Things to do
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Anaga Rural Park
Laurel forest, wet with mist on most mornings, covers the ridges of the island's northeast tip, with walking trails dropping to hamlets and black sand coves. Cruz del Carmen has a visitor centre and the start of several marked paths. The roads are narrow and winding, and cloud often hides the views by midday. The Pijaral path into the protected core of the forest needs a permit booked ahead.
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Auditorio de Tenerife
Santiago Calatrava designed this white concrete concert hall, its roof curling over the Santa Cruz seafront like a breaking wave. It is home to the island's symphony orchestra and hosts opera and concerts through the season. A ticket for an evening performance is the way inside, while the exterior and the seafront around it are open at any hour.
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Garachico
Lava from an eruption filled the old harbour in 1706, and the town rebuilt on the new rock, leaving natural swimming pools in the lava along the shore at El Caletón. The quiet centre has a convent, a small castle and a plaza with cafés. Swimming in the pools depends on the sea: waves close them in rough weather, and the north coast is calmer in summer.
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La Orotava
Steep cobbled streets lined with carved wooden balconies climb above the Orotava valley, where banana plantations run down to the sea. The Casa de los Balcones is the showpiece mansion, with a courtyard and a craft shop. Around Corpus Christi, in late spring, the streets are covered in carpets of flowers and volcanic sand. Parking in the centre is scarce, so the edge of town is easier.
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Loro Parque
Parrots started the collection, and the zoo now keeps one of the largest parrot groups anywhere alongside penguins in an artificial ice habitat, gorillas and big cats. Its orca shows draw criticism from animal welfare groups. A shuttle train runs from central Puerto de la Cruz. A full day is needed to see it all, and tickets bought online save queuing at the gate.
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Los Cristianos
Fishing port turned resort on the dry south coast, it keeps a working harbour where ferries leave for La Gomera, beside a sheltered sandy beach. Sunshine is reliable through the winter, which fills the town with long-stay visitors from November to March. The promenade runs on to Playa de las Américas, and the old quarter behind the port holds the fish restaurants.
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Los Gigantes Cliffs
Sheer basalt walls drop into the Atlantic on the west coast, rising several hundred metres straight out of the water. The fuller view is from the sea: boats leave the marina at Los Gigantes for trips along the cliff foot, often meeting dolphins and pilot whales in the channel. The harbour wall and the viewpoints above the town give a look from land.
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Masca
Reached by a road of hairpin bends through the Teno massif, the hamlet clings to a ridge above a deep ravine running down to the sea. The road is narrow and tour coaches slow the passing places, so early morning is the calm hour. The ravine walk to the coast runs on a booking system with the island authorities and closes in bad weather.
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Mount Teide
Spain's highest peak rises to 3,715 metres from the centre of the island, and a cable car climbs from 2,356 metres to the upper station in about eight minutes. The final path to the crater needs a separate national park permit, limited in number and often gone months ahead. Bad weather stops the cable car at short notice, and the thin air at altitude tires a visitor fast.
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Playa de Las Teresitas
Golden sand shipped in from the Sahara lines this beach, sheltered by a breakwater, below the fishing village of San Andrés. Palms, kiosks and calm water draw families from Santa Cruz at weekends, when the car park fills early. Weekday mornings are quiet. Regular buses run from Santa Cruz, and the seafood restaurants of San Andrés serve fish straight from the boats.
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Puerto de la Cruz
Black sand beaches, a harbour of fishing boats and a seafront promenade anchor the oldest resort on the north coast, with a working Canarian town around it. Lago Martiánez, a complex of seawater pools designed by César Manrique, offers calm swimming beside the rough Atlantic. Buses connect it to La Orotava and the Teide road. The weather is milder and cloudier than in the south.
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San Cristóbal de La Laguna
Grid streets laid out without walls became a model for colonial towns across the Americas, and the old centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Low painted houses, wooden balconies and courtyards line pedestrian streets around the cathedral. The university keeps the bars busy in term time. The town sits higher than the coast and is often cooler and cloudier, and the tram runs down to Santa Cruz.
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Siam Park
Thai-themed water slides, a wave pool with some of the biggest artificial waves anywhere and a lazy river fill this water park in Costa Adeje. The Tower of Power slide drops almost vertically into a tunnel through a shark aquarium. Queues for the main slides build by late morning, so arrival at opening pays off, and fast-pass wristbands cut the wait in high season.
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Teide National Park
Lava fields, pumice slopes and the eroded rock towers of Roques de García fill the caldera around the volcano, crossed by the main road over the island. Short marked trails start from the roadside car parks and viewpoints. Clear, dry air turns the park into a stargazing ground after dark. Temperatures drop sharply at this height, so a warm layer belongs in the car even in summer.
