Car Ferry to Lanzarote: Bringing Your Own Vehicle from Europe

Two Ways to Get There

Most pages on this site cover the ferry crossings around Lanzarote itself – the short hop to Fuerteventura, the longer one to Gran Canaria, and the mainland crossing from Cádiz. This guide steps back and looks at the whole journey: how you actually get your own car or motorhome from home, in Germany, the Netherlands, the UK or wherever you're starting, to a Spanish port where that one long ferry to Lanzarote departs.

There are two realistic ways to do it, and which one makes sense depends mostly on where you're starting from:

• Drive the whole way down through France and Spain to Cádiz or Huelva, then take the single long crossing to Lanzarote. Simplest in terms of ferry logistics – just one ferry leg – but it means several days of driving the length of Spain.
• Break up the drive with a ferry first, especially useful for UK-based travellers: a Bay of Biscay crossing with Brittany Ferries skips the drive across France and northern Spain entirely, before you drive south to Cádiz/Huelva and take the Canary Islands crossing. That's genuinely three ferry legs in total.

Either way, the final leg is the same: a proper mainland-to-island sea crossing, not a short hop, sailed roughly once a week. We cover that crossing in detail on our dedicated Cádiz–Arrecife route page – this guide focuses on getting there and the practicalities around it.

Route Comparison

Neither option is objectively "better" – it's really a question of where your journey starts and whether you'd rather spend the time driving or at sea.

Option 1: All-Road to Cádiz or Huelva

For most continental European travellers – from Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and similar starting points – this is the simpler option. You drive south through France and across Spain to reach either Cádiz or Huelva, both in Andalusia on Spain's Atlantic coast, and then take the one long ferry crossing to Lanzarote. There's no Channel to cross and no extra ferry booking to coordinate, so it's typically the one long ferry leg only.

The trade-off is obvious: it's several days of driving the length of Spain before you even reach the ferry port. Many overwinterers break this up over multiple days, using the drive itself as the first stage of the trip south – stopping in France or northern/central Spain rather than trying to do it in one push, which suits a motorhome trip anyway.

Cádiz is the port with a live-verified direct sailing to Arrecife. Huelva is also a real, established embarkation port for the Canary Islands – it's used, for example, for crossings to Las Palmas and Tenerife – but we could not verify a live, direct Huelva–Arrecife sailing in our own schedule search. If you're looking at Huelva specifically for a Lanzarote crossing, it's worth asking your booking partner directly whether that's routed via another island or sailed direct, rather than assuming either way.

Option 2: Ferry-Assisted via the Bay of Biscay

For UK-based travellers, adding a ferry leg near the start of the journey usually makes more sense than driving the length of France. Brittany Ferries is the only operator on these Bay of Biscay crossings, and there are three real options:

All three land you on Spain's northern Bay of Biscay coast, in Santander or Bilbao. From there it's still a long day or two of driving south through Spain to reach Cádiz or Huelva – this route doesn't remove the Spanish leg of the journey, only the cross-France driving. For a lot of UK travellers with a motorhome, trading a day of Channel-and-France driving for an overnight or two-night ferry crossing (with a cabin and the vehicle safely stowed) is the more comfortable option.

Add it up and the full journey becomes three ferry legs: the Bay of Biscay crossing, the long Canary Islands crossing to Lanzarote, and nothing in between except the road from the Spanish north coast down to the mainland embarkation port. (The short Playa Blanca–Corralejo hop to Fuerteventura is a separate, unrelated inter-island route and doesn't factor into this journey unless you're arriving via Fuerteventura instead.)

The Cádiz/Huelva–Lanzarote Crossing Itself

However you reach the mainland embarkation port, the final leg is the same kind of journey: a proper multi-day sea crossing, not a quick ferry ride. Cádiz–Arrecife takes around 26 hours and is the shortest of the mainland–Canaries crossings, since Lanzarote is the easternmost island and the closest to the Spanish mainland. Crossings to the other islands take considerably longer – roughly 26 to 50-plus hours depending on the exact destination.

This isn't a daily service. Realistically expect around one sailing a week on the direct Lanzarote leg, which is why planning ahead matters more here than for the short inter-island hops elsewhere on this site.

On price: we don't have our own live fare for this crossing the way we do for the short Playa Blanca–Corralejo hop (where we've quoted a real €33.50 foot-passenger fare from a live search). For the mainland–Canaries crossing, several German motorhome-travel blogs report costs in the rough range of €500–1,000 for two people plus a vehicle, varying by route, vehicle length and whether a cabin is booked. One blog reported around €900 for two people and a camper; another reported close to €1,000 for two people without a cabin on the Huelva–Tenerife route specifically. Treat these as real traveller-reported figures, not a guaranteed rate – always check current fares for your exact dates and vehicle.

For full details on the Cádiz–Arrecife crossing itself – what to expect on board, cabin booking, and the two ports – see our dedicated Cádiz–Arrecife route page.

Practical Tips & Booking

• Book winter sailings a couple of months ahead. October–December, when overwinterers head south, is the busiest window for this route, and with only around a weekly sailing, vehicle space is worth securing early rather than hoping for availability at short notice.
• Some travellers do book last-minute at the port for flexibility around weather – this can work, but it's riskier if you have a fixed schedule to keep.
• Check your vehicle documentation before you travel: registration, and insurance that's valid for both mainland Spain and the Canary Islands.
• Check current customs guidance. The Canary Islands are Spanish and EU territory, but they sit outside the EU customs union – worth confirming what that means for bringing your own vehicle before you go, rather than relying on older information.
• Budget a cabin for the long leg. At around 26 hours or more, this is an overnight (or two-night) crossing, closer to a mini-cruise than a short ferry ride.
• Build your itinerary around the weekly sailing, not the other way round – with only about one direct departure a week, the ferry date is the fixed point everything else needs to work around.

Why People Overwinter on Lanzarote

Lanzarote, like the rest of the Canary Islands, has a genuinely mild winter climate – broadly high teens to low-to-mid 20s °C through the winter months – while much of northern Europe is cold, dark and grey. That's the whole reason "overwintering" has become such a well-established pattern among northern European motorhome travellers: head south around October or November, spend the winter on the island, and return north in spring, around March or April.

Bringing your own car or motorhome rather than flying and renting means you have your accommodation and transport sorted for the entire stay, without the cost or hassle of renting a vehicle once you arrive. It also means the trip itself – the drive and the crossing – becomes part of the holiday rather than just a means to an end, which is a large part of the appeal for people who already enjoy motorhome travel.

None of this is a niche or new idea – it's a well-established seasonal migration with its own rhythm, and the ferry crossing described on this page is the one genuinely essential piece of logistics that makes it possible.

FAQ

Can I take my own car or motorhome to Lanzarote by ferry?

Yes. The Cádiz–Arrecife crossing from mainland Spain is the standard way to bring your own vehicle to Lanzarote, sailing roughly once a week and taking about 26 hours. There is no faster alternative, since this is a genuine mainland-to-island sea crossing built around vehicles and freight rather than a quick tourist hop.

Do I have to drive all the way to Cádiz, or can a ferry shorten the trip?

Both are realistic. Continental European travellers usually just drive to Cádiz or Huelva and take the one long crossing. UK-based travellers often take a Bay of Biscay ferry first, with Brittany Ferries, to skip the drive across France, then drive south through Spain before the Canary Islands crossing – three ferry legs in total rather than one.

How much does it cost to bring a car or motorhome to Lanzarote by ferry?

There is no single fixed fare – it depends on vehicle length, cabin choice and season. Traveller-reported figures from motorhome-travel blogs put the mainland-to-Canaries crossing at roughly €500 to €1,000 for two people plus a vehicle. Always check current fares for your exact dates and vehicle.

Is it still Naviera Armas, or has the operator changed?

Naviera Armas's Canary Islands ferry operations, including these mainland crossings, were acquired by Baleària in a deal authorised in 2026, with operations transferred to the Baleària Canarias brand by around May 2026. So a booking may now show Baleària or Baleària Canarias rather than Naviera Armas – that is expected, not an error.

How far ahead should I book for a winter overwintering trip?

Around two months ahead is a sensible margin for winter sailings, since the October-to-December season is popular with motorhome travellers heading south. Some travellers do book last-minute at the port for weather flexibility, but that is riskier if your schedule is fixed.

Do I need to worry about customs bringing my own vehicle to the Canary Islands?

It is worth checking current guidance before you travel. The Canary Islands are Spanish and EU territory but sit outside the EU customs union, which can affect what you bring with you. Beyond that general point, check the latest rules directly rather than relying on older forum threads.