What to see & places
What to see on each of the eight islands, walks through towns and cities such as La Laguna, Garachico or Las Palmas, viewpoints, quiet corners, the Teide summit permit and ideas with kids.
What to see in Costa Adeje and Los Cristianos, if you are curious beyond the beach
Tenerife's resort south is not just sunbeds and sand. Adeje's old town has a 16th-century church and the Ponte family's ruined fort, the Barranco del Infierno trail climbs above it, a six-kilometre promenade follows the coast, and a protected volcanic hill rises over Los Cristianos.
Agaete and Puerto de las Nieves: the port worth seeing before the ferry
Most people rush through Agaete just to catch the ferry to Tenerife. Yet the harbour chapel holds a Flemish altarpiece, the stump of the Dedo de Dios still stands off the shore, and up in the valley coffee grows. We take you from the port through the town and up to Tamadaba.
What to see in Santa Cruz de Tenerife: the city, and what lies under the square
Many only see Santa Cruz de Tenerife from the ship's rail, yet the best part lies under the lake of the Plaza de España: the remains of a 16th-century castle and the legendary El Tigre cannon. We walk you through the centre and the south coast, and show you where to go next.
What to see in Garachico: the town the lava redrew
Garachico was once Tenerife's most important port, until the lava of a volcanic eruption buried its bay in 1706. The town still lives on that lava: it is what formed the natural pools of El Caletón. We walk you through the old town and show you what to watch out for in the water.
What to see in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria: Vegueta, Triana and Las Canteras
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is the largest city in the Canary Islands, yet you can see almost all of it on foot: the centre is flat and two promenades run along the sea. We take you through old Vegueta and Triana, the port and Las Canteras beach, and show you what's on in October.
What to see in La Orotava: balconies, gardens, mills and the gateway to the Teide
La Orotava is one of Tenerife's best-preserved historic towns: mansions with wooden balconies, a square whose carpet is made from the Teide's volcanic earth, ten surviving water mills and terraced gardens. And this same municipality holds the larger part of Teide National Park.
The quiet Canary Islands: La Gomera, El Hierro and La Graciosa
El Hierro has ten tourist beds per square kilometre; Tenerife, more than a hundred. La Gomera changes when the last boat leaves, and on La Graciosa the streets are sand. What makes these three islands quiet, with the official numbers.
What to see in Puerto de la Cruz
Puerto de la Cruz was the first tourist town in the Canaries, and it is still the most walkable. You do not come here to lie on pale sand: you come for the old town, the rough sea, the architecture of the seventies and a botanical garden from the eighteenth century.
The best viewpoints on La Palma
La Palma is a small island with two thousand four hundred metres of vertical, and that turns almost any bend in the road into a balcony. These are the viewpoints worth stopping at, what you see from each, and the one you have to plan before you go.