3: East of La Palma
Sunrise at Roque de Los Muchachos
As we were in one of the highest spots of the Canary Islands, we decided to hike up to the top of Roque de Los Muchachos to watch the sunrise from there.
This has been one of the best moments of our La Palma itinerary.
Los Tilos Waterfall
Our next stop was Los Tilos, one of the best things to do in La Palma. We did the 2h trekking through the jungle and finally found this amazing waterfall. We absolutely recommend you hike here for your La Palma itinerary.
If you visit Los Tilos, there’s a natural pool nearby called Charco Azul. The water is sooo blue!
Cumbre Vieja Volcano eruption
We didn’t have a place to sleep that night, as all Airbnbs and hotels were full of tourists. But the thing is, the smoke released by the volcano led to cancel all the flights to La Palma, so people were not able to get to the island (and we’ve found a place to sleep in a hostel in El Paso). If you like visiting volcanos, I recommend you have a look at our Iceland itinerary.
So, finally, the gem of the trip: Cumbre Vieja’s biggest volcano eruption.
Day 4: Return
You know those days that you think you’re a lucky person? That was the case. We arrived at La Palma on Friday. Neither Thursday, Saturday nor Sunday was possible to get a flight to La Palma because the ash from the volcano affected negatively the visibility of the planes at the airport. Okay, so Friday (when we arrived) and Monday (when we left) were the only days that the wind blew in the opposite direction to the airport, and that’s how we managed to fly!
La Palma is one of the hidden gems of the Canary Islands, and it will never disappoint you. I’m happy to answer the questions you may have regarding your La Palma itinerary 🙂 If you want to read more about the Canary Islands, check our Fuerteventura itinerary.
Where to stay in La Palma
- Hotel Albergue La Casa Encantada in El Paso (West of La Palma) : Close to Cumbre Vieja Volcano
- La Palma Hostel in Fuencaliente de La Palma (South of La Palma): Visit the wildest part of La Palma with stunning beaches
- Casa Quintana in Tijirafa (West of La Palma): Near Porís de Candelaria
- Hotel La Palma Romántica in Barlovento (North East of La Palma): Near Los Tilos and Charco Azul
Where to eat in La Palma
We had lunch at Isla Verde on our way to Porís de Candelaria and was THE BEST! We highly recommend you take a reservation to have lunch there when you visit La Palma. You will not regret it.
When to Visit La Palma
I spent four days exploring La Palma in the spring soaking in as much as I could of El Paso, Porís de Candelaria, Roque de Los Muchachos, and Los Tilos (from the west to east coast).
The weather in La Palma is nice for most of the year and it never gets sticky. Before you go, choose your favorite swimsuit and empty your phone’s memory space, because you’ll need space for your trip photos!
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