TENERIFE

Tenerife is the largest of the Canary Islands.  The capital city is Santacruz de Tenerife.  Tenerife is divided into two climatic regions, the north is almost sub tropical while the south is dry and arrid.  The difference in climate shows in the landscape, in some areas of the south, the scenery resembles the surface of the moon.  The most popular resorts on Tenerife are Puerto de la Cruz in the north and Los Cristianos and Playa de las Americas.  There are two airports on Tenerife the Tenerife south airport is the main airport, Tenerife's north airport is much smaller.    Tenerife is extremely popular with tourists and second home owners from all over Europe, it has a year round mild climate, rarely falling below 20c.  Tenerife is volcanic, the volcano on Mount Teide has been active as recently as 1909 and is the earth's third largest volcano.

THINGS TO DO

One thing's for sure, you won't be stuck for things to do in Tenerife.  There are a whole range of outdoor and indoor activities available including surfing ,horse riding, cabaret shows, submarine trips, a medieval knight show, , wildlife tours, coach trips and much more.  Isango are the internet's top excursion company, offering the cheapest excursion prices available, a claim which is backed up by an offer of a double the difference refund  if the same product is found anywhere else within three days of booking.  You can use Isango to book worldwide activities online, saving you the hassle of booking when you arrive.  You can also give trips as a gift when you know somebody is going on holiday.  Click on the Isango logo below to find their full catalogue of activities.

Car Hire In Tenerife

Without a doubt, the best way of seeing the island, is by car.  A car is the only way to reach some of the more inaccessible parts  off the beaten tourist track.  The roads in Tenerife are very good and renting a car isn't too nerve racking.  There are an awful lot of car rental companies operating out of Tenerife's main airport and choosing a decent one shouldn't be too much of a problem.  I always use  easyCar I find their prices are always spot on and their website very easy to use.  I also think going for one of the bigger companies gives you more peace of mind.

Wow, Black Sand!

The first thing that people notice when they arrive in Tenerife, is that the beaches have black sand.  This takes a bit of getting used to.  The reason is that the sand is volcanic ash which has been pulverised over thousands of years by the Atlantic breakers.  There is one exception, a man made beach at Terasitas.  The beaches of Tenerife have  some of the best surfing in the world and it isn't unusual to see the tv cameras making programs about surfers, when you're down at the beach.  Unlike the Med which is more like a large lake, the Atlantic has some huge waves.  If you walk down the promenade at Puerto de la Cruz, you can spend hours watching the coast  being battered by the surf.  The lido, at the far end of Puerto de la Cruz's promenade is often flooded during storms, luckily its  sea water anyway.

Lorro Park

Lorro Park is a large zoo on the outskirts of Puerto de la Cruz.  It is famous for its parrots and the amazing variety on show.  Lorro means parrot in Spanish and there are an awful lot of different species, or as Cilla Black may have put it "a lorra lorros"  There is also a pond containing more koi carp than I have ever seen. Considering the price at my local pond centre they must be worth an absolute fortune.  The park also has a Dolphin show which is great for the kids. 

Food

Try to sample at least one Canarian specialty while you're on holiday, the food is unlike any in the rest of Spain and I think you'll be impressed.  For a brief introduction to Canarian cuisine have a look at our food page.

Mount Teide is the island's most popular tourist attraction, it dominates the skyline in Puerto de la Cruz. Teide is often snow capped in the winter months and makes an unusual backdrop when sunbathing in temperatures of 25c.  The first thing you notice when arriving at the plateu on which Teide stands, is the crystal clear atmosphere.  Its almost as if veils have been lifted from your eyes.  The scenery is barren with rocks strewn around interspersed with unusual plants.  As you travel up the winding road to Teide, you often pass through banks of fog as the temperature changes.  On the way up, you pass through forests and small mountain villages where coaches often stop. The film 10,000BC starring Raquel Welch was made in the area around Teide.

PHOTOGRAPH BY AHISGETT 

Being a year round resort, Tenerife is extremely popular around Christmas.  The average temperature is between 23c and 25c making it extremely pleasant.  The air quality is excellent, you really notice it when you arrive.   Tenerife is a favourite for second home owners from other parts of Europe and there are lots of apartments and villas available to rent.  There are quite a lot of apartments to rent direct from the owners advertised on our website.  You can see what's available here.

Villa Holidays In Tenerife

"If you're one of the lucky few who are in the market for a villa holiday, things don't get much better."

With all the doom and gloom  in the UK, rising prices, credit crunch  etc, etc the last thing on most people's minds is going on holiday.  For the lucky few who can afford to escape, there's never been a better time for a bargain.  With everyone tightening their purse strings, holiday companies are having to make some drastic reductions in their prices.  James Villas are renowned for the quality of their villa holidays, but they too have had to slash some  villa holiday prices.  At the moment there are  bargains on offer with up to a whopping 50% discount.  There are villas with private pools available in various parts of the island many with the prices slashed.

 See What's Available And Book Online

Fully Inclusive Hotel Holidays

Christmas is coming and Tenerife is the ideal destination, book early and  pick up a bargain

Okay, so we can't all afford to be splashing out on a villa, so what else is available?  As I mentioned before, with all the belt tightening going on, this is putting the squeeze on tour operators.  To try and shift some of the holidays they have left, big discounts are being offered.  Thomson holidays are amongst the big names offering late deals to Tenerife.  Christmas is always a popular time of the year for holidays in Tenerife and a lot of people will pull all the stops out to make sure they get there.  Consequently the prices do rise over the Christmas period and even in these hard times, its still wise to book early.  What we used to do when the kids were young, was to go for the week prior to Christmas and come back  the day before Christmas eve and by doing that, we made some amazing savings, I think this is still possible.  Check out the Thomson Holiday website with this link to their Tenerife pages to see what's available.  I think they'll be reviewing their prices daily and there could be some big discounts being offered in the coming weeks so keep checking back. 

THE BIRD OF PARADISE FLOWER

photograph by glen_e_wilson

Flora and Fauna

The climate in Tenerife, especially in the north of the island, is perfect for growing a wide variety of fruit vegetables and especially flowers, of which there are abundant varieties which don't grow anywhere else in Spain.  The most famous of Tenerife's many colourful flowers is the bird of paradise, one of the most exotic plants on the island.