Tenerife, Spain: things to do, when to go and how to get there

Get to know the place

A region to enjoy
at your own pace.

Tenerife is the largest of the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, about 300 km off the coast of Africa and nearly 2,000 km from Madrid. The island is volcanic, and in its center rises the Teide, at 3,715 meters, the highest point in Spain, within a national park that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with lava fields, craters and colorful rocks.

The climate is mild year-round, which earned the Canaries the nickname of the eternal spring islands. The north of Tenerife, facing the trade winds, is green and humid, with banana plantations, vineyards and the laurel forest of Anaga; the south is dry and sunny, with large beach resort complexes.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the capital, shares the Canarian government seat with Las Palmas and has the Calatrava Auditorium, plazas, museums and a carnival that usually fills the city in February or March. Next to it, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, a World Heritage Site, was the model colonial town taken to the Americas. In the north, Puerto de la Cruz, a tourist town since the 19th century, lies near the La Orotava valley and is a base for the Teide.

Flights from Madrid take around 2h45.

This destination brings together 2 cities: Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Puerto de la Cruz.

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One destination, many paths

The cities on this trip

Start with one city or combine several in your itinerary.

Where Tenerife is

Outlines: IGN/CNIG, unidades administrativas, CC BY 4.0. Adapted by Cidade Turismo.

How to get there: Tenerife

✈ Aeropuerto de Tenerife Norte-Ciudad de La Laguna (TFN), in San Cristóbal de La Laguna · 10 km to Santa Cruz de Tenerife

✈ Aeropuerto de Tenerife Sur (TFS), in Granadilla de Abona · 60 km to Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Check before buying. Tenerife has two airports: Tenerife Norte, near Santa Cruz and La Laguna, with domestic flights, and Tenerife Sur, with flights from Europe. From Madrid, the flight takes about 2h45. Ferries link Santa Cruz to Gran Canaria in about 2 hours.

Suggested arrival point: Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Canárias · Tenerife Capital Suggested arrival point

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Santa Cruz de Tenerife is the island's capital and shares with Las Palmas the seat of the Canary Islands government. It has the port, the Auditorio de Santiago Calatrava, García Sanabria park and the Museu da Natureza e Arqueologia, with the guanche mummies. Next to it are San Cristóbal de La Laguna, a World Heritage Site, Las Teresitas beach and the Anaga mountains.

Canárias · Tenerife

Puerto de la Cruz

Puerto de la Cruz is Tenerife's oldest tourist town, on the north coast, at the foot of the La Orotava valley. It has been receiving visitors since the 19th century, attracted by the climate, and features César Manrique's Lago Martiánez, the 1788 botanical garden, Loro Parque and black-sand beaches. It is the most practical base for ascending the Teide.

The local experience

Things to do in Tenerife

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Canary Islands · Concert hall

Auditorio de Tenerife Adán Martín

The Auditorio de Santiago Calatrava opened in 2003 by the sea, with a curved white roof about 60 meters long that resembles a wave, and is home to the island's symphony orchestra.

Puerto de la Cruz · Canary Islands · Mountain

Teide National Park

National park in the center of Tenerife, with the Teide volcano at 3,715 meters, the highest point in Spain, lava fields, the Roques de García and a cable car. UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Puerto de la Cruz · Canary Islands · Park

Lago Martiánez

Seawater pool complex on the waterfront of Puerto de la Cruz, designed by César Manrique and opened in 1977, with a central lake, lava islets, palm trees and sculptures.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Canary Islands · Museum

Museum of Nature and Archaeology

Museum in the old civil hospital, dating from 1745, with the volcanic nature of the Canaries, fossils and the collection on the guanches, the island's first inhabitants, including mummies.

See 12 more places in Tenerife

Puerto de la Cruz · Canary Islands · Garden

La Orotava Aclimatization Garden

Botanical garden created in 1788 by order of King Carlos III to acclimatize tropical plants brought from the colonies, with a giant fig tree and century-old palm trees.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Canary Islands · Park

García Sanabria Park

Urban park from 1926 in the center of Santa Cruz, with tropical and Canarian plants, fountains, a flower clock and sculptures from an open‑air international exhibition of 1973.

Puerto de la Cruz · Canary Islands · Park

Loro Parque

Private zoological park opened in 1972 as a parrot park, a few minutes from the center, with a large collection of birds, a penguin enclosure, dolphins and other animals.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Canary Islands · Beach

Playa de Las Teresitas

About a 1.3 km beach in San Andrés, 8 km from Santa Cruz, with light sand brought from the Sahara, a breakwater that calms the water and the Anaga mountains behind.

Puerto de la Cruz · Canary Islands · Historic village

La Orotava

Colonial town perched above the valley, 6 km from Puerto de la Cruz, with houses featuring wooden balconies, the Casa de los Balcones, baroque churches and carpets of flowers and colored earth for Corpus Christi.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Canary Islands · Park

Anaga Rural Park

Mountain massif in the northeast of the island, a Biosphere Reserve, with laurel forest (laurisilva) draped in moss, trails, viewpoints and isolated villages like Taganana.

Puerto de la Cruz · Canary Islands · Beach

Playa Jardín

Beach of black volcanic sand on the west side of Puerto de la Cruz, with gardens, palm trees and waterfalls designed by the studio of César Manrique, next to the Castillo de San Felipe.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Canary Islands · Historic village

San Cristóbal de La Laguna

Former capital of Tenerife, 10 km from Santa Cruz, with a late‑15th‑century centre laid out on a grid plan — a model for colonial cities in the Americas. UNESCO World Heritage.

Puerto de la Cruz · Canary Islands · Park

Drago Milenario de Icod de los Vinos

Canary dragon tree of about 18 metres and uncertain age, a symbol of Tenerife, in a park in Icod de los Vinos, 25 km from Puerto de la Cruz.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Canary Islands · Museum

TEA Tenerife Space of the Arts

Herzog & de Meuron art center from 2008, on the edge of the Barranco de Santos, with contemporary art exhibitions, the Óscar Domínguez collection, and a library open 24 hours part of the year.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Canary Islands · Church

Church of the Conception (Santa Cruz)

Santa Cruz’s main church, dating from the 16th century and rebuilt in the 17th, with a five‑storey tower and the Cross of the Conquest, raised by the Castilians in 1494.

Puerto de la Cruz · Canary Islands · Village

Masca

Remote village in the Teno mountains, in the northwest of the island, squeezed between cliffs and a deep ravine that descends to the sea, reached by a road with tight bends.

Before you go

Practical information

A little planning leaves more time to enjoy the journey.

When to go

Tenerife generally has a mild climate year-round. From March to June and from September to November there are fewer tourists. In winter, the north gets more rain and it can snow on the top of the Teide, which sometimes closes roads and the cable car. Santa Cruz's carnival usually takes place in February or March.

The seasons shown are the most usual ones; nature doesn't always follow the calendar.

How many days to stay

Four days cover Santa Cruz, La Laguna, Anaga, the Teide and Puerto de la Cruz with La Orotava. With six or seven days you can add Masca, the cliffs of Los Gigantes, the drago of Icod, Garachico and beach days in the south.

Which city to stay in

Santa Cruz and La Laguna are good for those who want city life, museums and transport to the north. Puerto de la Cruz is the classic base for the Teide and the La Orotava valley, with older hotels and a seafront promenade. The south, in Costa Adeje and Los Cristianos, concentrates the beach resorts, near Tenerife Sur airport. For a full day at the Teide, Puerto or the valley are closer.

Respect the place

Take your trash with you, follow the signs and support local businesses. In natural areas, follow the visiting guidelines.

Get your questions answered

Frequently asked questions about Tenerife

Do I need a car in Tenerife?

A car is very helpful for the Teide, Anaga, Masca and the villages. The guaguas, as buses are called in the Canaries, serve the main towns and there is a line to the Teide, with few departures per day.

Can you reach the summit of the Teide?

The cable car takes you up to about 3,555 meters. The final stretch to the peak, at 3,715 meters, requires a permit from the national park, requested online in advance, with limited places.

Is Tenerife good for the beach?

The south has light-sand beaches and calmer seas, like in Los Cristianos and Costa Adeje. In the north, many beaches have black volcanic sand and rougher seas.

How to get from Tenerife to Gran Canaria?

By ferry, from Santa Cruz to Agaete or Las Palmas in about 1h20 to 2 hours, or by plane in about 30 minutes.

Tenerife

A region to enjoy
at your own pace.