Tenerife is the 2nd island I visited from the total of 7 main islands that are in the Canaries.

So far, it was love at first sight with both Tenerife and Fuerteventura. We spent 4 days in May in Tenerife, booking the accommodation at The Suites at Beverly Hills (300 euro for 4 nights/ 2 bedrooms apartment + 15e/person for breakfast and dinner), located in the South of the island, in Los Cristianos. The food was good: breakfast was delicious and the dinner was fair for the price paid.

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We landed in the morning, flying from Barcelona with Ryanair and we rented a car from AutoPlus (112 euro for 4 days/7pax). Somebody from AutoPlus will wait for you in the airport with the car keys, somewhere at -2, close to the parking lot. There are no extra fees, no credit card needed, the gas has the full to full policy and the insurance is also full. Just pick it up and enjoy. I don’t know how public transportation is on the island, but from my point of view renting a car is a must. The gas is very cheap, around 0.95e/l.

So, on our first day, we took it slow (like we always do) and after checking-in at the hotel, we visited Monkey Park, which was close to the hotel. The Park is very small (being the smallest zoo in the world) and I would say that is for kids, rather than adults.

After that, we spent the day at the beach in Las Americas.

For a very beautiful sunset, close to our accommodation, we chose Chiringuito Palm Mar – good music, good prices, great vibes.

Siam Park

2nd day was dedicated to THE MOST AMAZING WATER PARK in the world – at least for me – SIAM PARK. It’s a must. I’ve been to Atlantis Aquaventure Waterpark in Dubai and PortAventura Caribe near Barcelona, but this one is just the best. There was no queue, so we were able to enjoy the rides as many times as we wanted. Entrance fee is 38euro/person – book it here.

During the morning of our 3rd day, we visited a banana plantation – Finca Las Margaritas. Find it on google maps as Finca Tenerife Daisies (free parking). The entrance fee is 7e/person and it’s worth every penny. It’s a self-guided tour, no time limit and includes the tasting of banana products, gofio presentation, and a store. Gofio is one of the most traditional cooking elements on the island, made with cereal grains that are roasted and then ground. Also, they sell all kind of amazing products – banana wine, mango sauce, banana sauce, and multiple other banana derivates. Buy them all 🙂

Teide National Park

After that, we headed to the most important attraction on the island – Teide National Park, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is located in the center of the island. This is a MUST SEE while there. It doesn’t matter which route you will choose (we used google maps to navigate), it will leave you breathless. Multiple stops were needed to enjoy the spectacular views and of course, for taking lots and lots of pictures. On top of Teide, you will find Mount Teide Cable Car, which offers you the best excursion to Spain’s highest volcano, at 3.555m. Unfortunately for us, Teide Cable Car was closed due to strong winds that day, therefore, we were not able to enjoy this adventure. Price: 13.5e / person. If you want to head to the top of the summit you will need to get a permit in advance.

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Masca Village

During the same day, we headed to Masca Village which is one of the highest villages in Tenerife. The road to the village is more than amazing, very narrow and quite dangerous for non-experienced drivers, but totally worth it. This is another must while in Tenerife.

We then went to Bollullo Beach, a soft black sand beach surrounded by cliffs, where we weren’t able to stay more than half an hour because it was cold and cloudy. The weather in the north is very different from the weather in the south.

Our day ended at Acantilados de Los Gigantes (Cliffs of the Giants), which are vertical walls reaching heights of 500 meters in some places. The panoramic view is very beautiful.

Last day in Tenerife gave us one of THE MOST INCREDIBLE ENCOUNTER, we had the opportunity to see whales and dolphins in their own habitat – the ocean.

Whale and Dolphin Watching

Because we had nothing booked in advance, we went to Puerto Colon and just asked around for trips. We found the perfect one – boat ride for 2h for 28e/pers. I cannot describe the feeling you have when a whale is swimming next to the boat, for 15 minutes and you just sit there and admire it or when 20 dolphins are in the playing mood around the boat. Just wow!

After the boat trip, we went to Playa de las Teresitas in Santa Cruz which is a sheltered manmade beach made with sand imported from the Sahara Desert. The beach is wide and nice, while the viewpoint gives you a great perspective. For the rest of the day, we explored Santa Cruz de Tenerife and San Cristóbal de La Laguna.

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Facts:

1. Tenerife is the largest of the Canary Islands.
2. Every year the island attracts over five million tourists.
3. Has 300 sunny days per year (at least in the South)
4. Tenerife and the rest of the Canary Islands have a different time zone to the rest of Spain, as they use GMT.
5. Tenerife island is closer to Africa than the European Continent. The distance from the island to the African coast is just 100 km whereas, the distance from Europe to Tenerife island is more than 3000 km.
6. Many of Tenerife’s beaches are not natural, but man-made due to the islands volcanic nature. You will find the natural ones have characteristic black sand.
7. The island can be reached by both of the international airports: Reina Sofia in the south of the Island and Los Cristianos.
8. Tenerife’s Teide National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the second most visited park in the entire world.
9. Due to its colossal size, Mount Teide is known to cast the largest sea shadow in the world.
10. The island’s famous Thai themed Siam Park, is the biggest water park in Europe and offers one of the highest waterslides in the world.
11. Siam Park currently holds seven world records. These include the world’s largest Thai building outside of Asia, the largest man-made wave in the world (approximately 3.3 meters) and the first green water park in the world.
12. The ‘Wind Cave’ (La Cueva del Viento) is the largest volcanic tube in Europe measuring 18 kilometers in length. It is one of the ten longest lava tubes in the world and holds a myriad of underground passages.
13. William Shakespeare mentions Canarian wine in two of his works, The Merry Wives of Windsor and Henry IV. Every year he was given a barrel of Tenerife’s Malmsey wine as part of his salary.

Even if Loro Park is a very important touristic point in Tenerife, I do not recommend it, as I do not agree with zoos (don’t judge me for Monkey Park) or with aquariums. Animals, mammiferous and birds are made to live in the wild, in their natural environment, except when we are talking about saving species or taking care of the hurt ones.