After an extremely hectic past 2 months with all the moving, filling up boxes, selecting everything we needed for this 1-year journey, etc., we finally had some days off to recharge the batteries and get ready for the adventure.

In the past few years Tenerife was synonymous with work. With our other website (Tenerife Travel Secrets) up and running, every time we were travelling to the island we, within a matter of days, had a full itinerary, visiting hotels, establishments, agents, etc. The positive side was that we always got great feedback on our reviews and more and more readers were visiting it.  The website was growing fast and so was its credibility, and that was always a good sign.

Paddleboard with Anaga Experience

The drawback of that is that we were not spending as much time with Ruth’s family as we would have liked. So this time we decided to have some real holidays, enjoy the weather, the island, the food, family and friends.

Noah is the one who benefited the most from that. His grandparents and parents together on some excursions around the island: the best of both worlds.

Tenerife is one of the places that you visit once and always want to go back to. Although an island, its beaches are not the most sought-after attractions. The island is much more than that, and I, as a foreigner, was able to confirm that.

The thing I like the most is the diversity: the greener north has the weather from the mainland blocked by the volcano – El Teide, a source of pride of the inhabitants of the Canary Islands – whereas the south has the more arid weather of the Sahara and is very much more developed and touristy.

The north of Tenerife is characterized by being greener and more humid

If you ask us what you should visit and do while in Tenerife we will probably need some time to list the best places, but this is a good start:

• The volcano El Teide and the Las Cañadas National Park – of course that you can’t leave the island without visiting the volcano and the National Park. Several things to do in and around there, such as hiking along one of the senderos (hiking paths), taking the cable car, enjoying the stargazing spectacle, and many other activities;

• Spend the day in one of the water parks. There are 4 of them that are most well-known: Parque Marítimo Cesar Manrique, a complex of seawater swimming pools in Santa Cruz de Tenerife; Lago Martiánez, which is in turn a open-air museum with many sculptures from the artist Cesar Manrique, apart from its seawater pools, and is located in Puerto de La Cruz; Siam Park, known as the best water park in the world with several radical and low difficulty attractions; and Aqualand, our favorite, as it is perfect for families (don’t miss the Dolphin show);

• If you are a golf lover, or simply starting out in the sport, Tenerife has 9 golf clubs located across the island. All of them have a unique characteristic, so at least one of them will be suited to your game;

• Go hiking along one of the many trail paths, called senderos, located in the national, rural and local parks, as well as through the historical cities. You can also include in your program some mountaineering, canyoning, abseiling, etc. Recommended: Barranco de Masca, Barranco de Los Arcos and Barranco de Bóveda;

• If you are not much of an adventurer or would rather spend some time at a nice resort, Tenerife has several hotels and resorts for all tastes and budgets. They usually have all the facilities and amenities that a visitor would expect for their holidays;

Royal Garden Villas is one of the best examples of Luxury hotels in Tenerife

• Whale and dolphin watching: these beautiful animals are located just off the south coast, and it won’t be difficult to find a catamaran that will take you to see them;

• Wine tasting in Tenerife is almost like a sport. The quality of this delicious drink is very high on the island, and some of the wineries have even won several awards for their wine;

• Since we are talking about wine, you can’t miss the delicious food from the Canaries. A Tenerife Food Experience is very recommended, and the prices are generally affordable, considering how amazingly tasty the dishes are. There you can find restaurants, tascas, bodegóns and the famous guachinches, which are very simple, cheap restaurants serving local food and wine, during the period when the wine of the establishment is still available for sale;

• The traditional festivals are also recommended. The most famous is, of course, Carnival. The island is full of colours during the period and locals and visitors are all creatively dressed to enjoy every single day of the festivities. But carnival is not the only festival. The island and the towns always have some festivities of smaller and bigger proportions;

• And, of course, the beaches. As mentioned above, the beaches are not the top attractions on the island, but every one very much enjoys spending the day on one of the several located around the island. You have beaches with pebbles, rocks, fine sand, black sand, sand from the desert, etc.

We could go on and on… but I guess it is better to visit the island to explore the many possibilities and truly appreciate this fantastic place. In any case, we can always recommend the website Tenerife Travel Secrets to guide you to the best spots and give you detailed and personal recommendations of accommodation and activities.