… well that’s a sentence I’ve never thought I would say – yet here we are on a 10-day road trip, and I can guarantee that one of the highlights – the cherry on top, literally – was climbing the 3rd biggest volcano in the world, Teide.

But let’s not run to the crater straight away. First, let me formally introduce you to the largest of the Canary Islands, Tenerife.

This island is the most important tourist destination in Spain – no wonder why, since climate-wise Tenerife is pretty much perfection. Moderate warm and sunny throughout all year, with very little rain fall, and seasonal variation – depends a bit on the region and altitude tho’.

The middle of the island is Teide National Park with the volcano (3.718 m) and its surroundings – also an UNESCO World Heritage site. The ecosystem is totally formed by volcanic eruptions which created unique lava formations and the habitat for the local flora and fauna.
Teide is a natural border between north and south.

The south is the most popular part of Tenerife. If you want to be on the beach all day and party all night, then look up something around Playa de las Americas – but don’t expect anything cultural here, in the epicenter of trash mass tourism. If you want some pure livin’ la vida loca and after that at 3am you are in a desperate need of a chicken tikka masala… hey, you are in luck! 👍

The north part has a totally different climate and atmosphere than the buzzing south. Probably that’s why many people are not even bothered to come here – please don’t be like that. Especially if you like the authentic little towns, nature, mountains with wild beaches… Oh, you will absolutely love it here. Anaga is like an enchanted forest with hundreds of hiking routes for all fitness levels.

As you can see this island has so many treasures all around, so I would recommend renting a car, so you can roam around freely. Unfortunately, the public transport isn’t great outside of the cities. Also, the hotels, and getyourguide.com does offer a wide variety of day-trips to different parts of the island – it’s really worth it to leave the hotel, I promise. 🙏
The drive around Tenerife can take from 4 – 6 hours, depending on the stops you make along the way. So you see, it’s nothing crazy, it’s totally doable – you can explore the whole island comfortably, just like we did. So let me show you our itinerary, maybe it will convince you to visit Tenerife.

Tenerife road trip – The must-see things

Vamonos

Teide National Park

It’s not every day that you can walk around on top of the clouds, on a 3.700-meter-high active volcano with the ground open and steaming next to your feet.
It was an amazing experience, I have to recommend it to everyone – but it is very important to know that it’s a bit different atmosphere up there than at sea level in a bar sippin’ your all-inclusive mojitos… It’s harder to breathe – nothing serious, but still a significant difference. Also, the air has a strong smell, and strangely enough, a strong flavor too – it’s sulfur, gasses, and steam – hence it’s an active volcano.

You can take the cable car – find all the available tickets and package options HERE. Or… well, you can actually hike or bike too, if you are in amazing shape… It’s a veeEeEery steep terrain that goes for a good 10-12 hours, upupup to the altitude above 3.700m – so yeah… I’d say let’s just take the cable car…
The view is absolutely amazing once you arrive at the top after a comfortable 10 minute-ish ride. You will find a mirador there, and a few other easier hiking routes if you want to continue your exploration.
IMPORTANT: if you want to visit the crater you will need to request a special permit – it’s free but it will only be valid for the chosen date, and you need to book it way ahead of your travel – you can do HERE, or it’s included with some of the package options.

We started our drive early today because we wanted to explore the other surroundings too, in the National Park. Honestly, guys, it felt like we were on another planet. The lava formations from previous eruptions are shocking and amazing at the same time – it’s a Mars-like surreal volcanic landscape.

You can’t help but wonder… how it would be if Teide would just… explode like… right now.

On the way you should definitely stop at Roques de Garcia too – gigantic volcanic rocks created by many years of erosion. It’s an easy 4 km hike with a bit challenging but only for a 100-meter ascend at the very end.

Shortly we arrived at the highlight of the day – if not the whole trip – the star of the show, the mighty Teide. I was super-excited, I’ve never experienced anything like this before – the highest point I’ve ever been to was the Pyrenees on the first day of my Camino de Santiago journey – which is a 1.000 and something meters. Well, now this is around 3.700 meters – Imma’ let this sink in…

…currently at the top of the world

Teide – with an altitude of 3.718 meters. The rock formations that tell the geological story of millions of years have been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. If you are lucky enough to go on a clear day, the view is unbelievable with the sight of the islands: Gran Canaria, La Palma, El Hierro, and La Gomera, not to mention the entire island of Tenerife at your feet.

The formation began hundreds of years ago after a giant volcano collapsed – it was even bigger than what we are standing on today – 😳

… here you can’t help but think how small and insignificant you are compared to the enormous, beautiful world around you.

… see, that’s how small you are.

Acantilados de Los Gigantes

Los Gigantes is a chilled-out resort town in the South part of Tenerife near the giant rock formations called Acantilados de Los Gigantes – basically a wall that rise from the sea to a height of 500-800 meters.
There are plenty of walking trails that go into the mountains. We really wanted to do a route here but it looked quite dangerous on the edge, and some of them required even ropes and proper equipment so we thought maybe we were not quite fit for that.
SoOoOo… that’s why we decided to go on a whale-watching boat trip. Because – lightbulb moment 💡 – while we are waiting for the whales and dolphins to jump out from the water, we can actually get a closer look at these giants too – from the sea, which is the perfect angle, actually.

You can find plenty of whale-watching trips organized from different parts of the island. I would totally recommend getting one that goes out from Costa Adeje. We signed up for a 6-hour boat trip with a paella lunch on the boat. The boat took us basically on a sightseeing trip too, since we went all the way up on the coastline to Playa de Masca – where we had a bit of a beach time.

We also had a beach day nearby at Playa de la Arena – the sand beach. But not just any sand, black sand guys. It’s a specialty you can find in Tenerife because of the volcanic base of the island.

… the Los Gigantes area is also great for those picture-perfect sunsets, you only see in the movies…

Garachico

When a volcano erupted in 1706 it destroyed almost the entire town, but what that meant was an opportunity to be reborn from the ashes – and today this gem is one of the most popular day trips for people who want to explore the real side of Tenerife. Garachico is quite undeveloped – the town has successfully managed to retain its local and authentic scenery, architecture, and food.

There are no real beaches, but you can find a rare natural beauty, El Caletón – volcanic swimming pools. Created by the last eruption of the volcano back in 1706, as the lava reached the sea it formed these natural swimming pools

hashtagnofilter – the water is crystal clear and a color I’ve never seen before

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I wanted to put together one post only about Tenerife but around halfway writing this article I realized it is indeed… impossible.
There’s just so much this beautiful island has to offer…

So stick around, because there’s still a lot to uncover in the upcoming 2nd part of my Tenerife Diaries.

Let’s see…. we are gonna explore Masca – the mini Macchu Picchu, and take a hike in an enchanted forest north of the island, Anaga. I will show you a 1000-year-old dragon tree and you will see what’s the fuss about the carnivals here. We will have time to investigate some crimes with Agatha Christie… and last but not least we gonna take a detour to Siam and Loro Park – just to entertain the kids too.

So see you at the next one then,

Noémi

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