Tenerife Travel Guide

I was recently fortunate enough to spend some time in Tenerife on a last minute holiday, and it far exceeded my expectations of a 'typical beach' destination. So I wanted to use this post to tell you my recommendations for touring the Island! I also got some inspiration from Zanna Van Dijk's blog - which you can view here.

How long to go for and where to stay

• We went for 1 week in March, however from our experience in March, the weather can be variable so you may not get to do everything you planned due to cloud/rain. The most popular times to go would be April-September. Although we only went for 1 week, there was still plenty more that we could have done - so you definitely won't be getting bored!

• We stayed in Puerto De La Cruz which is a main town in the North/West part of the Island. We chose to stay there as it was in the centre of a lot of activities we were looking at doing and also it was cheaper than the South. I would advise staying in a main town for their transport links (unless you are planning on hiring a car).

Transport

• That brings me nicely onto transport options. There's no doubt that hiring a car will mean you will get around the Island faster and be able to plan your own schedule more freely. However, depending on where you plan to travel, some of the mountainous areas are narrow, twisty and steep roads which can be unnerving for lesser experienced drivers.

• We however travelled the Island purely with public bus! As we were staying in Puerto de la Cruz, it had regular bus routes all round the Island.

• The bus company is called Titsa bus. They offer one off tourist tickets (10 euro for unlimited 1 day travel or 50 euro for 7 days unlimited travel). We got a tip from one of the local residents whilst on the plane over, and that was to buy a bus pass ("bono card"). You buy a bus pass (costs 2 euro and 1 card can do multiple people) at a local shop or bus station and top it up as you need to (you can top up between 2-100 euro at a time). By doing this, you get a third off the normal price of the bus fare. We often found that this ended up cheaper than the 'unlimited travel' options. Do be aware that you can't get your money back once it is on this card - so don't over fill it.

• Personally, I found the Titsa bus timetable website quite confusing, therefore we relied upon google maps to inform us of the timetables which worked reliably - so my advice would be to use that!

What to Do

Teno Mountains

• The Teno mountains are located on the south west of the Island. We did a beautiful 9.5km hike from Santiago Del Teide to Masca. This is a moderate hike but offers incredible views. We followed an 'All Trails' route here. Once you have done your hike to Masca, you can get a local bus back to Santiago Del Teide or start your journey back to your original destination. Local buses in Masca are limited so look at the timetable before hand.

Anaga National Park

• One of the most incredible hikes and view points is the hike from Benijo to El Draguillio. This is a moderate 5km circular loop hike. See the 'All Trails' route here. Benijo beach is an incredible black sand beach to relax on afterwards.

• Head up towards the centre of Anaga National Park where there is a visitors centre with multiple trails and view points starting from that location. Some of the main viewpoints we were keen to see were Mirador Pico del Ingles, Mirador Cruz del Carmen and Mirador de Cipeque - however on the day we went it was too cloudy to see a view from these points. Therefore we did a couple of trails which went to a lower elevation so we could see a view beneath the clouds: 1. Cruz Del Carmen to El Batan and 2. part of the route from Cruz Del Carmen to Chinamada.

Volcano Teide

• You can't go to Tenerife without visiting the highest peak in Spain - the beautiful Volcano Teide can be seen from all across the Island and is a must see whilst you are visiting. If you are feeling adventurous, you can hike up the volcano which takes 9 hours but you must book it with a excursion group here. Most commonly (and what we did), you can go up the Volcano via cable car. It is imperative that you book online prior to arriving. If you arrive on the day without a ticket - you won't get up.

• Once reaching the upper cable car station, you can walk multiple trails, however if you want to reach the very crater - you have to apply for a free special permit prior to your visit. This normally has to be done a few months in advance and you can apply for one here.

• When we visited, there was snow and ice at the upper cable car station so unfortunately all trails were closed for safety - however the views from the 'La Rambleta' (upper cable car station) were still spectacular.

• Teide National Park is also a huge area, so there are lots of other trails and hikes you can do around the National park, as well as the volcano.

Whale and Dolphin Watching Boat Trip

• In the South of the Island, there are resident bottlenose dolphins and pilot whales which live in between Tenerife and a small Island called La Gomera. We went on a 4.5 hour boat trip which took you to see Masca Bay, the beautiful Los Gigantes cliffs (where you could also have a quick dip in the sea!) and of course to see the incredible dolphins and whales. The tour we booked is here - however there is lots of options to choose from.

Towns/Cities

• In terms of towns/cities we only explored Puerto De La Cruz and Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Puerto de la Cruz is a quaint town with a couple of black sand beaches and lovely walks along the sea. It also has a lovely botanic gardens which is worth a wander round! Santa Cruz de Tenerife is more built up but is equally as lovely to have a wander round.

This is by no-means an extensive list of what you can do in Tenerife, but a guide to what I experienced in my time out there. I hope that it gives you a starting point for planning your time on this beautiful Island!

Happy Travelling!

Ruth xxx