MapSpainPlaya Honda, LanzaroteSpain

Playa Honda, Lanzarote

advancedbuzzing scenecar neededbudget to mid

Windiest modelled monthJuly · 81% of days · Playa HondaThe short answers

On this page

The short answers
Good to know before you go
Conditions
Schools
Getting there
- Nearest airports
- Kite bag rules for your airline
Practical
Riders
Scene
- History & trivia
Itinerary idea
FAQ
How this place scores

The feel of the place

A quiet, practical town right next to the airport rather than a resort destination - useful as a reliable backup on southeast-wind days, but it's best treated as a convenient add-on to a wider Lanzarote trip, not a reason to base a whole holiday there.

The short answers

The essentials before the detail

When to come

no month named

January, 0 spots in season.
February, 0 spots in season.
March, 0 spots in season.
April, 0 spots in season.
May, 0 spots in season.
June, 0 spots in season.
July, 0 spots in season.
August, 0 spots in season.
September, 0 spots in season.
October, 0 spots in season.
November, 0 spots in season.
December, 0 spots in season.

Filled months: the season the spot here names. None of them names a season, which is why no month is lit.

Windiest modelled month

July · 81% of days · Playa Honda

The month the wind model rates highest; the season above is when riders and schools go.

modelled

days with three hours in a row at 12 kt or more, between 06:00 and 19:00 local, in July at Playa Honda, the strongest month any spot here models

A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.

What it costs

Budget to mid - generally cheaper than the Balearics

Menú del día roughly €10-13

Schools

in the directory

Getting there

1 airport

car effectively required

Getting there & around

Permits & rules

1 spot

with a rule of its own for permits, zoning or the bathing season, on the conditions below

The rule at each spot

Where to ride

1 spot

mixed water

Levels this spot suits

intermediateadvanced

The conditions in full

Good to know before you go 2

Playa Honda's whole appeal is the southeast-wind backup option and airport convenience - there's little reason to base a full trip here without exploring the rest of the island.
Being right by the airport means some road and plane noise.

Conditions

1 spot · Playa Honda

Getting on the water Rules & access Wind Water

Playa Honda is the beach you drive to when the wind goes east and Famara is wrong, on the southeast coast of Lanzarote right beside Cesar Manrique-Lanzarote Airport.

Wind and timing

East is the useful direction; west is offshore here and not worth a thought. The easterly is thermal and short, filling in through the middle of the day and sometimes gone in an hour, so check the station and drive rather than committing a day to it.

Water and riding

The water goes deep almost at once off the sand, which suits nobody still learning, and rock shows as the tide drops, so high water is the better twin-tip window. It runs 15-25 kt when it works, gusty, on 8-12 m, and the surface is flat to choppy depending on exactly where you launch.

Access and rules

There is 1.3 km of golden sand with parking and a promenade, and the appeal is convenience: airport, town, quick session. Municipal beach rules separate the bathing zone from the boat entry with a buoy line and no kite-specific 2026 map has been published, so where that line sits is the question on the day. Keep well clear of the airport boundary with a kite up.

Getting on the water

The launchSandy launch beside Playa Honda and La Concha, minutes from the airport, with promenade, parking and short walk-on access from the LZ-2. About 1.3 km of golden sand, so there is room to lay lines out. The vehicle ramp for carrying craft to the water is at the south end of the Guacimeta section.

Room to rigok

If it goes wrongHigh season only, and general rather than kite-specific: a staffed lifeguard post with a homologated watchtower, flag signalling for sea state, Local Police and a municipal emergency plan. No rescue craft is based on this beach and nothing covers kiters out of season. Ride inside your self-rescue range and use 112.

Rules & access

1 min read

2014 (San Bartolome beach ordinance, definitive text as amended 8 October 2014): the municipality catalogues three beaches - Playa Honda 1, Playa Honda 2 and Guacimeta - all classed as free beaches usable for bathing, nautical sports and other recreation under the ordinance.

Bathing zone

The exclusive bathing zone runs from Playa Honda 1 to the buoy line that marks the boat entry and exit; inside it, sport and recreational navigation and any floating craft whatever its propulsion are prohibited, and so is fishing.

Coastal band

That buoyage sits within a 200 m coastal band where navigation is banned or limited to 3 knots, and on unbuoyed stretches the whole 200 m strip counts as bathing water.

Vehicles and gear

Beaching or storing boats, surf and windsurf boards, jet skis and the like outside the signed areas is an offence and the gear can be removed at the owner's cost. Vehicles carrying craft must use the ramp at the south end of Guacimeta and cannot linger on the sand.

Events and lifeguards

Nautical competitions and organised events need municipal authorisation. Lifeguard cover is high season only.

Kite access

No kite-specific zone or map has been published, so the practical question on the day is where the buoy line sits.

Wind

Charactermixed wind

Average13 knots annual average at Lanzarote Airport weather station, based on observations from 2000-10-01 to 2026-07-31.

Typical15-25 kt when the easterly setup comes together, gusty throughout; the island's general trade-wind days sit nearer a steady 18 kt, but that is Famara's number rather than this beach's.

Dominant directionNNE in the Lanzarote Airport statistics, but for riding here it is E, and sometimes S or SE.

Angle to shorecross-onshore

Local nameAlisios / NE trade wind for Lanzarote generally; Playa Honda itself is mainly an E wind backup and thermal E-wind spot.

Fills inThe useful easterly is thermal and short. It tends to come in through the middle of the day and can last as little as an hour before fading, so this is a check-the-station-then-drive spot rather than one to commit a day to.

Kite sizes8-12 m across the usable 15-25 kt easterly, with 10 m the everyday size for a 75-85 kg rider on the island's steadier 18 kt days. Because the wind here is gusty when it works, take the smaller end of what the average suggests.

QualityGusty and opportunistic rather than a primary reliable trade-wind spot.

SeasonLanzarote kiting is steadier in summer on the NE trades, but Playa Honda mainly works when the wind swings east, which happens less often than the standard Famara setup. No best-month table exists for this beach.

Water

Typemixed water

Standing depthNo beginner shelf. The water deepens almost at once off the sand, which leaves no walking-out area and no useful shore break.

TidesAtlantic range, and it visibly moves the waterline: the neighbouring Guacimeta stretch measures 91 m wide at high water and 116.5 m at low. High tide is the better twin-tip window because more rock shows as the water drops. Arrecife, 5 km away, is the reference tide station.

Summer, °C: 22.4
Winter, °C: 18.3

WetsuitShorty or normal wetsuit in spring/summer/autumn and normal wetsuit in winter; also summarized as 18–22 °C water with a 3/2 mm wetsuit.

NotesAccounts split between flat water and chop, with mirror-flat water reported next door at La Concha and El Cable. Flat to choppy depending on the exact launch, the tide and the wind is the honest reading, with some rock showing at lower tide.El Cable and Playa Honda are also described as a sheltered reef or point wave that only works on the right swell, so this is no lagoon.

Schools

3 in the directory

Kitesurfing in Lanzarote

Doeslessons · accommodation · camp

RidesPlaya Honda

SpeaksEnglish

kitesurfinginlanzarote.com

Lanzarote Surf

IKOFKI

Doeslessons · camp

RidesPlaya Honda

SpeaksEnglish · Spanish

lanzarotesurf.com

Kite Coach Lanzarote

IKO

Doeslessons · foil

RidesPlaya Honda

SpeaksEnglish

kitecoachlanzarote.com

Getting there & around

Nearest airports

Lanzarote Airport / Arrecife (ACE) · just a few minutes away, the closest kite spot on the island to the airport

Car

Car neededYes, to see the rest of the island (Timanfaya, the wine region, Manrique sites) - Playa Honda itself is walkable.

Transfers

Short taxi ride or a few minutes' drive from arrivals.

Road quirksRoundabout-heavy island roads through volcanic terrain; speed bumps through villages.

Kite bag rules for your airline

Type the carrier you are flying: what it charges for a kite bag, and the year of the policy that says so.

Your airline

Checked so far for Spain:easyJet

Every carrier, with limits and what riders report at the counter →

Practical

Language: Spanish
Visa: Schengen

CostsBudget to mid - generally cheaper than the BalearicsMenú del día roughly €10-13Rental cars affordable but book ahead in high season

Seasons beyond windMild, 'eternal spring' climate year-round makes it a winter-sun destination; occasional Calima events bring Saharan dust and stronger, hazier wind.

Cash & cards

MoneyEuro; Canary Islands use IGIC rather than mainland VAT

Internet & working

SIM & internetGood coverage

Health & safety

Safety: Very safe
Health: Hospital in Arrecife

What riders say

4 recurring claims

The tag says how far the riders who mention it agree; the figure is how many mention it.

Playa Honda is mainly the other-side option when Famara is wrong. Riders point to east or south wind days, not the normal trade-wind pattern, so it is a backup more than a base.
consensus4 riders
The water is flatter and easier than Famara, with enough beach to launch, but people still describe it as ordinary rather than a dream spot.
majority3 riders
Wind quality is the weak link: the useful direction can be gusty or brief, and a west shift turns the place offshore.
majority3 riders
The airport is impossible to ignore. Access is quick, but riders keep mentioning the runway as a hard boundary and a reason to stay disciplined with space.
majority3 riders

Scene & life

VibeQuiet, residential, with a notable expat/retiree community rather than a party scene.

Must try

Papas arrugadas con mojo
Fresh fish
Malvasía wine from the volcanic-soil La Geria vineyards

Rider hangoutsPromenade cafés in Playa Honda, or a short drive into Arrecife

ActivitiesWalking or cycling the Playa Honda promenade

Day trips

Timanfaya National Park (volcanic landscape)
La Geria vineyards (vines grown in individual pits of volcanic ash)
César Manrique sites - Jameos del Agua, Mirador del Río, Cueva de los Verdes
Playa Papagayo in the south

Pairs withA round-island road trip built around César Manrique's architecture and the volcanic interior.

Solo-friendlyYes, safe and easy.

Après-kiteA handful of low-key promenade bars and restaurants

Kite + workSome, given easy flights and mild climate, though Puerto del Carmen/Arrieta are more social hubs.

History & trivia

3 items

Lanzarote's low-rise, billboard-free aesthetic across the island is due to the influence of artist/architect César Manrique.
Timanfaya's volcanic eruptions occurred 1730-1736 and again in 1824, shaping the island's black lava landscape.
La Geria's vineyards use a unique method of planting vines in individual pits dug into volcanic ash (picón) to trap moisture.

Itinerary idea

Use Playa Honda for an easy airport-adjacent session on southeast-wind days, and base the rest of the trip in Puerto del Carmen or Playa Blanca for island touring.

FAQ

When does Playa Honda work best?

It functions mainly as a backup for southeast-wind days, complementing Lanzarote's more usual NNE trade-wind spots elsewhere on the island.

Do you need a car?

Yes, to see the rest of Lanzarote such as Timanfaya and the wine region, though Playa Honda itself is within walking distance of where you'd stay.

Where should you base yourself?

Puerto del Carmen, about 10-15 minutes away, offers more restaurants and nightlife than Playa Honda's quiet, practical setting.

How close is the airport?

Playa Honda sits a few minutes from Lanzarote Airport (ACE), making it the closest kite spot on the island to arrivals.

How this place scores

Scores out of 10, compared with other places. The data figure under each label is how much of this record that score had to work from, so a high score on thin data is a thin score.

Flat waterdata 100%6.1
Off the waterdata 100%6.0
Room on the waterdata 62%5.4
Long staydata 31%5.3
Beginner friendlydata 88%4.0
Ease of accessdata 27%4.0
Kite communitydata 87%4.0
Familydata 100%3.8
Wind reliabilitydata 10%3.4
Safetydata 88%3.2
Wavesdata 100%1.4
Affordabilitydata 0%not scored

A paler bar was scored from less than half of the record.

Scores by trip type

Freestyle and flat waterdata 90%4.9
Learning to ridedata 90%4.6
Kite and workdata 80%4.4
Family tripdata 100%4.2
Wavesdata 100%2.8

Nothing here carries a figure for affordability, so every line above is built without it.

When to go and nearby places

Last updated: 4 September 2026