Highlights
 | Plenty of whales, dolphins and turtles in the south coast. In some
places enough to be a navigational hazard. Nice anchorages and good
marinas. |
| Visit the volcano Mount Teide, at 3718m the highest peak in Spain, you
don't have to go to the top in the cable car (it's expensive and the
queues are often long) but whatever you do, hire a car, the drive up there
through the forests and lava fields, it is spectacular and changes every
season of the year. |
| Relax at Playa Teresitas or any of the other beaches or try a Parque
Maritimo. Santa Cruz probably has the best shopping facilities in the
Canary Islands. |
| Sizzling tourist nightlife on the south coast or sizzling Canarian
nightlife in Santa Cruz. |
| 10 days of Carnival in February/March. Not for the faint hearted, but
spectacular. |
| Delightful authentic architecture in La Orotava and La Laguna, good
night life in La Laguna too. |
| Take a day to explore the Anaga mountains and the rugged northern
coastline. |
Overview
Tenerife is probably best known as a tourist resort
and the year round sunshine, cheap shopping and benevolent climate mean that
it has a steady supply of tourists arriving in the southern resorts of Playa
Las Americas and Los Cristianos. However life outside these areas is very
different. The Canarians seem to have mastered the art of localising tourism
in particular places and not many tourists leave these locations, which is a
shame because Tenerife is a very varied and beautiful island.
The beaches in the south are beautiful but to see the
island from the sea is to appreciate the variety that exists here, beaches,
volcanoes, forests, gigantic standing stones, and fields of lava.
Mount Teide (really a volcano) is the highest
mountain in all of Spain, and stands a very impressive 3,718m high. For
several months of the year despite the temperature at sea level the peak is
covered in snow. The drive towards it is spectacular as you progress upwards
through the farm land, through the woods and forests, above the tree line to
the volcanic lava fields and the volcano itself which as a national park is
a protected area (Las Canadas National Park).
The flora and fauna of the island is as varied as the island itself, in
addition to bountiful crops of avocados, grapes, figs, bananas, papayas
there is the Drago tree, unique to Tenerife. The oldest one is at Icod de
los Vinos, very close to La Cueva del Viento which is the largest volcanic
cave in the world.
Facts
| Tenerife has 14 documented anchorages and 5 marinas. |
| Largest island in the archipelago, over 2,000 sq. m, and a population
of about 650,000. |
| Longest dimensions, about 40 nautical miles north to south and 30 east
to west. |
| Home to the Solar Observatory, Teide is a star watchers delight. The
thermal inversion layer at about 2,000m ensures (more or less) excellent
star gazing conditions above this almost every night of the year. |
| Millions of tourists come here every year. More or less they all stay
in Los Cristianos, Playa Las Americas or sometimes Puerto de la Cruz.
There is a LOT more to this island than these resorts. |
| Carnival here (February) is second only to Rio de Janiero. I will say
no more. You won't believe it till you've seen it. |
| Nelson lost his arm here (in Santa Cruz). The Canarians however
patched him and his crew up so well and released them that before he left
Nelson penned them a thank you letter (other hand presumably). It is
prominently displayed near the marina. |
|
|
|
|
|
Tajinaste
One of the plants only found in the Canaries (I think!) |
|
|
|
National Park of Teide
Volcanic debris for miles. Its spectacular |
|
|
|
|
|
Pine Forests
Teide is 3,800m high, on the way up ypu go through the pine forests until the air is too thin/cold. Difficult in your average sailing vessel but worth hiring a car for. Its only a half day trip. |
|
|
|
Teide
30 deg C at the coast zero 40 minutes later at the top of Teide its snowy! |
|
|
|
|
|
Antequerra
Attractive anchorage on the north eastern coast. Nothing ashore but a beach. Bring your own drinks! |
|
|
|
Puerto Colon
South coast marina. Crowded and often difficult to get in, there are worse resorts though. |
|
|
|
|
|
Anaga Mountains
Again, difficult in your sailing vessel but worth a car trip. Just to the north of Santa Cruz (carry on and go up Teide in the same day!). |
|
|
|
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
One of the many Spanish styled parks which feature in almost all Canary Island towns |
|
|
|
|
|
Very artistic...
|
|
|
|
