Things to do in Tenerife: Mount Teide, beaches and where to stay

Five days cover Mount Teide, the north, Los Gigantes and Anaga, with time left for the beach; with a week you can add La Gomera. Renting a car is the most practical option, as the island’s best roads are excursions in themselves. And its mild climate makes any time of year a good time to go.

What to see in Tenerife: top sights

Top sightsAreas to stay

Teide National Park
The volcano, over 3,700 metres high, rises in the middle of a lunar landscape of lava flows and impossibly shaped rocks, a World Heritage Site. A cable car climbs to near the summit, and the trails around the Roques de García take in the most famous formations.
Recommended time: Half a day
Tip: It is cold at the top even in summer and the air is thin: bring a jacket and take it slowly. The cable car closes in strong winds, so check its status before setting off.
Loro Parque
In Puerto de la Cruz, one of Europe’s best-known zoos, with a large parrot collection, penguins in an artificial iceberg, gorillas, jaguars and an aquarium with a tunnel beneath the sharks.
Recommended time: 5–6 h
Tip: There is a combined ticket with Siam Park, and a free little train links the park with the centre of Puerto de la Cruz.
Hotels near Loro Parque · 291 properties
Siam Park
A Thai-themed water park in Costa Adeje, considered one of the best in the world: an almost vertical slide that shoots through a shark aquarium, a lazy river, one of the world’s largest wave pools and white-sand beaches.
Recommended time: 5–6 h
Tip: Arrive at opening time to ride the most famous slides without queues; sunbeds and cabanas can be booked.
Los Gigantes Cliffs
Walls of volcanic rock hundreds of metres high that plunge into the sea on the west of the island. The best way to see them is by boat, which usually stops for a swim and to look for dolphins and pilot whales, which live in these waters all year round.
Recommended time: 3 h
Tip: Choose a company with a responsible whale-watching label: they do not chase the animals or get too close.
Hotels near Los Gigantes Cliffs · 144 properties
Masca
A hamlet clinging to a ravine in the Teno massif, reached by a road of hairpin bends and dizzying views. From the village a trail runs down the gorge to the sea.
Recommended time: 2 h
Tip: The ravine trail requires advance booking and good fitness; the road is best enjoyed in the morning, with less traffic.
San Cristóbal de La Laguna
The island’s former capital, a World Heritage Site, was one of the first unwalled cities laid out on a grid and served as a model for many cities in the Americas. Its pedestrian streets are lined with colourful houses with wooden balconies, convents and a cathedral.
Recommended time: 2–3 h
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La Orotava
A stately town in a valley of banana plantations at the foot of Mount Teide, with the House of the Balconies, mansions with wooden courtyards and gardens. For Corpus Christi its streets are carpeted with flowers and volcanic sand from Teide.
Recommended time: 2 h
Hotels near La Orotava · 95 properties
Anaga Mountains
Mountains covered in laurel forest, the humid woodland that covered southern Europe millions of years ago, at the island’s north-eastern tip: trails through the mist, viewpoints over the sea and hamlets such as Taganana, with wild black-sand beaches like Benijo.
Recommended time: Half a day
Tip: The Path of the Senses at Cruz del Carmen is short and easy: ideal for a first taste.
Garachico
A fishing town in the north partly buried by a volcanic eruption in 1706. Today it has a well-kept historic centre and El Caletón, natural pools formed by lava by the sea.
Recommended time: 1.5 h
Puerto de la Cruz
The north’s most traditional resort town, with a centre of squares and Canarian houses, César Manrique’s Lago Martiánez, a complex of seawater pools by the ocean, and the Botanical Garden, founded in the 18th century.
Recommended time: 2–3 h
Hotels near Puerto de la Cruz · 272 properties
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
The capital, with Calatrava’s Auditorium by the sea, the Nuestra Señora de África market and, ten kilometres away, Las Teresitas beach, with golden sand brought from the Sahara. In February it hosts one of the biggest carnivals in the world.
Recommended time: 3 h
Hotels near Santa Cruz de Tenerife · 300 properties

Day trips from Tenerife

La Gomera
About 50 min by ferry from Los Cristianos
The neighbouring island, with the laurel forest of Garajonay National Park, a World Heritage Site, valleys of palm trees and terraces, and Silbo Gomero, a whistled language still taught in schools.
Icod de los Vinos
About 1 h by car from the south
The Thousand-Year-Old Dragon Tree, the most famous specimen of this Canarian tree, and the Cueva del Viento, one of the longest lava tubes in the world, explored with a guide.
Candelaria and the Pyramids of Güímar
About 30 min by car from Santa Cruz
The Basilica of the Virgin of Candelaria, patron saint of the Canaries, with statues of the old Guanche kings facing the sea, and the park of the mysterious stepped pyramids of Güímar.
Stargazing on Mount Teide
About 1 h by car from the coast
Teide’s sky is one of the best in the world for astronomy: there are sunset trips with dinner and telescopes, and guided visits to the Teide Observatory.

Tenerife in 3 days

Day 1
Mount Teide: the cable car first thing and a walk around the Roques de García; down through the valley to La Orotava. In the afternoon, Puerto de la Cruz and Lago Martiánez.
Day 2
The west: a boat trip along the Los Gigantes cliffs to see whales and dolphins, the Masca road and sunset in Garachico.
Day 3
La Laguna in the morning and an afternoon in Anaga, down to Taganana and Benijo. Or a family day at Loro Parque or Siam Park.

Tenerife with kids

Loro Parque, with penguins, gorillas and a large aquarium.
Siam Park, with a lazy river and pools for all ages.
A boat trip to see dolphins and pilot whales at Los Gigantes.
The seawater pools of Lago Martiánez in Puerto de la Cruz.

Free things to do in Tenerife

The viewpoints and trails of Teide National Park.
Strolling through the historic centre of La Laguna.
The beaches of Las Teresitas, El Médano and Benijo.
The natural pools of El Caletón in Garachico.
The Anaga trails from Cruz del Carmen.

Where to stay in Tenerife

The island has two faces: the dry, sunny south, with the big beach and hotel areas, and the green, more authentic north. Choose your base according to your plans; by car, everything is less than an hour and a half away.

Costa Adeje
Upmarket hotels, calm beaches such as El Duque and Siam Park next door: ideal for relaxing and for families.
Places to stay in Costa Adeje · 382 properties
Playa de las Américas and Los Cristianos
The hub of tourism in the south, with beaches, nightlife and the ferry port for La Gomera.
Places to stay in Playa de las Américas and Los Cristianos · 626 properties
Puerto de la Cruz
In the north, with more local life, close to Loro Parque, La Orotava and Mount Teide.
Places to stay in Puerto de la Cruz · 272 properties
Santa Cruz and La Laguna
City life, shopping and Canarian culture, close to Anaga and the north airport.
Places to stay in Santa Cruz and La Laguna · 300 properties
Los Gigantes
A quiet town beneath the cliffs, with a marina and sunsets over La Gomera.
Places to stay in Los Gigantes · 144 properties
El Médano
The town of the wind: long beaches and a surf and kitesurf scene, next to the south airport.
Places to stay in El Médano · 105 properties

See places to stay in Tenerife · 3,788 properties

When to go to Tenerife

Tenerife is known as the island of eternal spring: on the coast, T-shirt weather lasts almost all year. The south is drier and sunnier; the north greener and cloudier. Winter is high season, and in February the Santa Cruz Carnival fills the capital with celebrations.

Summer is warmer and the island fills with families; the sea is warmest from August to October. On Mount Teide the weather changes quickly, and from December to March there can be snow on the summit.

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Frequently asked questions about Tenerife

Do you need a car in Tenerife?

To explore the island freely, yes: Mount Teide, Masca and Anaga are much better by car. The guaguas, as buses are called here, connect the towns well, and many excursions include hotel pick-up.

How do you get to the summit of Mount Teide?

The cable car goes to near the summit. For the last stretch, up to the crater, you need a free National Park permit that is booked up far in advance; without it, trails lead from the top station to two viewpoints.

Is it better to stay in the north or the south of Tenerife?

The south is sunnier and has the big beach and hotel areas; the north is greener, cooler and more authentic, with towns like La Orotava and Garachico. For a first visit, most people stay in the south and take day trips to the north.