Insider guide: Tenerife
The largest of the Canary Islands may be rising in the chic stakes, but not at the expense of its naturally striking coastline and infectious nightlife, says Christian Williams Photography by Tim White
Golden age: Playa de las Américas prepares for another spectacular sunset
In the past decade or so Tenerife’s resorts have certainly spruced themselves up. Sure, you can still find English breakfasts, feeble big-hair tribute bands and ragged karaoke, but increasingly they feel like a throwback to another era.
In their place there is an increasing number of boutique resorts with lush attendant golf courses. There’s also growing interest in northern Tenerife with its quieter resorts and natural black-sand beaches. But with the north damper and less sunny, it’s still the desert-like south, with its golden beaches and blue skies that attracts most people to its popular mega resorts.
But wherever you stay, you’ll find everything on Tenerife within day-trip range. The main draws include a clutch of atmospheric 15th-century towns with real Canarian flair – particularly Garachico, La Laguna and La Orotava – which are all at their best during their many fiestas. But the island’s hub is its bustling capital Santa Cruz, with its stylish shopping and sizzling nightspots. Nature lovers will love the array of landscapes, which ranges from volcanic badlands to misty tropical forests. The island’s terrain is often incredible, with steep twisting roads leading to real geological drama. The crowning glory of which is the oft-snow-capped Mount Teide which, at 3,718m, is Spain’s highest peak. Hiking here rewards the fit, while others may prefer to brush with nature in one of Tenerife’s theme parks, including Loro Parque (+34 922 373 841, loroparque.com), a zoo in the north, newly opened Siam Park (siampark.net), a cutting-edge Thai-themed water park in the south and Submarine Safaris (+34 928 512 898 submarinesafaris.com) for supreme underwater exploration. All are hits with kids.
Where to stay
The best address in the north is the elegant Hotel Botanico (thomascook. com), whose five-star service and facilities have pampered a long list of celebrities – Bill Clinton’s suite is now named after him. In the south, Mare Nostrum Resort (thomascook.com) has less stars but is an excellent choice that incorporates five hotels. Its unintentionally comical 1980s mix of Mayan and Roman neoclassical architecture make it eye-catching, but it’s also in the thick of things: close to some fantastic beaches and surfing, and a short walk along the seafront promenade to the bustling port and shopping hub of Los Cristianos.
For a more mellow southern option far from other resorts on the south east coast, try the new Sentido San Blas, Los Abrigos (thomascook.com), a boutique-style resort located on the outskirts of San Miguel in an ecological preservation area with low-slung, flat-roofed fincas and a small natural lake. Suited to couples and families, the rooms are spacious and facilities include a pool, spa, sailing lake and a museum. For the less mellow, there are activities that range from mountain biking to walking tours.
The hot table
La Rosa Di Bari (Calle del Lomo 23, +34 922 368 523, larosadibari.com) is a suave Italian number in the old fishing quarter of Puerto de la Cruz, the main northern resort. It oozes panache and serves a number of good Tenerife wines.
Meanwhile, in the south, the first-class contemporary Canarian food of La Pirámide (Mare Nostrum Resort, +34 922 757 545) is made particularly memorable by live opera between courses. The service is seamless, too, and the mock neo-classical setting a hoot.
Local dining
For unbeatable seafood head straight for one of Tenerife’s smaller fishing villages like La Caleta at the northern end of Las Américas, or Punta Brava, just west of Puerto de La Cruz. But best of all, make the trip to Los Abrigos on the island’s southern coast. Here several simple seafront restaurants display their daily catch to tempt you in and will then prepare them the traditional local way: grilled and served with papas arrugadas – salty Canarian potatoes boiled in their skins and accompanied by the tangy home-made mojo, a local salsa.
Beaches
Naturally covered in black sand or pebbles, Tenerife has gone to great lengths to import Saharan sand to its biggest resorts. The best ‘imported’ beach is Playa de Las Teresitas near Santa Cruz, but don’t miss the novelty of the smaller black sand beaches on the northern coast around Puerto de La Cruz; or the chance to seek out a quiet rocky cove, found all around the island, were the snorkelling can be good.
What to know
Driving, route-finding and parking on Tenerife tends to be one big hassle, so don’t bother hiring a car for anything other than a trip to the interior. Instead, use the cheap and efficient public buses (TITSA, titsa.com).
More information
Thomas Cook Publishing has two guides that cover the island: Traveller, £9.99, and the abridged HotSpots, £4.99 (pictured). See thomascookpublishing. com for more details
Shop
Tenerife’s handicraft specialities are cigars and lace and you can find several good local wines, too, but the island’s low sales tax makes it popular for all sorts of electrical goods, perfumes and clothes. Everything’s under one roof at El Corte Inglés (Avenida Tres Mayo 7, +34 922 849 400, elcorteingles.es), Santa Cruz’s classiest department store, but more interesting are the nearby Sunday flea-markets, where the wooden sculptures, tribal masks, drums and jewellery pedalled by itinerant Africans are the real showstoppers.
Clubs
The bars and clubs on Las Américas’ Veronicas strip are the places to go for twentysomething Brits; but the pick of the bunch is the more cosmopolitan Metropolis (Av Rafael Puig 36, +34 922 792 359), a five-minute walk away by the sea. For a more authentic night head to Santa Cruz for the bars in La Noria neighbourhood such as Bulan (Calle Antonio Dominguez Afonso 35, +34 922 274 116) with its themed rooms and legendary full-moon parties.
For a sophisticated musical evening head to Santa Cruz’s Sydney Opera House lookalike, the Auditorio de Tenerife (Avenida de la Constitucíon 1, +34 922 568 600, auditoriodetenerife.com), the acoustically superb home of the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra.
Spa
Most of Tenerife’s best hotels have extensive spas, but the standout is the Thai Zen SPAce at the Iberostar Grand Hotel Anthelia (+34 922 713 335, iberostar.com), 25 metres from the sea. Treatments range from Thai mud wraps to a Golden Temple Facial that uses ‘gold petals’.
Above, the Anaya mountain area offers a different twist to the island. Left, do a full-moon dance at Bulan, one of the many bars strung along Calle Antonio Dominguez Alfonso in Santa Cruz
Beaches
Naturally covered in black sand or pebbles, Tenerife has gone to great lengths to import Saharan sand to its biggest resorts. The best ‘imported’ beach is Playa de Las Teresitas near Santa Cruz, but don’t miss the novelty of the smaller black sand beaches on the northern coast around Puerto de La Cruz; or the chance to seek out a quiet rocky cove, found all around the island, were the snorkelling can be good.
What to know
Driving, route-finding and parking on Tenerife tends to be one big hassle, so don’t bother hiring a car for anything other than a trip to the interior. Instead, use the cheap and efficient public buses (TITSA, titsa.com).
More information
Thomas Cook Publishing has two guides that cover the island: Traveller, £9.99, and the abridged HotSpots, £4.99. See thomascookpublishing. com for more details
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