Canary Islands
Tenerife
A UK traveller's guide to Tenerife: the south for guaranteed winter sun, the green north for the real island, Teide in the middle, plus airport transfers, real costs in pounds and whether you need a car.
In short
Tenerife at a glance
Tenerife is the UK's default winter-sun island, and it splits cleanly in two: the dry, resort-lined south (Costa Adeje, Los Cristianos, Las Américas) where the sun is near-guaranteed even in January, and the greener, cooler, more Canarian north around Puerto de la Cruz and La Laguna. Mount Teide, mainland Spain's highest point at 3,718m, sits in the middle and is the one excursion everyone should make. Most UK visitors fly into Tenerife South (TFS), 15–20 minutes from the southern resorts, and stay a week.
Tenerife is the island most UK travellers reach for when the clocks go back, and the first thing to understand is that it’s really two islands stitched together. The south — Costa Adeje, Los Cristianos, Playa de las Américas — is dry, hot and reliably sunny right through winter, because Mount Teide stands in the middle of the island and physically blocks the cloud rolling in off the Atlantic. The north, around Puerto de la Cruz and the handsome UNESCO town of La Laguna, gets that cloud instead: it’s several degrees cooler, noticeably greener, and far more Canarian in feel. Neither is better; they’re answers to different questions. If you want a sunlounger you can rely on in January, go south. If you want the island people actually live on, go north.
In the middle sits Teide itself, mainland Spain’s highest point at 3,718m and the one excursion worth peeling yourself off the beach for. The cable car carries you to 3,555m for about €40 return, but the free permit to walk the final path to the true summit has to be booked weeks ahead on the Tenerife ON site — slots release every Monday — so sort it before you fly if you want it. Go early either way: by midday the cloud and the coach crowds both build, and it’s genuinely cold up top even when the coast is sitting at a comfortable 25°C.
The honest verdict on a car: you don’t need one for a beach-and-Teide week. TITSA buses link the resorts and both airports cheaply, a Ten+ card costs €2, and a single organised tour covers the volcano. But the best of Tenerife — the vertiginous Masca valley, the prehistoric laurel forests of Anaga, the empty west-coast coves — is exactly the part the buses don’t reach. Hire a car (from around £25 a day) for two or three of your days, even if you give it back and go back to the beach for the rest.
The route
A relaxed week that pairs a southern beach base with the two excursions worth leaving the sunlounger for — Teide and the green north. Bus times are TITSA estimates; a hire car cuts the north day roughly in half and opens up Masca.
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Days 1–2
Settle into the south
Base in Costa Adeje or Los Cristianos: Playa del Duque and the Los Cristianos promenade, an easy first couple of days finding your feet. Pick up a Ten+ travel card (€2) at the airport if you plan to use buses. Book Siam Park (€42 adult) for one of these mornings if you've got kids.
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Day 3
Mount Teide
The headline excursion. Drive or take a tour up to the cable car (about €40 return to 3,555m); if you want the actual summit, book the free Telesforo Bravo permit weeks ahead on Tenerife ON. Go early — clouds and crowds build by midday, and it's genuinely cold at the top even when the coast is 25°C.
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Day 4
Los Gigantes & Masca
The west coast: the towering Los Gigantes cliffs and, if you've a car, the hairpin drive down to Masca village. No direct bus reaches Masca, so this is the day a hire car or guided tour earns its keep. A whale- and dolphin-watching boat from Los Gigantes or Puerto Colón is the reliable add-on.
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Days 5–6
The green north
Cross to the other Tenerife: Puerto de la Cruz for the Lago Martiánez sea pools and the botanical gardens, and UNESCO-listed La Laguna for the prettiest historic streets on the island. It's cooler and can be cloudy — bring a layer. By bus this is a long day each way; by car it's a comfortable loop.
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Day 7
Beach and slow down
Back to the south for a final beach day before flying home from TFS. Playa del Duque for golden sand and calm water, or the quieter Playa de la Arena up the west coast if you've a car. Drop the hire car at the airport on the way out.
Where to base yourself
Pick one or two bases rather than moving every night.
Costa Adeje
£££ premiumThe polished southern base: golden Playa del Duque, the smartest hotels and Siam Park on the doorstep. Best for families and anyone who wants reliable sun with proper amenities, though it's the priciest of the southern resorts and can feel built-for-tourists rather than Canarian.
Best for: Families, winter sun, comfort
Los Cristianos
££ mid-rangeMore relaxed and better value than its neighbours, with a working harbour, a long sandy beach and a walkable promenade. Popular for longer winter stays because you get more space for your money and the ferries to La Gomera leave from here.
Best for: Longer winter stays, value, walkability
Puerto de la Cruz
££ mid-rangeThe northern alternative: greener, cooler, more Canarian, with the Lago Martiánez sea pools, a real old town and the botanical gardens. The catch is the weather — more cloud and the odd rainy spell that the south rarely sees. Best paired with Tenerife North (TFN).
Best for: Culture, first-timers wanting the real island, cooler air
Getting around Tenerife
TITSA buses (guaguas) link all the main towns and both airports; single trips run roughly €1–2 and a reusable Ten+ card costs €2 from airport machines and bus stations. That's plenty for a beach base plus a Teide tour. The catch is the wild bits — Masca village, the Anaga forest trails and the mountain back-roads are barely served or not served at all by bus — so hire a car (from around £25/day) if you want the north, the west coast or the freedom to chase viewpoints. Driving is on the right, the motorways are good, and resort-centre parking is the only real hassle.
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