Tenerife travel guide: Mount Teide, the beaches, and getting in from TFS or TFN

Tenerife is the largest of the Canary Islands and the volcanic Atlantic destination that the rest of Europe winters in. The southern coast (Costa Adeje, Los Cristianos, Playa de las Américas) is the resort-and-beach version. The northern coast (Puerto de la Cruz, La Orotava, the laurisilva forests) is the cooler, greener, traditional-villages side. Mount Teide (3,715 m, the highest peak in Spain) is the center. The two ends of the island are different trips. Pick the south for the beach and the north for the slower visit. Four to seven days. Longer for a winter escape.

On this page

• Getting in from the airport
• Festivals and big annual events
• Where to eat

Getting in from the airport

Tenerife Tenerife South (the resort-coast airport. TFN is the alternative for the north coast) (TFS) has two airports: Tenerife South (TFS) for the resort coast and most international flights, and Tenerife North (TFN) for inter-island and some peninsular Spain flights. The right one depends on where you are staying.

Mode	Time	Cost	When to use
Rental car from TFS or TFN	15 to 45 min depending on hotel	From €25/day	The default. Tenerife rewards a car for the cross-island day trips (Teide, the north coast, the Anaga ridge)
TITSA bus 111 from TFS	50 to 60 min	€10 to €15 to Los Cristianos / Adeje	Cheap public option. The TITSA network covers both airports and most coastal towns
Pre-booked transfer	15 to 45 min	€30 to €60	Door-to-door to your hotel. The resort-package version most travelers default to
Taxi from the rank	15 to 45 min	€25 to €70 depending on distance	Marked white cars. Meters run on the regulated rate

Festivals and big annual events

Tenerife runs the second-biggest carnival in the world (after Rio) plus a long calendar of saint's days and local festivals. The trip-shaping window is February.

Event	When	What it changes
Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife	Two weeks in February	The second-biggest carnival in the world after Rio. Held mainly in Santa Cruz (the capital, on the north coast). The Queen of the Carnival election is the headline event, with elaborate costumes weighing 150+ kg, the murgas (satirical singing groups), the comparsas (street parades), and the Coso parade on the final Tuesday. The biggest single night is the Carnival Saturday with its open-air party for around 200,000 people. Hotels on the north coast triple in price, the south coast feels it less
Romería de San Roque (La Orotava)	A Sunday in mid-August	The biggest folk romería on the island. La Orotava's main streets are paved with elaborate Corpus Christi-style sand carpets, then a procession of ox-drawn carts, costumed locals, and wine-and-food offerings passes through. One of the most photogenic days of the Canarian year
Corpus Christi sand carpets (La Orotava)	Late May or June, the Thursday and Sunday of Corpus Christi	The Plaza del Ayuntamiento in La Orotava is covered with a massive sand-carpet (made from volcanic-mountain colored sand) depicting religious scenes. Smaller surrounding streets carry the flower-carpet tradition. Days of work, lasts 24 hours. Free to walk through
Fiesta de la Virgen de Candelaria	August 14 to 15	The island's patron-saint festival. The Basílica de Candelaria on the east coast (45 minutes from Santa Cruz) holds the all-night procession on August 14 and the major Mass on August 15. National holiday in Spain. Crowds spike at the basilica, beaches and resorts are normal
Fiesta de la Virgen del Carmen	July 16	The patron saint of sailors. Coastal fishing-village processions: the Virgin's statue is taken out to sea on a decorated boat at Puerto de la Cruz, Los Cristianos, and other harbors. Free, photogenic. The local culture most resort visitors miss
Wine festival (Romería del Vino in Icod de los Vinos)	A Sunday in late November	The harvest festival in Icod, a wine-village west of Mount Teide. Sampling new wine, processions, ox-carts. Smaller and quieter than the summer romerías
Tenerife International Film Music Festival (FIMUCITÉ)	Late September or early October, around 10 days	The international film-music festival, with the closing concert at the Auditorio de Tenerife. Niche but well-regarded
New Year's Eve (Nochevieja)	December 31	Plaza de España in Santa Cruz hosts the city's big party. The southern resort towns run their own beach-club versions. Hotels at peak prices through the New Year week

The trip-shaping event is Carnival in February. If big-spectacle carnival is the trip, Tenerife is the European choice (cheaper, easier to reach, smaller crowds than Rio). The La Orotava sand-carpet weekends in June and August are the local-feel underrated days most international visitors do not know about.

Where to eat

Canarian food has its own style inside Spanish cuisine: papas arrugadas (the salt-crusted small potatoes with mojo rojo and mojo verde sauces), gofio (the toasted-grain flour used for everything), fresh Atlantic fish, and the imported tapas-and-sushi side the resort visitor density built. The picks below mix the local with the international.

Spot	Rating
La Tapería	5/5
Advans Crepería y Balkan Cuisine	Pinned
Baraka Café & Grill	Pinned
Bocados sushi bar	Pinned
El Panal Puerto de la Cruz	Pinned
El ricón de Diego	Pinned