Tenerife

Superb resorts, rural life and magnificent Mount Teide

Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands, boasts the highest mountain in Spain, Mount Teide. It can be viewed from all the beaches and towers over 3,000 metres above the amazing craters and volcanic landscapes of Las Canadas, which have been declared a national park.

Tenerife is an island of great contrast. The north has a lush, green landscape, a rugged coastline of cliffs and coves of black sand washed by Atlantic breakers. In comparison the south of Tenerife is arid, however the beaches more accessible.

Tenerife - Recreation:

Inland, Tenerife's countryside is rich in agriculture and offers stunning mountain scenery and exhilarating walking and cycling. Twenty-one walking trails criss-cross the National Park of Las Canadas de Teide and a cable car runs from the tourist information centre to the peak of the mountain. Tenerife's unique volcanic landscape here has provided the backdrop for many Star Wars films.

Other popular areas for walking in Tenerife include the Anaga Peninsula in the north east, the Orotava valley behind Puerto de la Cruz and the north west around Garachico.

Tenerife - Out & About:

A good bus service operates throughout Tenerife, however, we do recommend you hire a car to explore the island.

Organised inland 'safaris' are another way to explore Tenerife and you can hire mountain bikes or quad bikes or go horse riding. Boat excursions are available from the harbours in the south of Tenerife. In Puerto de la Cruz the children will love the Loro Park Zoological Gardens.

Tenerife - Beaches:

Despite its size, Tenerife is not famed for its beaches and where the sand is not black it has probably been imported. Puerto de la Cruz has a magnificent lido to compensate for its black sand beaches. In the south of Tenerife, resorts such as Los Gigantes and Playa de la Arena have small, sandy coves. Tenerife's largest natural beaches are between El Medano and Los Abrigos near the southern airport. These beaches are popular for wind surfing. The southern beach is used by naturists.

Tenerife - Climate:

The north east coastal tip of Tenerife is a sunny area but the south east can be windy. As usual on the Canary Islands, temperatures decrease and cloud increases with altitude.

Tenerife - Gastronomy:

Tenerife has a thriving agriculture and tourist industry, and offers a tremendous variety of international food and drink. You should have little difficulty in discovering good local restaurants on Tenerife serving traditional Canarian dishes and fresh fish.

The wines on Tenerife are good with some excellent ones coming from Guimar, Tacaronte and Icod. Dorada beer is also brewed on the island.

Tenerife - Getting there:

There are more charter and scheduled flights from the UK into Tenerife than the other Canary islands. These flights are normally on Fridays and include departures from most regional airports in the UK. There are also some charter flights on Tuesdays to Tenerife. All these flights arrive at Reina Sofia Airport in the south of the island.

Los Rodeos Airport in the north of Tenerife handles mainly inter-island flights and Iberia scheduled flights from the Spanish mainland. Iberia flights can be booked from London but involve changing planes at Madrid.

Tenerife - Our Secret Destinations:

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