Aqualava Water Park — Attraction in Yaiza

Splashes of Fun, Waves of Disappointment: A Honest Dive into Aqua Lava

Short Review: Aqua Lava Water Park in Lanzarote offers a handful of fun features, including a wave pool, kiddies' splash zone, lazy river, and slides, but ultimately feels outdated and uninspiring. While younger children might enjoy the splash zone and the slides provide some thrills, the park suffers from visible wear and tear, a lack of imaginative theming, and overpriced food with no outside options allowed. If your hotel has a pool, you’re not missing much, though it could be worth a short visit if entry is included in your stay. With some much-needed investment, Aqua Lava could live up to its potential, but as it stands, it’s a fairly underwhelming experience.

Longer - detailed review:

Nestled along a dusty main road just a five-minute walk north of Playa Flamingo Beach lies Aqua Lava, a water park that feels as though it has seen better days. With its rusted metal fixtures, bleached paint, and an overall sense of wear and tear, the park presents an outdated and tired aesthetic. That said, we visited in December—far from peak season—which undoubtedly contributed to the quiet, almost empty feel of the place.

For us, entry was included with our hotel package, so we felt it was worth at least one visit. While the park’s overall appearance left much to be desired, my son did have a lot of fun, which ultimately made the trip worthwhile. However, Aqua Lava offers a limited range of activities, so here’s a breakdown of what you can expect:

Beach Pool

The medium-sized beach pool was equipped with an hourly wave machine that added some fun to the experience, albeit briefly. The pool used saltwater and was icy cold, which limited how much time we wanted to spend in it. It was adequate for a short swim but not particularly memorable.

Kiddies' Splash Zone

This was one of the highlights of the park and is clearly designed with younger children in mind. With smaller slides and a climbing area topped off by a 10-minute bucket-dump feature, it’s a lively spot that younger kids would undoubtedly enjoy. While our children are a bit older now, it was clear that this section of the park is its most appealing feature.

Lazy River (Magma River)

The Lazy River was unfortunately a letdown. Its short circuit felt uninspired, and the lack of decorative touches such as plants or themed elements left it feeling bare and uninviting. The water tubes sat deflated and unused, further adding to the overall sense of neglect. A little imagination and investment could make this a much more engaging feature.

Slides

The park has five slides, four of which require a tube to ride. My son enjoyed these and, to be fair, the speed and thrill of the slides provided some genuine fun. The space bowl slide was a nice addition, but the slides overall felt like standard fare rather than an exciting experience. Like much of the park, they suffered from the same tired, uneventful aesthetic.

Restaurant Area

As is often the case with water parks, the restaurant area was overpriced, and the park’s strict policy against bringing outside food meant we were left with no choice but to purchase from there. This could be an inconvenience for families planning a longer stay.

Final Thoughts We only stayed at Aqua Lava for a couple of hours, which felt sufficient given the limited attractions and overall atmosphere. For visitors already staying in Lanzarote with access to a hotel pool, Aqua Lava doesn’t offer much you’d be missing. Families with younger children might enjoy the splash zone, but for most, this water park is unlikely to be a standout feature of their holiday.

That said, the park has potential, and with some much-needed investment in branding, decor, and upkeep, it could become a more engaging and memorable destination. As it stands, Aqua Lava feels like a relic of a bygone era that’s in desperate need of...

Overall we had a good day here. The kids loved it, and the water was fine for us. I’ve seen many say it was cold, but we didn’t think so. It’s not a huge park but a nice manageable size where you can see the kids easily from most locations across the park and have fun for a full day without any boredom setting in.

There are plenty of lifeguards on duty, and the slides were a lot of fun. The lazy river was good too and a good option for a quick dip throughout the day.

It’s pretty expensive for what it is, though, costing over €80 entry for two adults and two kids.

A simple cafe-style lunch came to €60 as well, which is on par with some of the best restaurants in town. For a slice of pizza, a couple of salads and some chips, it’s pretty hefty. And they will not allow you to bring your own snacks in, which is a bit unfair.

We hired a locker for a further €4 + €2 deposit on the key - and this is where things started to fall apart.

The key they give you is loosely attached to a plastic coil bracelet by a very thin and sharp keyring.

During the day, this cheap and weak metal loop snagged, and poked me in the wrist, and I noticed the key was no longer attached to it. The bracelet was on my wrist, but the key had fallen off the keyring.

An older gentleman in the reception office gave me a copy key to open the locker no problem but then refused to refund the €2 deposit claiming I failed to return the key. Really?

I disagreed with this. I didn’t fail to return it, the key came off in the water somewhere where someone will likely tread or land on it coming out of a slide, and the bracelet and keyring (thin metal wire) was left on my wrist, stabbing me and snagging my clothes.

He then began shouting at me, saying it was my fault the key was lost and that he was not refunding the deposit.

I wore it exactly as it was designed to be worn, and the fact it broke is more a mark of the quality of the product rather than my use of it.

I spoke to the manager, who was very understanding and helpful, and he returned the €2 with no problem.

In my view, the guy in the office should have apologised for the substandard quality of the keyring, but instead, he blamed me and held back a minimal amount of money whilst shouting and arguing. All over €2.

By the time you take into account the entry costs, the food costs, the locker costs, and the drinks costs, it does start to feel like these guys will charge you for anything they can and attempt to wangle even €2 off you for a broken keyring that they provided you for a fee. Whilst shouting at you.

For that reason, what would have been a 3-4 star review is now a 2 star, and on reflection, I...

Unsafe and discriminatory. The water park itself is a bit tired in places. The chairs are shoogly while the attraction in the middle of the shallow kids pool is rusty in places. The kids had a great time, so that’s a plus. On the negative side, I would take issue with the cafe. There is a rule that shirts must be worn when in the cafe. This, however seems to be applied inconsistently. I had initially got some drinks before lunchtime with no shirt on, as others were in the cafe also with no shirt on. At lunchtime I was told I needed to wear a shirt. Fair enough (but only to a limited extent, rule breaking had occurred earlier when I got drinks, remember). I then sat at a table while my wife got the food. Thereafter I observed SEVERAL other people enter with no shirt on. I also saw several women enter in bikinis and swimsuits. I later saw a man exit with a tray of food, wearing no shirt. He even went back and asked for something, which the woman who had asked me to leave (via a colleague) provided him with (bottle of water), with apparently no issue raised about his shirtless status. This is a cafe that provides what look like oven chips and burgers. They also provide paper plates and plastic cutlery that easily breaks. Essentially, this is no high class restaurant. It is an establishment in a water park, that doesn’t allow certain people in without a shirt, (you might be lucky, and not need a shirt) It is the inconsistency that annoys me. I saw a few dozen women in either swimsuits or bikinis go unchallenged, and a few shirtless men too. Either enforce the rules on everyone in a non-sexist manner, or not at all, and don’t make your guest feel as if they are a problem! I’ve noticed the owner commenting that shirts are required in the café for hygiene reasons. If that’s the case, what protection does a small strip forming a bikini top provide, or is the policy just sexist towards some men? We stayed all-inclusive in the hotel next door, so didn’t have to pay for entry or food and drink. I did notice however that the prices would mean probably upwards of 80 euros just for entry for a family of four. I’m not sure if i would consider this good value for money, had we paid. We then visited on 13th of February. My kids wanted to go on the lazy river. We walked over and I slipped at the top step, landing heavily on my left hip. The treads have no abrasion to them at all. Fortunately I, and the guy I took out in front of me were both okay, but be warned. I won’t be back to this...