Surf spot guide · Lanzarote, Spain
Sand-bottom bay tucked under cliffs at the northern tip of Lanzarote, with a centre peak and a hollow high-tide right.
Playa de la Canteria is a small sandy bay set beneath dark volcanic cliffs at the very northern tip of Lanzarote, just past the fishing village of Orzola. From mid through to high tide a peak sets up in the middle of the bay, breaking either way over a clean sand bottom with crumbly, medium-paced walls that suit longboarders and improvers. As the tide pushes higher the centre peak tightens into a more defined left, while a faster, occasionally hollow right peels down the rocky eastern side of the bay, giving the spot a second personality for surfers happy to deal with the inside boulders. The bay faces north and lights up on N through NE swells, with NW pulses also wrapping in cleanly; a southwesterly offshore grooms the faces. Anything over 1.8m tends to close the bay out shoulder to shoulder. Access is straight off the road from a free clifftop car park above the beach, with a short walk down to the sand. Strong rips and persistent side drift along the cliffs are the main concern, especially on bigger days when the current accelerates through the bay.
Volcanic cliffs frame a sand peak that splits into longboard left and bouldery right.
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Picks up traffic on weekends and holidays when Orzola surf schools and visiting beginners head north, but stays manageable with space along the bay outside peak hours.
Cliff-backed northern bay
Lanzarote
Long wrapping left point on the northeast lava coast of Lanzarote, the island's longest ride when a clean N swell lines up.
Lanzarote
Shallow uneven-reef peak south of Punta de Mujeres village, hollow both ways and fiercely guarded by locals.
Lanzarote
Short, fast, hollow beachbreak in front of Arrieta village, mostly shore dump with occasional peeling peaks.
+9 MORE →Time sessions from mid to high tide for the cleanest centre peak
Slide down toward the eastern rocks at high tide for the faster right
Sit off the main peak rather than fighting the side drift back up the bay
Wait for a southwesterly to clean up the cliff-shaded faces
Skip it once the swell pushes past 1.8m as the bay closes out
HAZARDS · KNOW BEFORE YOU PADDLE
Free clifftop car park sits directly above the bay with a short walk down to the sand. No lifeguard, restrooms, showers, surf school or surf shop recorded at the break.
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