The beauty of Tenerife
By Amrita Evans
The enchanting island of Tenerife is best known for its excellent weather and stunning natural beauty. While many people travel to Tenerife to simply soak up the sun for a while, the island also has a whole host of other attractions that are just waiting to be discovered. Boasting an excellent tourist infrastructure, which includes an impressive range of hotels and other accommodation options, plenty of places to dine in style, restaurants and a vibrant nightlife scene, Tenerife is an excellent choice for a getaway.
Los Gigantes — Photo by Linda Wainwright of IslandMomma
The majority of flights to Tenerife arrive at Reina Sofia, which is located in the south of the island. This airport receives around 10 million passengers from all over the globe each year and is well connected to the rest of the island by public transportation. There is also a second airport on Tenerife, namely Los Rodeos. This airport can be found in the north of the island and mainly provides domestic flights between the other Canary Isles and parts of Spain.
Many visitors to Tenerife choose to base themselves in the capital city of Santa Cruz, which is famous for its museums and historic architecture. Santa Cruz also features lots of shops and markets where visitors can browse for bargains on locally produced handicrafts, eateries that serve traditional dishes as well as international favourites and an impressive range of bars and clubs. Destinations such as Puerto de la Cruz and La Laguna also feature plenty of amenities and receive large numbers of year-round visitors.
Tenerife is an excellent place to explore independently, as stunning natural attractions can be found scattered all over the island. The Cliff of the Giants can be explored just across the bay from the charming resort town of Los Giantes (top photo) and is one of the most famous attractions on Tenerife. Visitors can reach this 800 metre high rock face by boat, and taking a boat trip is also a great way to discover Tenerife.
Mount Teide in Winter — Photo by Linda Wainwright of IslandMomma
Spectacular views of Mount Teide, often snow-capped in winter, can be experienced from several points on the island. This volcano measures a mighty 3,718 metres, making it the highest point in all of Spain. Mount Teide forms part of Teide National Park, and visitors can take a cable car to the top of the mountain to wonder at breathtaking views across the whole of Tenerife.
Vilaflor — Photo by Linda Wainwright of IslandMomma
Lovers of wildlife will want to take a trip to Loro Parque, which can be found close to Puerto de la Cruz. This wildlife centre contains a huge collection of animals from around the globe, including the largest collection of parrots in the world, tigers, jaguars, gorillas and Europe’s biggest dolphin habitat. Other Tenerife attractions that should not be missed include the Natural History Museum, Octopus Park, the traditional Canarian village of Vilaflor and, Taganana, which is a remote village that is steeped in history and culture and is an excellent place to sample fresh fish dishes accompanied by locally produced rose wine. You can easily get cheap flights to Tenerife online, so what are you waiting for?
Someday I really want to visit Tenerife (as well as other Canary Islands.) They seem so beautiful and exotic!
I love IslandMomma!! I love the Canaries, Las Canarias, although I’ve never been to Tenerife. Even though when I lived in Spain, that is certainly the one I saw advertised the most! Gorgeous!!
Photo of the Mount Teide in Winter is quite amazing. Particularly because other areas are not covered in snow.
Oh, hopefully we could get here too. Heard it has some good hiking parts. Great pics!
Wow, that mountain is beautiful. Their 10 million visitors annually must swallow up their less than 1 million residents. Wonder when would be the best time to go to avoid the crowds?
Gorgeous, never been to Tenerife, Mount Teide is amazing!
Mount Teide looks amazing and I’d be happy to spend a day checking out the nature sanctuary too.
Beautiful! I would love to see Mount Teide and its national park. I like how it has so much to offer for everyone with varied interests. Enchanting seems to fit quite well.
Looks beautiful! I’m always on the lookout for good islands to explore
You often forget that outside the main towns of these islands there’s some beautiful places to be explored. I’d never imagined snow on Tenerife! Mount teide looks beautiful.
I have been on Tenerife this year in June. It was the small town of Adeje on the South and I’ll say you they make veeeerrrry good steaks 🙂 Plus white wine (not red)…. mmmmmm.
This looks beautiful and very interesting! I’ve not been but think I would enjoy a stay in Tenerife and the Canaries!
It sounds like an ideal place to spend at least a few days in the sun, etc!
I know surprisingly little about the Canary Islands…Perhaps I should change that with a visit:)
Thanks for the nice comments. Amrita’s information and Linda’s gorgeous photos have secured Tenerife’s place on my must-visit list. It’s been on there a long time – I better get going.
I wish I stayed in Spain even longer (though I stayed there longer than any other country while I was in Europe just this past summer). I’ve always planned on spending some time in the Canary Islands, but never made it happen. And thinking about it, I don’t know why. Another reason to go back to Spain, I guess.
Great article. I just have to add that the best month to go up the Teide is September when you will be able to see most of the other islands from the top. The view from there is spectacular.
Regards
I really want to go to the Canary Islands, but I think it will have to wait until I’m in Europe. Sigh…