Things To Do in Tenerife holidays

Las Vistas, in Los Cristianos, is one of the most popular beaches in Tenerife. The water here is mill pond calm, so it’s great for little swimmers, and the sand is fine and golden. There are plenty of watersports on offer, too, including pedalo boats and jet skis.

This festival was first held in Grand Canaria in 1992. Since then, it’s grown in popularity and spread like wild fire all over the Canary Islands. Tenerife plays a different part every year, hosting free jazz concerts in Plaza Europa in Puerto de la Cruz and paid-for music events in Santa Cruz.

Translated, Loro Parque means Parrot Park and, as the name suggests, it’s home to more than 1,400 different parrots. But that’s just the start of the story. This award-winning attraction, about an hour’s drive from Playa de las Americas, also features a series of giant sea-water pools where four orca whales live. Plus, there’s a tiger enclosure, where you can see Prince, one of the only captive white tigers in the world.

The sand here is dark and volcanic, but don’t let that put you off. Playa de la Arena has got a Blue Flag award and a reputation for being one of the cleanest beaches on the island. It’s especially popular with families, because it’s conveniently close to restaurants and shops, where you can get essentials like sun cream and water.

Soaring up to 3,718 metres, Mount Teide is the highest mountain in Spain. It’s also an active volcano, but you wouldn’t know that to look at it. This giant peak took a sabbatical from eruptions at the start of the 20th century and it’s shown no sign of blowing its top since. Today, most tourists take the cable car up to the summit, where the views take in the whole of Tenerife.

Tenerife’s capital, Santa Cruz, is home to the parliament of the Canary Islands. But for all its suited-and-booted credentials, the city’s main business is pleasure. Retail therapy is served up in style at the enormous El Corte Ingles department store – Spain’s answer to Selfridges. And all sorts of cuisine and cocktails are on offer in the recently-refurbished harbour area.

The landscape of Teide National Park has an extra-terrestrial look to it. Spreading out for 18,990 hectares, the ground here is covered in solidified lava and jagged with craters and calderas. Hollywood has taken advantage of the strange scenery to film sci-fi epics like Planet of the Apes and Star Wars. The park is criss-crossed by walking tracks, so you’ll have no trouble exploring.

If you want to get under Tenerife’s skin, head to the Anthropological Museum. Just 15 miles from Puerto de la Cruz, this place puts the island’s history and traditions in the spotlight. The museum itself is set inside a 17th-century farmhouse and there are 14 exhibition rooms where you can learn about everything from pottery and farming to clothing and crafts.

Close to the old town, Playa de Los Cristianos is a boomerang of white sand. It’s next to the harbour, so you can watch the speedboats, yachts and catamarans come and go throughout the day. There are plenty of watersports to try your hand at, as well.

Mountain views, white sand and softly-sloping shallows are all in Puerto Colon’s portfolio. The sunloungers on the sand are hired out for some of the lowest rates around, and there’s plenty of space for people who just want to lie on their towels, too.

Duke Beach lives up to its regal name. Set in the south of Costa Adeje, it’s got a reputation for being one of the classiest beaches on the island. The sunloungers are topped with extra-thick mattresses, there are changing gazeboes on the sand, and the whole place is backed by a series of stylish bars and cafes.

Taking place in Santa Cruz, this festival celebrates the foundation of the town. Crosses made from flowers are displayed throughout the town and firework displays are held in Puerto Del La Cruz and Los Realejos.

Once you’ve caught a glimpse of these huge cliffs on the island’s northwest coast, you’ll understand why they’re named Los Gigantes – The Giants. These massive walls of rock soar up out of the sea near the beach town of the same name, and reach 600 metres in height. The best way to see them is from the sea, and plenty of tour companies offer sightseeing boat trips.

This trio of ancient pyramids stand guard over Tenerife’s east coast, 40 minutes’ drive from Playa de las Americas. Granted, the constructions are by no means as impressive as Egypt’s clutch, but they ingeniously point to the sun during the winter and summer solstices. What’s more, they’re shrouded in mystery. Archaeologists can’t agree on who created them or why they were built.

If you can drag yourself away from the beach, Tenerife is a great place for walking. Montana Blanca is often overlooked as a hiking destination in favour of Mount Teide, but you can wear away some serious shoe leather here. The mountain is the third tallest in Tenerife, but it’s also home to some of the easiest rambling trails.

With cobbled streets, colonial houses and a 16th-century convent, Garachico is a sleepy traditional village. But it wasn’t always this way. This place has had a turbulent past. Since it was built in 1496, it’s experienced bubonic plague, plagues of locusts, pirate attacks and devastating volcanic eruptions. The drive here takes roughly 45 minutes from Playa de la Arena.