Tenerife is two islands in one. The south is the sunny holiday coast of beaches, water parks and boat trips; the north is greener and more Spanish, with old towns, gardens, Loro Parque and the misty Anaga mountains. In the middle, Mount Teide rises to 3,715 metres, the highest point in Spain. Most first-time visitors stay on one coast and make day trips, and a little planning makes the difference between a week of beach and a week of real discovery.
What to book ahead
The Teide cable car is the one ticket to sort first, because tours and time slots sell out in busy weeks and the cable car can stop in high wind, so you want flexibility in your dates. If you want to stand on the summit crater, apply for the free national park permit as soon as your dates are fixed, since places are limited. Siam Park and Loro Parque tickets are dated, and the Siam Park entry ticket on Tiqets cannot be refunded or moved, so check the forecast first. Whale-watching trips from Puerto Colón and the Teide Observatory visit are easy to book a few days out, while the Parador inside the national park and the Michelin-starred restaurants of the south need booking well ahead.
How to get around
A hire car gives you the most freedom, and the motorways that run along the south and north coasts are fast and easy. Mountain roads to Teide and through Anaga are narrow and winding, so allow extra time. Without a car, the island’s TITSA buses link the main towns, a tram runs between Santa Cruz and La Laguna, and organised tours with hotel pickups cover Teide, the north and the boat trips. Siam Park runs its own buses from the southern resorts, and a free train links Puerto de la Cruz with Loro Parque. There are two airports: Tenerife South, close to the resorts, and Tenerife North, near La Laguna.
How many days
A week is ideal for a first visit. Spend two days on the beaches and at Siam Park, one on Teide, one on a whale-watching trip and three in the north for Loro Parque, La Laguna, the Anaga mountains and Icod. With four or five days, choose Teide, one big park, a boat trip and a day in the north. With two weeks you can add a ferry day trip to La Gomera, longer hikes and lazy beach days.
The south
Costa Adeje and Playa de las Américas are where most visitors stay. Siam Park, with the Tower of Power slide and a huge wave pool, is the big family day out. From Puerto Colón, catamarans sail north-west to look for the pilot whales and dolphins that live in the strait between Tenerife and La Gomera and to cruise beneath the cliffs of Los Gigantes.
Teide and the sky
The national park is a lunar landscape of lava flows and rock towers, best seen on a clear morning before cloud builds. Ride the cable car to La Rambleta at 3,555 metres, photograph the Roques de García, and add the daytime solar telescope visit at the Teide Observatory. Tenerife is protected by a law against light pollution, and on clear nights the stars over the park are extraordinary, so a stargazing evening is worth considering.
The north
Puerto de la Cruz is the old resort of the north, with Loro Parque on its western edge. Twenty minutes further west, the giant dragon tree of Icod de los Vinos stands in its own garden, and the historic port of Garachico is close by. La Laguna, a World Heritage city whose grid plan shaped colonial towns across Spanish America, is the place for a half-day walk, and the Anaga mountains begin at its edge, with laurel forest trails and the village of Taganana. On the way back, Playa de Las Teresitas near Santa Cruz is the island’s best golden-sand beach.
The east
The Pyramids of Güímar, six stepped platforms of volcanic stone in a museum park, make a good half-day stop between Santa Cruz and the south.
Good to know
The weather changes with altitude and with which side of the island you are on: the south is the sunniest, the north greener and cloudier, and Teide can be close to freezing at any time of year. Pack layers, sunscreen and good shoes. Prices here are in general terms, and opening hours and fares change, so check before you go.