13 Best Things to Do in La Palma: First-Timers Travel Guide

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The Canary Islands are known for their year-round sunshine and black sand beaches, but there’s far more to La Palma than a simple holiday by the pool!

Often called La Isla Verde (The Green Island), La Palma is unlike anywhere else in the Canary Islands. From volcanic landscapes and ancient forests to colourful villages and black sand beaches, it’s the perfect destination for travellers who want to explore beyond the resort.

If you’re visiting La Palma for the first time, it’s hard to know which places are worth a spot on your La Palma itinerary. After all, you don’t want to spend your holiday driving from one attraction to the next, only to miss the experiences that make the island so special.

I visited La Palma on a hosted trip with Jet2, travelling with a local guide who shared the island’s history, culture and hidden gems along the way. I also had no idea the Canary Islands could be so green until I visited La Palma. It completely changed my perception of the islands, and I left wishing I’d had longer to explore.

In this travel guide, I’ll share the very best things to do in La Palma, from spectacular viewpoints and hiking trails to local food, charming towns and unforgettable experiences, so you can make the most of your first visit.

The 13 Best Things to Do in La Palma

From volcano hikes to quaint towns and local food and drink, this guide takes you beyond the resort to explore the real La Palma! La Palma is a great destination for walking holidays with Jet2 Holidays, so if you love hiking, you’ll love this list!

1. Explore Caldera de Taburiente National Park

If you do nothing else in La Palma, make sure you visit Caldera de Taburiente National Park. Believe me when I say that it is beautiful beyond belief and photos do not do it justice. It’s easy to see why this island is known as La Isla Verde (the Green Island) as it’s much greener than other Canary Islands such as Fuerteventura and Gran Canaria.

The Caldera is right in the centre of the island and is one of the top visitor attractions, and it’s easy to see why.

Standing in the National Park looking down on the Caldera and across the 8km wide valley to Roque de los Muchachos (the highest point on the island), I was blown away by the scale of the ravines covered in pine trees, and just how green it is.

While you can drive to the Mirador de La Cumbrecita to admire the magnificent views, the best way to see the National Park is on foot on one of the many hiking trails.

If you do plan to visit by car, you must make a prior reservation at the parking lot to be allowed through – this is to manage the number of vehicles in the National Park. You can make a reservation online or at the Visitor Centre in El Paso.

2. Visit Roque de los Muchachos and the Observatory

The highest point on La Palma at 2426m, Roque de los Muchachos is one of the best places in the world for stargazing.

The views from the top into the Caldera and across the surrounding mountains are spectacular, but it’s also worth visiting the Observatory (Museo Roque de los Muchachos). At the Observatory, you’ll learn more about the unique atmospheric conditions and minimal light pollution on La Palma that make it a magnet for scientists studying the night sky.

As you make your way from the Observatory to the highest point, you’ll pass dozens of telescopes, all with their own unique purpose, with the largest optical-infrared telescope in the world located right there on the Roque de los Muchachos.

While you can’t see inside the telescopes independently, you can book guided tours which will take you to the Observatory and inside the largest optical-infrared telescope on the planet, the Gran Telescopio Canarias, and to the exterior of the MAGIC and CTA telescopes.

If you’re looking to book a guided tour, I recommend this Roque Observatory & Visitor Centre tour, which is with one of La Palma’s Starlight-certified guides and includes transfers, a full tour and entrance to the Visitor Centre and telescope.

3. Wander the Colourful Streets of Santa Cruz de La Palma

I’ve been to lots of capital cities around the world that all look the same. But Santa Cruz de La Palma has a really unique feel to it due to the intricately carved wooden balconies that decorate the colourful buildings of the Old Town.

Start your tour at the Balcones de la Avenida Marítima to see a row of stunning colourful houses overlooking the ocean, with wooden balconies decorated with vibrant plants.

From there, walk through to Placeta de Borrero, a small square surrounded by colourful buildings, cafes and restaurants, and walk up through the Old Town to the Plaza de España to see the Town Hall and Iglesia Matriz de El Salvador church.

4. Hike to the Tajogaite Volcano

Tajogaite is the newest volcano on the island of La Palma, Canary Islands. The recent eruption in 2021 destroyed over 1300 homes and created a brand-new 47-hectare peninsula when the lava hit the Atlantic Ocean.

During our trip, we enjoyed a 7km hike which approached the edge of the volcano. The scenery was incredible and made me feel like I had been dropped off on another planet, with the black ash covering the landscape and the dead trees framing the volcano giving an almost post-apocalyptic feel!

While hiking the Tajogaite Volcano is one of the best and most unique things to do in La Palma, the hike must be undertaken with an authorised guide and cannot be done independently. Make sure to book your guided hiking tour of Tajogaite Volcano in advance.

The hike took us about 2-3 hours and started at the top of the volcano, venturing past the edge of the volcano and downhill to the town of San Nicolás. While it was downhill all the way, it was physically challenging in some places, as you’re walking on volcanic ash, which is similar to walking on sand, so it’s very important to wear appropriate footwear.

I wore my trainers, and immediately regretted it as I realised they would become full of ash pretty quickly. Because of that, I strongly recommend wearing hiking boots.

5. Walk from San Andrés to Charco Azul

On our last day in La Palma, we enjoyed a short but beautiful 30-minute coastal walk from the pretty and colourful town to the natural pools of Charco Azul.

While the pools of Charco Azul are an attraction in themselves, I really enjoyed the coastal walk we took to get there. Along the way, we saw beautiful butterflies, lizards and gorgeous coastal views.

On the day we visited Charco Azul, we were unable to swim in the pools as the waves were too big and the red flag was up, but we enjoyed the scenery and watching the waves crash over the rocks. But if the waves are calm, you can swim in the pools and spend some time relaxing on the surrounding rocks.

If you’d like to follow this walk, you can find the route on AllTrails here.

6. Walk through Los Tilos Laurel Forest to the Waterfall

Los Tilos Forest is a peaceful haven on La Palma – a beautiful forest that was declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 2002.

In Los Tilos, there are a huge variety of self-guided walks to choose from, with a range of walks for all abilities. If you want a very short walk, you can park at the Visitor Centre and walk downhill to the waterfall trail, which only takes 10-15 minutes to walk to.

While in this area, I recommend stopping for some lunch at Casa Demetrio, a beautiful restaurant located outside under the forest canopy. It’s a beautiful setting, and the food was great.

7. Relax at Puerto de Tazacorte

Puerto de Tazacorte is a small coastal town located to the West of La Palma. If you want somewhere that’s a little less busy, but you want to have access to shops, restaurants, and a beach, Puerto de Tazacorte could be a good spot to stay.

The town itself has a laid-back vibe, with some lovely restaurants on the seafront. We ate at Kiosco Teneguía, a lovely seafront restaurant that serves seafood, meat dishes, and tapas.

After lunch, we enjoyed a quick swim at the beach before we headed off for our afternoon activities.

If you want to spend a little more time in Puerto de Tazacorte, there’s also The Banana Museum (Museo del Plátano), which explains the history of the banana and provides information on the cultivation and exports for the various banana plantations on the island.

8. Discover the Salt Flats at Fuencaliente

Visiting the salt flats in Fuencaliente (Salinas de Fuencaliente) is one of the most unique things to do in La Palma. The pink and white colours of the salt flats contrast against the deep blue of the ocean, making for a really interesting landscape which is totally unique to the rest of the island.

While at the salt flats, pay a visit to the Restaurante Temático El Jardín de la Sal, which has previously been mentioned in the Michelin Guide. We enjoyed a 7-course meal here, which included some really interesting dishes, complemented with flavoured salts.

If you’re a nature lover like me, the Salt Flats are also a great location for bird-watching as they attract over 50 species of migratory birds.

9. Go Wine Tasting at Bodegas Carballo

A family-run winery, Bodegas Carballo is a small bodega near Fuencaliente that offers short tours and wine tastings by arrangement. The family produces only 5 different wines – quality over quantity.

We enjoyed a short tour and talk about the methods of small-scale wine production, before tasting three different wines with a small platter of cheese, crackers and olives.

The wines we tried included a young white (Blanco Joven), a young red (Tinto Joven) and a sweet white wine (Malvasia Aromatica) which was absolutely delicious.

10. Visit Mirador El Time and Try a Barragofito Coffee

Mirador El Time is a great spot for views over the mountains and valley of Aridane below. If you’re feeling energetic, you can walk to Mirador El Time by taking the rocky, 3km road from Tazacorte, but you can also drive to the viewpoint if you don’t fancy the walk.

While at Mirador El Time, pay a visit to the Geisha Embassy Luxury Coffee Shop for one of their famous Barragofito, their own version of the Barraquito, which is a coffee made with condensed milk, a shot of Licor 43, a lemon rind, and cinnamon in a long glass.

At the Geisha Embassy Luxury Coffee Shop, they replace the typical liqueur in a Barraquito with a shot of Gofio Liqueur to make their version the Barragofito.

11. Visit the Best Viewpoints on La Palma

La Palma has a huge number of incredible viewpoints, and we visited many different ones throughout our 5-day trip to La Palma. The viewpoints we visited included:

Mirador de la Cumbrecita – located in the Caldera de Taburiente National Park

Mirador El Time – mentioned above

Mirador de la Concepción – beautiful coastal viewpoint of the east coast of La Palma

Mirador de la Montaña – unfortunately, it was a little cloudy when we visited, so we couldn’t see a lot

Mirador de la Playa de Nogales – an incredible view of the Playa de Nogales beach below. This was one of my favourite views on the island because the waves below were totally mesmerising.

12. Visit the Ron Aldea Rum Factory

If you plan to visit Charco Azul natural pools, don’t miss the nearby Ron Aldea rum factory. You can visit the Rum Factory for €10, which includes a tasting of some of their cheaper products. If you want to try some of their more expensive rums, you pay a small amount for each tasting.

The tasting was fun, especially because none of us had eaten breakfast. Tasting a variety of rums at 11 am is not recommended on an empty stomach, so make sure you eat before you go to the factory 😂!

You can book a guided tour and tasting directly with Ron Aldea, or you can book this guided bus tour, which includes a visit to the rum distillery and the Mirador de la Montaña and the laurel forest.

13. Walk Around the Edge of San Antonio Volcano

Located in the South of La Palma near Fuencaliente Salt Flats, the San Antonio Volcano comprises a Visitor Centre and a short walk around the top of the volcano crater.

When we visited, the cloud was low and moving across the top of the crater, which made for some really atmospheric conditions and photos.

During the day, you can enjoy incredible views down into the crater and the surrounding landscape, but at night, the area is great for stargazing. You can book private guided tours to the volcano at night to enjoy the stargazing.

We also spotted some amazing lizards with blue cheeks at the top of the crater, which were scurrying in and out of the stone walls. After some research, I found out they are called the Gallot’s lizard, but they are also known as the Tenerife Lizard or the Western Canaries Lizard.

Map of the Best Places on La Palma

To make planning your La Palma itinerary simple, I’ve created a helpful map which includes all of the above spots.

If you have questions about the best things to do in La Palma, I’d love to hear from you! Get in touch via the contact form and I’ll do my best to answer your questions.