Lanzarote Glass-Bottom Boat or the Submarine?

Glass-bottom boats run from Playa Blanca along the Papagayo coast but are not sold on GetYourGuide. How they differ from the submarine, and the kayak and snorkel trip to Papagayo (Oct 2026).

Updated October 2026

There are glass-bottom boat trips in Lanzarote: the Papagayo ones leave from Playa Blanca, at the island’s southern tip, and run along the coast of the Papagayo beaches. None is sold on GetYourGuide, so this site cannot book one. A glass panel in the hull shows you the shallows beneath the boat; the submarine, from Puerto Calero, takes you down to the seabed at up to 30 metres, past three shipwrecks. For the view of the sea floor itself, the submarine is the one to book, from US$72 a person (checked October 2026).

Powerd by GetYourGuide
Illustration: a split view of the sea, a boat on the sunlit surface above and a submarine resting on the sandy seabed far below it, fish between them
Illustration. The difference in one picture: a glass-bottom boat looks down from the surface; the submarine sits on the seabed.

The two, side by side

Glass-bottom boatSubmarine
Leaves fromPlaya BlancaPuerto Calero marina
What you seeThe shallows beneath the hull, through a glass panelThe seabed at up to 30 m, three wrecks and the fish, through 22 side windows and two bow domes
Where you areOn the surface, on a boat that moves with the wavesBelow the waves, in a cabin at surface pressure; seasickness very unlikely
ExtrasA coastal trip past the Papagayo beachesAn audio guide in ten languages, a dive certificate and a fish chart
BookingWith the boat companies in Playa BlancaOn GetYourGuide, US$72, free cancellation up to 24 hours before

On a phone, swipe the table sideways.

The real choice is between a boat trip and a look at the seabed. A glass-bottom boat is a pleasant way to see the Papagayo coast, with the water beneath you as a bonus. The submarine is all seabed: no coastline, but 50 minutes among the wrecks and the fish.

If you are in Playa Blanca

Map of the south-east of Lanzarote showing Puerto Calero marina on the south coast, Puerto del Carmen and the airport to the east, Arrecife and Costa Teguise further north-east, and Playa Blanca at the southern tip
Playa Blanca, where the glass-bottom boats leave, at the southern tip; Puerto Calero, the submarine’s marina, further east along the south coast.

Playa Blanca is served by the submarine’s free bus, for the 11:00 and 13:00 dives, so you do not need a car to get to Puerto Calero. If it is the Papagayo beaches you want, the kayak and snorkel trip to Papagayo paddles you along the cliffs to the beach, with a picnic of snacks and a swim with a snorkel, for 3.5 hours, US$50 in current promotion (usually US$56), from the age of 5. It puts you in the water you would otherwise watch through glass.

Seeing the sea in Lanzarote, by age

  • From 2: the submarine.
  • From 5: the kayak and snorkel trip to Papagayo.
  • From 8: a guided snorkel, a first scuba dive or the Sea Trek underwater walk; scuba diving in Lanzarote for beginners compares them.
  • From 12: a beginner dive among the sculptures of the Museo Atlántico.

Check dive times for the submarine →

Glass-bottom boat routes from the Playa Blanca boat companies’ own descriptions; submarine and kayak details from Submarine Safaris’ booking page and the GetYourGuide listings, read on 28 and 29 October 2026.

Lanzarote: Real Submarine Dive

See the Seabed, Not Just the Shallows

4.6/5 from 1,573 verified reviews · From US$72 per person · Free cancellation

The submarine dives from Puerto Calero to the seabed at up to 30 m, past three wrecks, through 22 side windows and two bow domes, with an audio guide. About 50 minutes under the water, from age 2, with the free bus from the resorts, as listed in October 2026.

Check Dive Times