
Playa de las Americas, Tenerife © canaryforum.com
If there is any spot on the globe that enjoys a perfect climate,
Tenerife in the Canary Islands is it. There is markedly little
variation in the average temperatures between summer and winter,
which hover between 59ºF and 75ºF (15-24ºC), and
there is only very occasional rain. Throw this in to the mix of
verdant forests in the northern part of the island as well as
mountains, deserts, volcanoes, exotic plant and animal life, and
spectacular beaches (with black volcanic sand) - and you have a
holiday paradise.
Tenerife offers the unique experience of swimming and sunbathing
on a beautiful beach while just a few miles away snow sparkles on
the crest of Mount Teide. The island's central mountain stands at
12,200 feet (3,719m), the highest in Spain, and a cable-car ride to
the summit offers unrivalled views of the lunar-like landscape of
the volcanic slopes.
The island's capital, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, is an upbeat town
geared for tourism. Its port, where once the first shots of the
Spanish Civil War were fired, is today a morass of ferries,
jetfoils and freighters.
Resorts
See our separate guides to the following Tenerife holiday resorts: Golf del Sur, Playa de las Americas, Costa del Silencio, Los Cristianos, Las Caletillas, Playa la Arena, Puerto Santiago, Los Gigantes and Puerto de la Cruz
Excursions
Masca
For scenery a visit to the northwest tip of the island of
Tenerife, around the picturesque village of Masca, is hard to beat.
The village is set in the Teno Mountains, clinging to the slopes of
a deep green ravine beside a narrow road...
see full detailsPirámides de Güímar
On the east coast of Tenerife, south of Santa Cruz, stand six
mysterious step pyramids of which archaeologists have yet to
discern the origin. The pyramids were initially thought to be just
remains of agricultural stone terraces, or random piles of stone
cleared from...
see full detailsTeide National Park
The Parque Nacional de las Canadas del Teide was declared a
protected area in 1954 and has become recognised as offering one of
the most spectacular landscapes of the world, including an enormous
volcanic crater with a circumference of 30 miles (48km), out...
see full detailsTenerife Beaches
The volcanic nature of the island of Tenerife meant that the
land has few natural beaches. Those that exist are
characterised by black shingle stretches created from the
island's volcanic rock foundations. The demand for tourist
sun-bathing space, however, has led to the creation of resorts and
man-made...
see full details