Things to Do in Tenerife

About Tenerife

Tenerife is the largest of the Canary Islands, a volcanic outpost off the coast of West Africa that belongs to Spain in name but feels like its own microcontinent. Mount Teide, Spain's highest peak, dominates the interior and everything is arranged around it — pine forests and lunar craters up top, banana plantations on the mid-slopes, and a coastline split into two distinct personalities. The south is where most visitors land: purpose-built resort towns like Playa de las Américas and Los Cristianos with guaranteed sun, golden imported sand, and a nightlife scene that runs late. The north is older, greener, and rainier, centred on the capital Santa Cruz and the genuinely beautiful colonial town of La Orotava.

What makes Tenerife unusual is the climate engineering done by geography itself — trade winds get trapped by Teide, so the south stays dry and warm almost year-round while the north catches clouds and lush vegetation. This means you can have a legitimate beach holiday in December, which is exactly why Tenerife built its tourism economy on British and German package holidays decades ago and never really stopped. That history is visible: some resort strips are unapologetically kitsch, with full English breakfasts and karaoke bars alongside excellent Canarian restaurants two streets over.

Beyond the resorts, Tenerife rewards anyone willing to rent a car and drive twenty minutes inland. The Teide National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the strangest landscapes in Europe, all red rock and volcanic ash. The Anaga Rural Park in the northeast is dense laurel forest with hiking trails that feel prehistoric. This is a destination for families wanting reliable weather and easy resorts, for hikers and stargazers drawn to Teide's observatory-grade night skies, and for anyone who wants a proper holiday of contrasts without a long-haul flight from Europe.