Tenerife is the largest and most populous Canary Island, a beautiful place full of diverse landscapes.
When we were there, we got to experience many of the Tenerife beaches, as well as rainforests and mountains. A lot of people may have been to or heard of Tenerife for its nightlife or resort atmosphere in the south side. However, it has so much to offer for those who like the outdoors too.
The Canary Islands also have their own unique culture. Due to immigration to and from the islands, there is a mix of Latin American, Spanish, Native Canarian, and African cultures. This is evident in the food but also the language. In general, I found their Spanish accents to be clearer than typical Spanish dialects.
Now, let’s dive in to how to explore this beautiful island.
Getting Around Tenerife
I wanted to start with this section rather than where to stay because what you decide here will influence where you stay. To start, the island is well connected by busses, called ‘GuaGuas’ here. Even in some of the more remote parts of Tenerife, we would see busses ferrying people around.
We decided to rent a car for our time. We used Cicar, a local rental company. The line at the airport was as a bit long, but it was fairly cheap and a good experience overall. They even called me within 20 minutes of dropping off the car when my wife left her phone.
Spanish law requires you have an International Driving Permit or risk a fine if you get pulled over. It is worth noting that Cicar did not ask for one. So, if you’re reading this from the airport to Tenerife, you are probably fine without one. If you’re reading ahead of time, take the 15 minutes and $20 to go ahead and get an IDP before your trip.
We used the car to pretty much explore the whole northeast half of the island. From beaches in the north to beaches in the south, and the looming volcano in the center.
Where to stay?
The answer to this question probably depends on what you want to do. However, most of the natural attractions on the island are accessible no matter where you stay.
The nightlife and resort scene is definitely more on the southwest side in places like Puerto de la Cruz or Playa Las Americas. To be honest, we didn’t explore these aspects of the island, so I would suggest further research.
We stayed in the capital of Santa Cruz. It is the 14th largest city in Spain, so had people working normal jobs, and plenty of shops, restaurants, markets like the African market, museums, parks, etc. It is also the closest city to Playa Las Teresitas, which is an artificial but sandy beach.
Most Tenerife beaches with sand are artificial, as the island is volcanic. This means most beaches are rocks or black sand, which is really an amalgamation of small pebbles.
Back to Santa Cruz, we really enjoyed our stay here. We stayed at Hotel Emblemático HI Suites. It was a fantastic room for a good price. Also, it felt like we were some of the few non-residents in the area, which I liked. There were great cafes like We The North or Amazonia Açai, and great restaurants like Hokkaido Sushi and coconuco???
Furthermore, we had no problem seeing most of what we wanted to on the island. From Santa Cruz we were:
-15 minutes from San Cristobal de La Laguna (a historic city on the island)
-About 20-30 minutes from Anaga Rural Park
-40 Minutes from Tenerife South Airport
-15 minutes from Tenerife North Airport
-Roughly an hour to Teide National Park or Playa Amarilla
Another town we went to and really enjoyed was Sauzal. It was located on the west side of the island. It provided good views of Teide when it was clear, and views of the water from above.
Teide National Park
Teide National Park is a UNESCO heritage site in Tenerife, and the second most visited national park in the world behind Mount Fuji (allegedly). I say allegedly because it did not feel that way at all when we were there in April.
We had very little traffic or problems exploring. Sure, there were people, but nothing like I’ve seen in American national parks. This could be because the time of year or time of day (evening), however.
Aside from my experience, I could totally see how it would be the second most visited park in the world. When you start your ascent from below, you’re more or less in the desert. As you climb, trees start to appear. Then, you find yourself in a beautiful, thick pine forest.
After winding your way up further, the forest gives way to volcanic rock fields, and suddenly you get the feeling you’re not on Earth anymore.
That feeling is somewhat amplified when you look down. If it’s a clear day, you can see the other Canary Islands, as well as the Tenerife beaches. The place you would’ve started maybe an hour ago now looks as if you’re seeing it from a plane.
If you want to summit Teide, you will have to reserve a cable car ticket. It will take you close to the top, where a strenuous 40 minute hike is required to get you all the way. There are many tour guides who can help with this too if you’re not comfortable going alone.
There are also many tours for stargazing from Teide. You will see a large observatory on top of the mountain because this place is truly magical for star gazing. The islands remoteness mixed with the mountains height above the clouds makes for incredible vistas.
Teide tours:
Teide by night, stargazing and more!
Teide tour with cable car and transfer
Anaga Rural Park
Another great park is Anaga Rural Park. Lower in elevation, this park on the north end of the island feels almost like a rainforest. Upon further inspection, you’ll notice most of the plants are desert plants or succulents. However, they are so numerous that this park looks like a lush tropical landscape.
In the northwest, waves from the deep blue water crash against beaches like Playa Benijo and Playa del Roques de la Bodega. Unfortunately, playa de Benijo was closed for us. However, Playa del Roques de la Bodega was open and we spent a bit of time there.
There are quite a few hikes here too. One is the enchanted forest hike, which requires a permit. Besides that, you will see signs for many others through the forests, to different beaches, or up the mountain peaks. Because much of the park has villages and houses scattered throughout, there are also a few restaurants to eat at. More on that later, though.
Tenerife Beaches
Tenerife beaches come in many shapes, sizes, and colors. For the most part, the natural ones are not sandy. Since the island is volcanic, you have a mix of beaches which are straight rock, and some that are pebbly “black sand”. Some, however, have been built by Canarians using sand from places like the Sahara desert.
We didn’t make it to any of the artificial ones. However, we did drive by a few of them. Playa Las Teresitas is close to Santa Cruz. It’s a bit close to the port, so it feels a little less idyllic than some of the other ones, but looked like a nice beach from the road.
Playa El Medano is another one. We did not drive right by this one, but it is the longest sand beach in Tenerife. It is near the Southern Airport.
For us, we ended up going to a couple black sand beaches, and one that was just straight volcanic rock. Our first black sand beach was Playa del Roques de la Bodega. We ended up going here after trying to visit Playa del Benijo, which was sadly closed. Both of these are located in the Anaga Rural Park. Playa del Roques de la Bodega (I will call it PRB) was a couple things. First of all, it was stunning, the blue waves crashed against black sand with a beautiful backdrop of green mountains.
Second of all, it seemed like a beach that is good for those wanting to surf. The day we were there, surfers were out when we started, but by the time we got in the surf was too close to shore. This made swimming a bit impossible. However, it was still a good beach for sitting until the tide came in.
Another black sand beach we went to was Playa Abades. This beach is popular for scuba and snorkeling, which is why we were there (this tour with Natalie and Andre, great time!!). The water next to it is a protected area, home to many fish, sting rays, and some sea turtles. We got to see fish and sting rays but missed out on sea turtles this time around. There are also restaurants and shops right at the water. We had a great lunch at Cafe Buena Vista, overlooking the beach. They had some fantastic Paella and Garlic Shrimp.
The third beach we went to was Playa Amarilla. This beach is below la montaña Amarilla, which you can walk up in about 10 minutes. Like I said, this was more of a comfortable rock outcropping than a beach. The way the rocks were provided people with many different spots to lay out. There was also a beach bar serving drinks and ladders for people who jumped in the water to climb out of.
Because it was so rocky, the water was a very beautiful, deep blue color. For imagery, this beach was fantastic. I also enjoyed jumping in, and hanging out around the tidal pools looking at little fish and crabs.
If none of these beaches appeal to you, you should check out some of the many tidal pools that are big enough for swimming on the island.
San Cristobal de la Laguna
San Cristobal de La Laguna is known as the cultural capital of the Canaries. This old town was built over 500 years ago, and still features cobblestone streets lined with colorful buildings. These buildings now host many shops and restaurants.
Take some time to come here and stroll around the beautiful streets. We did and found many fantastic places to snack on sweets. Like I said, there are also many shops, an aloe Vera museum (which in fairness is more of a store for Aloe Vera), and loads of beautiful Spanish architecture.
Some restaurants with great views
On an island as picturesque as Tenerife, it’s not hard to find restaurants with good views. But, I will share a few that we went to that were particularly noteworthy.
My personal favorite was Terrazas del Sauzal, in the town of Sauzal on the western coast. It was about a 25 minute drive from our hotel in Santa Cruz. We had a table reserved for about 30 minutes before sunset and it did not disappoint. Pretty much all of the tables in the restaurant have some kind of view to the west, overlooking the ocean and the sunset. You can also get a glimpse of Teide if the clouds cooperate. For us, we saw Teide for a split second before it was gone.
The food was good as well, standard surf and turf type menu with lots of seafood and pasta particularly.
Another one we went to was located in Anaga Rural Park. This restaurant was called Casa Santiago. Sitting atop the spine of a mountain in the park, this restaurant gives you pretty solid views of the ocean on both sides of the island. The area around the restaurant was also somewhat of a rainforest, so it was very green and lush.
The menu of Casa Santiago was very Canarian, with different meats, stews, and other local dishes. Also, speaking Spanish was very helpful here, as it was very much a local hang.
Conclusion
Tenerife is my favorite island I’ve ever visited. The mix of Spanish and Canary culture combined with the rich diversity of landscapes made it feel very special. The only drawback in terms of traveling there is its relative remoteness. However, once you’re there that’s another perk.
Let me know in the comments below if you’ve ever been to Tenerife or have any questions about anything I mentioned above! Thanks for reading and if you enjoyed this post please take a moment to read some of my other content or subscribe for more! I’m also working on growing my YouTube channel, so if you prefer watching over reading go ahead and check that out as well.
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