Tenerife is the island of eternal spring. Mount Teide, Spain's tallest volcano, dominates a landscape from black sand beaches in the north to golden stretches in the south. Perfect year-round climate, affordable prices and low-cost flights make it a European favourite.
Tenerife offers far more than the sun-and-beach package. Teide National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, protects Spain's highest volcano amid a landscape of lava flows and cinder cones that feels like another planet. The colonial towns of La Laguna and La Orotava keep their carved wooden balconies and sixteenth-century convents, while the Anaga mountains shelter ancient laurisilva forests, a relic of the Tertiary era. In the stretch of ocean towards La Gomera lives a resident population of pilot whales and dolphins: here whale watching is close to a certainty, not a lottery. Add genuine, surprising Canarian cooking — guachinches, mojo, volcanic wines — and the mildest winter in Europe.
Before the Spanish conquest Tenerife was inhabited by the Guanches, a people of Berber origin divided into nine kingdoms (menceyatos). Castile subdued it last of all the Canaries: Alonso Fernández de Lugo was defeated by the Guanches at La Matanza de Acentejo in 1494 and only completed the conquest in 1496. San Cristóbal de La Laguna, founded in 1497, was the first capital and the urban model later exported to the Americas, which earned it UNESCO World Heritage status in 1999. In the following centuries the island prospered on malvasia wine, praised even by Shakespeare, and paid the price of its volcanoes: the 1706 eruption buried the port of Garachico, and the last one was Chinyero in 1909. In 1797 Santa Cruz repelled Admiral Nelson's attack, in which he lost his right arm. After generations of emigration to Cuba and Venezuela, tourism changed everything: Puerto de la Cruz took off in the 1960s, the south after Reina Sofía airport opened in 1978. Teide has been a UNESCO site since 2007.
Tenerife works all year round: on the coast, daytime highs range between 22 and 28°C in every season, which is why the European winter is high season, with prices peaking between December and February. The south is sunny almost constantly; the north, exposed to the trade winds, is greener and more humid, with its characteristic sea of clouds at mid-altitude. The water goes from 19°C in winter to 23-24°C in late summer: you can swim year-round, though winter takes a little resolve. There can be snow on Teide in winter. May-June and September-October offer the best balance of weather and prices. In February the Santa Cruz Carnival, the world's second biggest after Rio, fills the island: book well ahead. Occasional episodes of calima, the Saharan haze.
Teide and its cable car — the teleférico climbs from 2,356 to 3,555 metres (around €40-45 return); the final 163 metres to the crater require a free permit, to be booked online weeks in advance. Anaga Rural Park — thousand-year-old laurisilva, trails from Cruz del Carmen, the hamlet of Taganana; a biosphere reserve. San Cristóbal de La Laguna — UNESCO colonial centre, patios and wooden balconies. La Orotava — Casa de los Balcones and a stately old town. Masca — a village clinging to a spectacular gorge; hiking down the barranco requires a paid booking. Garachico — the natural pools of El Caletón set among the 1706 lava flows. Icod de los Vinos — the Drago Milenario, the emblematic tree of the Canaries (about €5). Acantilados de Los Gigantes — cliffs up to 600 metres high, best admired by boat. Playa de Las Teresitas — a crescent of golden Saharan sand near Santa Cruz.
1 day (layover or day trip): morning on Teide with a pre-booked cable car, lunch in Vilaflor or La Orotava, afternoon in Garachico and Icod de los Vinos, sunset at Los Gigantes. 2-3 days: one day for Teide and La Orotava; one for the south with beach time and a whale-watching trip from Los Cristianos or Puerto Colón; one between La Laguna and the Anaga trails with lunch in Taganana. 5+ days: add Masca and the Los Gigantes cliffs, Puerto de la Cruz with Loro Parque or a day at Siam Park, El Médano, the guachinches around Tacoronte and, if you like, the ferry to La Gomera from Los Cristianos (50 minutes) for the Garajonay forest.
Canarian cooking is straightforward and convivial. Not to be missed: papas arrugadas con mojo (wrinkled potatoes boiled in heavily salted water, with a spicy red or coriander-green sauce), gofio (toasted grain flour, in escaldón or in desserts), conejo en salmorejo (marinated rabbit), ropa vieja, lapas (grilled limpets) and fresh fish such as vieja and cherne. Guachinches: homely taverns in the north, opened by winegrowers to sell their own wine, serving three or four dishes for €10-15. Wines: five denominations of origin; Tacoronte-Acentejo was the first DO in the Canaries and the reds from volcanic vineyards are a surprise. Desserts and coffee: almond bienmesabe, quesillo and the barraquito, a layered coffee with condensed milk and liqueur. Lunch on a menú del día €10-14, fish dinner €20-35. Avoid the copy-paste restaurants along the tourist seafronts.
Costa Adeje, Playa de las Américas and Los Cristianos (south): the holiday machine — fully equipped beaches, resorts, nightlife and the island's highest prices. El Médano: constant wind, kitesurfing and an alternative vibe two kilometres from the southern airport. Los Gigantes: towering cliffs and departures for whale watching. Puerto de la Cruz: the charm of the north, a historic resort town with the black-sand Playa Jardín. Santa Cruz: the capital — shopping, the Auditorio and Carnival. La Laguna: university town and UNESCO site, the ideal base for Anaga. Vilaflor and Teide: mountain villages and the parador inside the caldera for those seeking silence and starry skies.
February-March: the Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the biggest after Rio — weeks of parades, murgas and the election of the queen; the climax on Shrove Tuesday, followed by the «entierro de la sardina». May-June: for Corpus Christi, La Orotava lays carpets of flowers and coloured Teide sands across the streets of its centre. 23 June: San Juan bonfires on the beaches, above all in Puerto de la Cruz. July: Romería de San Benito Abad in La Laguna, ox-drawn carts and traditional dress. 14 September: the feast of the Cristo de La Laguna, with fireworks. 29-30 November: San Andrés — in Icod youngsters hurtle down the slopes on wooden boards, and everywhere new wine and roast chestnuts are shared.
Tenerife has two airports, and the difference matters. Tenerife South–Reina Sofía (TFS), 20 minutes from Los Cristianos, receives almost all tourist and low-cost flights: from Italy, Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz Air connect Milan, Bergamo, Rome, Bologna and Venice with direct flights of 4.5-5 hours, from around €50-120 each way in low season. Tenerife North–Ciudad de La Laguna (TFN), near Santa Cruz, mainly handles connections with mainland Spain (Iberia and Vueling via Madrid or Barcelona) and the inter-island flights of Binter and Canaryfly. If you land at TFN but are staying in the south, allow over an hour on the road. TITSA buses link both airports to the rest of the island.
The green TITSA buses («guaguas») cover the whole island: express line 111 links Santa Cruz, the southern airport and Costa Adeje, line 343 connects the two airports with Puerto de la Cruz, line 102 Santa Cruz, La Laguna and Puerto de la Cruz. You can pay on board by bank card; the rechargeable ten+ card discounts every ride. From TFS: bus to Los Cristianos about €3-4, to Santa Cruz €9-10; taxi to Costa Adeje €30-35. From TFN: 20 minutes and €2-3 by bus to Santa Cruz. The tram links Santa Cruz to La Laguna in 40 minutes (€1.35). For Teide, Masca and Anaga a hire car is close to essential: reliable local companies from €25-40 per day. From Los Cristianos, ferries reach La Gomera in 50 minutes.
Return flight from Italy €100-250 in low season, €250-400 between December and February or around Carnival. Sleeping: hostels and guesthouses €20-40; apartments €50-90; 3-star hotels in the south €60-110 per night; 4-star €90-180, often half board; the north costs 20-30% less. Eating: menú del día €10-14, guachinche €10-15, average dinner €20-35 per person, local bottled wine from €8. Car: hire €25-40 per day, petrol cheaper than on the mainland thanks to Canarian tax rules. Attractions: Teide cable car around €40-45, Siam Park and Loro Parque €40-50 each (discounted combined tickets), whale watching €25-60. Total: a week for two, flights excluded, from €700-900 on a budget to €1,500-2,200 with a 4-star hotel and a car.
Currency: euro; the Canaries apply a reduced tax (IGIC at 7%), so perfume, electronics and tobacco cost less than on the mainland. Language: Spanish; English widely spoken in tourist areas. Time zone: one hour behind Italy and central Europe. EU citizens only need an identity card; the EHIC card covers public healthcare. EU roaming applies at no extra cost. Tap water: safe but desalinated; almost everyone drinks bottled water. Type C/F sockets at 230V, as in Italy. Safety: a quiet island; watch out only for thefts from cars at trailhead car parks and pickpockets in crowded spots. Tipping: not compulsory, 5-10% if you liked the service. The Atlantic sun is deceptive: high-factor sunscreen even under the sea of clouds, especially at altitude.
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