The Original Guide to Tenerife
Look beyond the tourist tropes and you’ll find Tenerife is erupting with oh-so-cool experiences, from cloud-touching volcanic peaks, rustic pop-up restaurants and quirky street art to the wines of Shakespeare’s day
04/06/2025
Words: Ross Clarke
Pre-trip culture checklist
Read: Dogs of Summer, the debut novel by Tenerife local Andrea Abreu. This atmospheric tale follows a young girl growing up in the volcanic foothills in the north of the island. What starts as admiration for her best friend soon turns to obsession. You’ll be gripped.
Listen: Since 1965, Los Sabandeños has been maintaining the folk music traditions and cultural heritage of Tenerife and the Canary Islands. This group of singers and musicians regularly plays concerts across the island and further afield.
Watch: The 2010 slapstick romcom With or Without Love has plenty of Tenerife sights, particularly around Garachico.
San Cristóbal de La Laguna in the north of the island (Rebecca Naylor)
Live like a local
“Tenerife is a place of culture and history, and you’ll find hints of Spain, South America, Portugal, North Africa and the UK in our architecture, language and on our dining tables. To get an authentic feel for the island, I would suggest visiting the historic towns of the north such as La Orotava, La Laguna and Garachico (where the streets have been beautifully preserved). Tenerife has become a real gastronomic destination over the last few years. Traditional Canarian food consists of products such as gofio (toasted flour), potatoes, almonds, rabbit, goat and cherne (grouper), cooked simply. It’s something we try to champion in our restaurant El Calderito de la Abuela, but you can find really good rustic Canarian food in Guachinche Ramón, El Salón or Restaurante El Nervioso. I love to drive through Anaga Rural Park, where you go through quiet hamlets and end up at the unspoilt Playa Benijo. I also like Playa los Patos – its coarse black sand gives it such distinct beauty with the Atlantic Ocean as a backdrop.”
The omnipresent Mount Teide (Rebecca Naylor)
New view
You can’t miss the soaring peak of Mount Teide looming over the island – it is Spain’s highest mountain, after all. To get an alternative perspective, jump on the ferry to nearby La Gomera and take the short walk from the port to nearby Playa de la Cueva. If the sky is clear, you’ll be able to capture the mountain, the beach and the Atlantic Ocean framed by the La Gomera cliffs in a single shot.
MUNA and TEA in Santa Cruz deliver different takes on Tenerife’s history and culture (Rebecca Naylor)
Rainy day saviours
Should you get a rare rainy day on the island (or if the hot temperatures get a bit much), take respite in one of Santa Cruz’s many museums. Learn about the Guanches – Tenerife’s original inhabitants (before the Spanish colonisers) at the Museum of Nature and Archaeology (MUNA), before popping next door to Tenerife Espacio de las Artes (TEA). This super-chic modern art gallery and library is a world away from the classical Canarian architecture of MUNA and has regular visiting exhibitions from local and international artists.
Traditional ropa vieja (chickpea stew) and croquetas (Rebecca Naylor)
The original… Pop-up restaurants
For at least the last century, many of the island’s wine producers have set up makeshift canteens in their sheds, garages and barns each harvest season. Originally created to sell the growers’ surplus wine, these rustic restaurants are quintessentially Tinerfeño and serve traditional dishes such as baifo (kid goat), ropa vieja (chickpea stew – literally translated as ‘old clothes’), and papas arrugadas con mojo (salty, wrinkly potatoes with red pepper or green coriander sauce). Served with cheese, bread and wine in the distinctly no-frills surroundings (think plastic patio furniture and thin paper tablecloths) they are incredibly good value. Just remember to bring cash.
Bird’s-eye view
Depending on which way you land, you’ll spot the easterly islands of Lanzarote, Gran Canaria and the tiny La Graciosa. If you land from the west, keep your eyes peeled for La Palma – you’ll know which one this is as it’s likely verdant and lush, which is also why it has the nickname ‘La Isla Bonita’.
Gemma Arterton and Sam Worthington as Io and Perseus in Clash of the Titans
As seen on screen
Tenerife is a popular filming location for both the big and small screen, often stepping in as a dupe for other destinations. The La Noria neighbourhood in Santa Cruz de Tenerife stood in for a Greek town in Jason Bourne in 2016. Teide National Park features heavily in the 2010 blockbuster, Clash of the Titans, and season two of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power was also shot on location across the island.
Wheelchair trail at Teide National Park (Rebecca Naylor)
Access all areas
The main resorts, including Los Cristianos are very accessible, being mostly flat and easy to get around, with long promenades leading to accessible beaches. There are at least 14 beaches with facilities including accessible parking, changing rooms and toilets and amphibious wheelchairs. There are wheelchair trails in both Teide National Park (head to the visitor centre at El Portillo) and Anaga Rural Park. Local company LeRo provides a range of mobility aids and services.
The sensory six
Bush lily at La Orotava, the second oldest botanical garden in Spain (Rebecca Naylor)
The next Carnival is on 17 February 2026
A barraquito coffee cocktail at Café Palmelita (Rebecca Naylor)
Light play at the Museum of Illusions
Weathered Playmobil mural in the La Ranilla neighbourhood (Rebecca Naylor)
Mystical Mount Teide is the stuff of legends (Rebecca Naylor)
Smell
La Orotava Botanical Garden has been going – and growing – since 1788 on the orders of King Carlos III, who wanted exotic plants from around the world at his gardens in Madrid. These gardens were set up to acclimatise the plants and flowers before they headed to mainland Spain.
Hear
You can’t escape the party each year around February when the Carnival (the largest outside of Rio de Janeiro) comes to town, with rhythmic drumbeats, parties and comparsas – groups of traditional singers, musicians and dancers.
Taste
Another typical Tinerfeño treat is a barraquito coffee. Made with layers of Licor 44, condensed milk, espresso, hot milk, foam, a twist of lemon peel and a dusting of cinnamon, this rocket-fuel-like pick-me-up will get your day off to a roaring start.
Touch
Phones at the ready… Astound your followers with mind-bending feats at the Museum of Illusions in Santa Cruz. Are you really floating in the air or dancing on the ceiling?
See
Puerto de La Cruz has a street-art trail that takes in 15 different works. It also hosts the International Street Art Festival, Mueca, each May.
Sixth sense
The Guanches worshipped Achamán, the creator of all things, whose name means ‘the skies’. They also believed in Guayota, a devil-like deity, often represented as a black dog. Legend has it that Guayota was trapped inside Mount Teide by Achamán and, when angered, the volcano would erupt. Some believe that Guayota still resides in the volcano.
MYND Adeje is on the rugged southwestern coast of the island
Where to stay
From museum hopping to lounger flopping, chilled-out MYND Adeje resort is just a short stroll from the black sand beach of Callao Salvaje on the southwestern coast of the island. Take a salty dip amid this gloriously rugged landscape or admire nature’s bounty from afar with a plunge in the rooftop pool, where sprawling ocean views burst with colour as the sun sets over neighbouring island La Gomera. A blissful retreat from the hustle and bustle of the north, reach peak Zen here as the tinkling of water features leads the way to the dedicated wellness centre, passing through the hotel’s meandering vegetable garden dotted with mini MYND bug hotels for Canarian critters. Here fresh herbs, fruits and vegetables grow in abundance, promptly finding their way into the open kitchen of restaurant Lamesa as talented chefs whisk up splendidly fresh seasonal fare, from zingy strawberry gazpacho to charcoal-roasted catch of the day. Rather reside in the heart of the action? A short drive up the coastline, sister hotel Sholeo Lodges Los Gigantes sits conveniently between Playa de la Arena’s thoroughfare of paddleboards and pedal boats and the local bars and eateries of Puerto de Santiago.
You’ll find a range of other accommodation options on the island, from chic villas to five-star palatial hotels, boutique lodges to cool city boltholes. For all-out, adults-only luxe, book into JOIA El Mirador by Iberostar with its Costa Adeje beachfront location and blissful spa. Its restaurant El Cenador, helmed by chef Rafael de León, offers creative takes on classic Canarian dishes paired with local wines. For something a bit more traditional, try Hotel LIVVO La Quinta Roja in Garachico. It’s a restored centuries-old manor house with just 19 rooms. You’ll be within walking distance of the area’s famed natural sea pools. The upmarket Hard Rock Hotel Tenerife is a great choice for families, as it has a cool music-themed kids’ club, three swimming pools and endless entertainment options, including live shows, sports and games.
Fresh scallops at La Recova market in Santa Cruz
The one thing
Nothing quite beats the stalls, shouts and shellfish of La Recova market in Santa Cruz. Head downstairs on the weekend and sample freshly cooked fish and seafood washed down with a drop of local wine from one of the amiable vendors. Talking of the sea, the strait between Tenerife and La Gomera is the World Cetacean Alliance’s first Whale Heritage Site in Europe. This body of water is like a corridor for pilot whales, dolphins, seals and turtles all riding the current. Take a tour with a responsible and sustainable operator such as Biosean.
Wine has been made in Tenerife for centuries – it was popular with Shakespeare, who supposedly had a barrel of Canary Sack written into his salary – and it’s worth stopping by a vineyard or two to taste some of the local vino. Try Bodegas Ferrera, which at 1,000m is one of the island’s highest vineyards. Don’t leave without a bottle or two of its dry rosé. It’s made with indigenous Listán Negro grapes.
Ponta de São Lourenço, Madeira (Tim Roosjen)
Where next?
If you’re partial to Tenerife, then you’ll probably enjoy Madeira. While you might be swapping Spanish for Portuguese, there are lots of similarities between these two Atlantic islands. Just like Anaga Rural Park in Tenerife, the forests of Madeira are home to the prehistoric laurisilva. These are two of only a handful of places in the world where you can witness this 20-million-year-old plant species. Just as Tenerife has historic wine, so does Madeira in the form of… well… Madeira. This sweet, fortified wine has been made here since the 15th century. You’ll also find well-established resorts, and both black and yellow sand beaches.
