Tenerife in 5 days
- Irene
- Feb 5
- 7 min read
If I am being honest, when I booked my flights to Tenerife I was not sure what to expect. I was a bit afraid that it was going to be one of those places full of tourists which has lost all its charm, however, I was very glad to find out that this is not the case at all if you know where to go. We found impressive landscapes, beautiful towns and great food… you just need to make sure to go the right places! So let me help you with that task!
General advice: as usual… rent a car! If possible I would recommend to rent an automatic car as there are areas of the north that are very steep and narrow so driving an automatic car will make things easier for you.
It is also important to note that there are 2 airports in Tenerife; Tenerife South and Tenerife North. The temperature tends to be higher in the south and most probably this is the airport that you want to fly to as it is closer to the hotels and resorts.
When doing research online you are going to come across certain sightseeing points that are going to be sold as must see. However, when you get there you will realise that it is actually almost impossible to access. Some of these are: Punta de Teno, and the beaches Diego Hernández and de los Morteros. The road to get to Punta de Teno (regardless of what you see in google maps) is actually closed and there is only one car park where you can fit 5 cars. At that point, they will ask you to leave the car there and pay for a bus that only comes once every hour. The distance from this point is also much too far to walk. Regarding visiting certain beaches, I would recommend that you ask at the hotel reception before heading to any as some are really remote and you will have to walk through cliffs for hours to get there.
When to go: Tenerife can be visited all year round given that even during the winter the temperatures are around 20 degrees. However, I would recommend to go between March-May and September-October. We went during mid-October and the temperature was absolutely perfect!
Where to stay: I would try to stay near “Adeje”, to be precise as close as possible to “La Caleta” area as here you will find lovely restaurants to walk to for dinner. The recommended hotel is “Royal Hideaway Corales”. I would avoid at all cost the area of “Playa de las Americas”, it is a horrible part of the island full of tourists that they only go there to drink and party. Also, I would avoid “Costa Adeje”, which is a very similar vibe to “Playa de las Americas” and can be confused with “Adeje”.
Day 1: Playa de la Tejita
On your first day I would recommend going to la Playa de la Tejita which is really close to the south airport. La tejita is one of the longest beaches on the island and has really easy access and a very big carpark, the only problem is that it can get very windy here so you might want to check the wind before making your way there. You will see that the beach is very popular among windsurfers as the 2015 championship was hosted here.
For lunch, you can go to “Chiringuito Pirata”, just a short 5 min drive away. The chiringuito (beach bar) has a very good vibe just by the sea, serving typical tapas and raciones to share.
This area is just a 30 min drive from the hotel.
As mentioned at the beginning, the best place to go for dinner is the area of “La Caleta”. You can go for dinner here to “La Vieja”; a seafood and fish restaurant which was amazing and that we liked so much we went twice during our stay! I would recommend booking in advance.
Day 2: Masca, El Rayo Buenavista Del Norte and Garachico
Just 40 min drive from the hotel going north you will find “Mirador de Masca”. This viewpoint has a very impressive view of the mountains and the nature of the north part of the island. Also, next to the viewpoint, you will find the Masca village which is super cute and I would highly recommend to have a walk around. It will not take you more than 45 mins to visit.
From here the next stop will be “El Rayo Buenavista Del Norte”, which is another 40 min drive. I would mention that these roads in the north are proper mountain roads, very windy, steep and narrow. El Rayo Buenavista Del Norte is a very short walk of around 20 – 30 minutes around the coast line where you will find a crater that is the result of the erosion, which is very impressive. I would recommend to wear trainers for this (no sandals or flip flops).
The stop after this will be “Garachico”. Garachico village was founded at the end of the 15th Century by a Genoese banker and it was a key trading port for commercial traffic between Europe and the Spanish colonies in the Americas.
At Garachico you can go for lunch to “Restaurante Silogia” or to “Tasca – El Muelle Viejo”. Both great options offering classic tapas and raciones.
In Garachico you will also find the very beautiful piscinas naturales "El Caletón" (natural swimming pools), where you can go swimming after lunch. From Garachico back to the hotel it will take around 1 hour driving.
For dinner, you can go to “Kai La Caleta”, an Asian fusion restaurant to try something different.
Day 3: Playa de las Teresitas
On your third day you can relax by spending a great day at Las Teresitas, which is a beautiful golden sun beach on the north of the island, 1.10h drive from the hotel. The beach is approximately 1.5 kilometres long and benefits from a breakwater that protects against currents and creates water so calm that it resembles a pool.
I would recommend to go towards the end of the beach next to “El Caracol Beach Club” where you can have a great chilled lunch at the chiringuito on the beach and also rent sunbeds for the day.
Another option for this day is to spend the morning walking around the “Parque Rural de Anaga”. Anaga is a highland of mountains with sharp peaks and deep ravines covered with carpets of laurel trees and dotted with charming hamlets.
For dinner you either can try another of the restaurants in “La Caleta” or if like us you loved “La Vieja”… just go back!
Day 4: Icod de los Vinos and Orotava
The next day start by visiting “Icod de los Vinos”, a town 55 min drive from the hotel. Icod de los Vinos is famous for its renowned wines and in the 16th Century it also housed an important sugar mill. Partially destroyed by fire in 1798 the town was rebuilt with special care taken to maximise its green spaces. The old town is centred around the main church of San Marcos, the plazas of Lorenzo Cáceres and la Pila, and the San Francisco convent. I absolutely loved it here, I thought this town was full of charm and character and it was probably my favourite. You can also go for a drink to “Casa del Drago”, which has a beautiful courtyard.
From here you can go for lunch to “El Rincon de Edu”, which is a guachinche just a 15 min drive away. Guachinches are typical family run restaurants from the Canary Island establishment where a locally produced wine is served accompanied by homemade traditional food.
After lunch you can go to “Orotava”, a 15 min drive. Here you need to visit the “Jardínes del Marquesado de la Quinta Roja”, which are absolutely incredible. These are gardens that cascade in terraces down the hillside and are crowned by a small marble mausoleum, built as a tomb for the Marqués de la Quinta Roja.
To finish the day you should go to “Bullullo playa”, this is a beach of black sand just 15 min drive from Orotava. Note that the last bit of the road to get there is super narrow and only fits one car even though cars can come in both directions. Regardless of this the beach is very pretty and different given the black sand but it is also important to mention that you will have to go down a lot of steps to access the beach. From Bullullo back to the hotel it will take 1.20h.
I would add that in the itinerary of this day, we also stopped at “Paisaje Protegido de Rambla De Castro” but to be honest I was a bit disappointed, I didn’t feel that it was as nice a walk nor landscape around here so I would not recommend it.
For dinner you can go to “Pal Choso Guachinche” where you will find lovely Canarian food and meats.
Day 5: Abama Beach
One of the most stunning beaches in Tenerife is Abama beach which is just 25 min drive from the hotel. Abama Beach is a paradisiacal cove with golden sand and calm, turquoise sea in Guía de Isora with a view of the island of La Gomera on the horizon.
The only problem here is parking… there is one public parking opposite the Ritz-Carlton but it is not very big and gets super busy… we were waiting for 20 mins before we gave up and went somewhere else quite far away to park.
At the beach there is a “chiringuito” which sells drinks and snacks and where you can have lunch as well. As this belongs to the Ritz-Carlton, you can imagine the prices are much higher than the usual places around the island, but the atmosphere is lovely and the food was nice as well so I would recommend it. You can also rent sunbeds from the Ritz-Carlton, in our case 3 sunbeds for the day cost us 70 EUR.
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