The Canary Islands are a Spanish region of seven volcanic islands just off the coast of Africa. We stayed on the largest island – Tenerife – for our week long vacation. 

This was a unique vacation for us, as it was right after our wedding abroad with our families in Spain. You can read all about our process and experience of getting married abroad in THIS BLOG (tldr: it was incredible, easy, and would 1000/10 recommend). By the time we made it to Tenerife, we were already exhausted and in need of some rest and relaxation before continuing to adventure.

I’ll post a quick overview of our days below, and then dive into greater detail! I also have some more specific thoughts on navigating the island, food, and general island vibes noted at the end. Be sure to read them BEFORE you visit Tenerife so you can have the best experience possible. Knowing what we know now, we would have done a few things differently.

Here’s a quick overview of our time:

Day 1: Arrive in Tenerife
Day 2: Pool Cabana and Natural Pools
Day 3: Masca
Day 4: Las Margaritas Banana Experience, Playa de las Americas, and Fisherman’s Inn
Day 5: Road Trip Across the Island and Mount Teide
Day 6: Pool Cabana Round 2
Day 7: Travel Home

Day 1: Arrive in Tenerife

We started our journey in Madrid, so we flew from Madrid to the Tenerife South Airport at 11:30am on a very easy three hour flight. You can see the top of Mount Teide as you fly in, which is awesome! We were sitting on the left side of the plane. Our hotel, Barcelo – Santiago was about a 30 minute taxi ride (60 euros) from the airport.

Barcelo – Santiago is on the water in Santiago del Teide. It’s a bit tricky to say whether or not I would recommend Barcelo – Santiago. Here’s a summary of my thoughts:

The room was WARM: Our room’s thermostat said the room was anywhere between 75-80 degrees. It never dropped below 75 degrees. When I called reception, they said the displays were not accurate, so don’t worry about what they say. They said the air only runs when you’re in the room, so give it a little to cool off. But even when we woke up in the morning after the air running all night, it was 75 at the coolest. They sent a maintenance man to check on it and he recorded the air coming out at 66 degrees and said everything was fine and left. So, that didn’t feel good, because everything was not fine. Our room was definitely never anywhere close to 66 degrees and was stuffy and warm most of the time. I will say – it never interrupted our sleep. We opened the the patio door before bed to cool the room before bed and then were able to sleep comfortably throughout the night.

The food at the hotel is mid at best: We opted for the partial inclusive option, which got us breakfast and one buffet meal a day (either lunch or dinner) included. It was only like… 12 euros, so I guess I should keep that in mind. Drinks were NOT included (but drinks at the resort were still typical Spain prices – 3ish euros for beer and wine, 10ish euros for cocktails). There wasn’t any food that I ate that I as like – WOW, this is so good. It was mainly for convenience when we needed it. It’s also worth noting the foodie scene on Tenerife isn’t great and there weren’t really any other phenomenal spots we felt like we were missing out on. So having the convenient hotel food wasn’t so bad.

The views are INCREDIBLE, making the location a 10/10: I’ve never stayed at a hotel with views like Barcelo-Santiago. We got a “Sea View” room and WOW was it every! I’ve never stayed in a hotel with views like this.

Walking around the pool area, every single direction is incredibly beautiful. We booked this hotel because of the views of Los Gigantes and Barcelo-Santiago delivered. Just around the corner in one direction are the Natural Pools and the other direction is a black sand beach. There’s a waterfront walkway just behind the hotel that leads to several ocean restaurants, perfect for grabbing a drink at.

With all that said, I think I WOULD stay at Barcelo-Santiago again, just because of the incredible island views. 

Day 2: Pool Cabana and the Natural Pools

Pool Cabana

Since we were pretty tired at the start of our trip, we decided to spend our first day at the hotel. We rented one of the poolside cabanas the night before. They had plenty of availability, so that was no problem, but if you know you’re going to want one, I’d recommend reserving one ahead of time just to be safe.

The cabanas have different levels ranging from 45 euros to 75 euros, offering different levels of food and drink options. We opted for the Deluxe 75 Euro package and got three rounds of drinks and snacks for two people. 

The best thing about reserving a cabana, I think, is that you have it ALL DAY. There’s no rushing to the pool first thing in the morning, no coordinating food and restroom breaks so you don’t lose your chairs, no hassle at all. I asked if the price was per person and the lady at reception laughed at me! “That would be a lot of money!” She said. Lady. In America you could never rent a poolside cabana with insane ocean views ALL DAY with 6 drinks and three snacks for 75 Euros ($81). 

We enjoyed drinks and snacks all day! It was amazing. The Deluxe reservation came with a plate of mixed Iberian meats, albondigas, and a fruit plate as the snacks.

We got 6 drinks with our Deluxe Cabana. For our first drinks, I ordered a glass of wine and Brian ordered cava. They brought a goblet of wine and a full bottle of cava. We stopped the guy and told him “Oh, I don’t think we ordered the bottle,” but he said, “You get 6 drinks. The bottle is two, the wine is 1/2. So you have 3.5 drinks left. If you want another bottle, we can do that.” Excuse me, what? What is this Tenerife drink math? I’ll edit this once I see my bill with a final update… UPDATE: 75 euros was the final bill! Success!

My recommendation would be to rent a cabana every day you want to be at the pool lounging – even if you just do the cheapest option and pay for your food and drinks throughout the day as you go. Having the reserved, cushioned, shaded, spot at the pool is worth it.

Side note: It sprinkled a bit while we were sitting outside on the cabana and the pool pretty much emptied. No problem for us though! We closed the top and sides, still had an incredible view, and were totally protected from the rain.

Natural Pools

In the afternoon, we decided to take a break from lounging and walk to the natural pools. To get there, follow the waterfront pathway that goes behind the Barcelo hotel towards the Mirador Los Gigantes (you can walk there whether or not you stay at the hotel, it’s a public walkway). Snag a few incredible photos at the Mirador Los Gigantes, then continue on the pathway until it drops you off on Calle la Hondura. Make an immediate left to continue walking along the waterfront and follow signs to La Piscina Naturales. At the end of the alley, you may encounter a barrier in front of the steps leading down to the pool, but you can easily walk through it. 

Be super careful walking around. The rocks are pointy (not sharp to cut, but they still hurt and can make you step off balance) and as you get close to the water, they are slippery! I’d highly recommend some water shoes. 

Once you get to the water, drop your stuff on the ground and wade in! The water isn’t very deep around the edges of the pool (maybe 4 feet?) and you can hug the right side to get to the front barrier. From there, hang on as the waves crash up and over the barrier. It’s a pretty fun and unique nature experience!

After walking back to the hotel and showering, we ate dinner at hotel buffet, had our last few drinks at the cabana, and ended our night!

Day 3: Masca 

Getting to Masca

We had quite the adventurous travel day getting to Masca! I think the one part of our Tenerife trip we didn’t thoroughly plan out was transportation. Everything is pretty spread out and your three options of transportation are renting a car, walking, or taking the bus. I’m going to talk a bit more about transportation and things I would do differently next time at the end of the post.

For our trip, we took a bus to Masca. Some things to know about the bus if that’s what you plan to use:

• From Los Gigantes, you take two buses to Masca. One for about 30 minutes, then wait an hour in Santiago del Teide, then transfer to another bus. Santiago del Teide is actually a cute little mountain town and there’s a great little cafe across from the bus stop.
• But DON’T DILLY DALLY in Santiago del Teide. The second bus that takes you to Masca is actually a shuttle that holds like… 30 people. If you’re not in line within the first 30 people, you aren’t getting on the shuttle and there’s not another coming. There are only 1 or 2 buses/shuttles a day to Masca, so make sure you plan on advance on Google Maps or something similar to see the scheduled times.
  • We took the 9:20am bus to Santiago del Teide and attempted to take the 11am bus from Santiago del Teide to Masca. The last bus back from Masca for us was 4:30pm.
• We in fact did NOT get on that shuttle, which lead to us (and like, 50 other people) calling for cabs. Not ideal. We did however get one and made it to Masca after another 20ish minute taxi ride. We shared our cab with two other female solo travelers also trying to get to Masca, so it actually turned into a fun, social experience.
• The total distance was only 15 miles from the hotel… why does it take nearly an hour of driving? Well, just do a quick google search for “Road to Masca, Tenerife” and you’ll see why. The road is the curviest road I’ve ever seen and it’s along the side of a mountain. Cars have to wait at turns for oncoming traffic because there’s no room. Some people have to do three point turns just to get around the hairpins. It’s WILD. So if you do decide to rent a car… just be prepared for a knuckle bone ride. And if you’re in a bus, dear god overdose on Dramamine.

What to do in Masca

Unless you have a permit to do the famous Masca hike, you have two things to do in Masca – take photos of the beautiful views and eat at the cafes/restaurants. Our travel style works well with this, but if you’ve got a family to entertain or get bored just lounging about at cafes, this might not be the best spot for you (especially considering the effort and time it takes to get there). We only spent about 3 hours in Masca before making the trek back home.

The area is not big, but is is on the side of the cliff basically, so navigating the city is hard! It is NOT for those with mobility issues and please do not bring a stroller (I saw someone do this and they were not having a good time). There are just 2 or three main walkways that take about 20 minutes to cover thoroughly. Once you’ve walked it all and taken all your photos, it’s time to eat! Depending on the given day, there will probably be about 4-6 spots open. Again, not a ton, it’s a super small place.

We started at Bar Blanky – Casa Fidel and loved it. Authentic Canarian food, kind service, and stunning views. We tried Canarian potatoes with mojo and barroquitos for the first time. Canarian potatoes are whole mini potatoes coated in salt. Mojo is a spicy red pepper sauce made with hot local peppers, olive oil, vinegar, garlic and seasonings. When you put the two together, they are so delicious! We ordered Canarian potatoes every chance we had after this. A barraquito is a coffee/alcoholic drink made from a layerd combination of espresso, Licor 43, and condensed milk served warm. Again, so tasty and this was definitely not my last one.

From Bar Blanky, we walked to Fuego for more drinks and cactus ice cream. The cactus fruit is a big deal in Masca and you could get a bunch of cactus food and drink items from Fuego. Again, the views were incredible and we had a lovely time just sitting on the patio, resting, drinking, and soaking it all in.

A 3:30pm shuttle happened to show up to take people to Santiago del Teide, so we hopped on that! After successfully taking the shuttle down we had about 2 hours to kill before the next bus down to Los Gigantes. We stopped at the cafe across the street again and had a cafe con leche y leche. It’s a delicious drink made with condensed milk, hot milk, and coffee. The bus was late, but it finally arrived and we took it all the way home. 

Finally, we had a late night dessert-only dinner at the hotel.

Day 4: Las Margaritas Banana Experience, Playa de las Americas, and Fisherman’s Inn

Las Margaritas Banana Experience 

We ate breakfast at the hotel and then took a cab to Las Margaritas Banana Experience since we had a 10:15am timed tour ticket that we purchased in advance. The ride was about 35 minutes and cost 60 euros.

The tour was exceptional! It exceeded expectations, 10/10 would recommend. We learned so much about Canarian plananos and what it takes to grow plantanos on the south side of Tenerife. Our guide was fun and engaging, while at the same time sharing an incredible amount of information.

The walking and talking part of the tour is about 40 minutes, followed by a tasting of plantanos and plantano treats (including wine!). We bought a bottle of banana wine and some dried plantanos for the hotel.

Playa de Las Americas

We took the bus from Las Margaritas to Playa de Las Americas. We had to walk along a busy road and stand in the sun to get to the bus stop…. Los Margaritas is kind of out in a more rural part of town, so there’s not much around. It’s not an ideal bus stop if you’ve got kids with you for sure. Apple Maps said the bus to Playa de Las Americas would take 40 minutes but the ride was only 20.

Playa de Las Americas is your typical tourist beach. It’s pretty crowded and beach bars line the boardwalk with mediocre food and drinks. There are tons of souvenir stalls, too. The whole vibe reminded me of Venice Beach in LA. I honestly really enjoyed walked around here, though! Sometimes it’s fun to get a touristy cocktail, sit by the water, and walk a crowded boardwalk.

The bus ride home to Los Gigantes from Playa de Las Americas was over an hour. I actually fell asleep!

Dinner at Fisherman’s Inn

From our first day, we walked by a small, unassuming restaurant called “Fisherman’s Inn.” It was closed at the time, but something really intrigued us about it, so we made it a point to return. It ended up being our BEST meal in Tenerife by far.

The guys running the restaurant were so cool, so kind and personable. The restaurant is small and most of the tables are outside on their deck, overlooking the ocean and the black sand beach. The menu was small, but incredible. Brian got the fish of the day (dorado) and I got the salmon. We both got wine and Canarian potatoes and MAN it was all so good. 

Be prepared to make an evening out of it. They cook everything as you order it, so it can take 45 minutes to get your meal. Enjoy the company of your table, talk to the owners, sip your wine, and settle in to the relaxing seaside vibes.

Day 5: Road Trip Across the Island and Mount Teide

Road trip!

After our experiences with long bus rides and expensive cabs, we decided to rent a car to get us to and through the Mount Teide National Park. Brian felt confident driving, even on the small winding roads, so we went for it! We easily rended a car from a kiosk at our hotel the night before and it was delivered in the morning. Extremely simple process! For 24 hours, the car cost 75 euros plus 14 for parking at the hotel. We had to get the most expensive car available because that was all that was available as an Automatic! All the other cars were Manual.

Armed with the car, we started our road trip up the mountain! Our first destination was the Mount Teide cable cars, but we stopped at several viewpoints on the way. The landscape is insanely beautiful – volcanic, rocky, brown, and barren. You can also get excellent views of Mount Teide itself.

Mount Teide Cable Cars

Arrived at the cable cars at 11:20am. You purchase tickets at the kiosk to the right of the info window. The next available tickets were for the 1:40pm cable car, so we had to wait 2 hours and 20 minutes.

By 12pm, I heard a guy come in and tell his family tickets were sold out for the whole day. So if you’re not doing some kind of guided tour, I would plan to be up at the cable cars early!

Buying tickets online is weird and is very tricky to find what you need! VolcanoTeide.com definitely tries to get you to book a whole excursion and finding JUST cable car tickets is very difficult. However, after looking at the website for a long time, we finally realized that even when you click on “cable car only,” they list all their products and start with you choosing your “pick up location” (which is for excursions only).

If you SCROLL DOWN, you’ll see an option to select “Cable Car Return Ticket”. That includes an up and down cable car ticket. That’s what you need! 41 Euros is the same price you’ll pay at the Kiosk. The one downside to buying tickets in advance, is that the cables cars close subject to weather.

If you decide to buy a ticket when you arrive and have some time to kill, there’s a little cafe and gift shop on site, which offers amazing views!

You’ll notice the cable car tickets specifically say a permit is not included to ascend to the peak of Teide. That’s because this is a special hike that only gives a certain number of permits per day. Permits book up about 2 months in advance, so you have to plan WAY ahead if you’re interested in doing this hike. We did not, we just did the cable cars, but hiking to the peak looked incredible.

Santa Cruz

After the cable cars, we continued down the mountain towards Santa Cruz, the capital city of Tenerife. I honestly think the best miradors are on the north side of the mountain, so I would highly recommending driving down that way, instead of back the way you came (if you came from the south).

We didn’t spend too much time in Santa Cruz because we wanted to make it back to the hotel before it got dark (it was about an hour and a half back to our hotel). We snagged a quick meal, then hit the road.

Day 6: Pool Cabana Part 2

On our last day in Tenerife, we decided to rent another pool cabana. This time, we opted for the Cava option only, which was 55 Euros. We used this day to rest and plan for the next leg of our trip – Portugal!

Day 7: Departure 

Because it’s about 45 minutes from Los Gigantes to the Tenerife South Airport, we scheduled a taxi through our hotel in advance for 4am. It was an EARLY morning, but our cab driver was at the hotel waiting for us by 3:50am. The hotel offered us coffee and little sandwiches before we left, which was such a nice touch.

Other Notes

Transportation

Like I mentioned earlier, there are three main ways to travel around Tenerife – bus, rental car, or taxi. It’s a little difficult because none of these are ideal situations.

If you’re taking the bus, the cheapest option, be prepared for long travel times (up to 3+ hours if you’re trying to get to Mount Teide or to the opposite side of the island). The bus can also be unreliable, so trying to use it to get to timed ticket excursions could be risky.

Taxis are very reliable and easy to call. Just call the number on the taxi stand and tell them the number stand you’re at and they’ll pick you up quickly! There are cabs waiting at the airport ready to go and your hotel can call you a cab any time you need it. However, taxis are a very expensive way to travel (but probably not as expensive as renting your own car).

Ultimately, I think if we returned to Tenerife, we would rent a car for the whole trip. Expensive, yes, but convenient. I mean, kind of convenient… parking is insane around Tenerife south. Like, literally no parking, sometimes no parking even at the hotel. If you do drive somewhere popular (like Masca) you would have to go early. I think we could have made it less expensive if we booked it farther in advance. We got stuck paying for the most expensive vehicle because (at the time, the night before we needed it) the only automatic car available was a full-sized Audi. If you can drive manual, you’ll be in better financial shape.

If you’re visiting Tenerife, especially the south side of the island, I would plan HOW you plan to get places in advance. Will you take the bus? How long will that take? Will you take a cab? Is it more economical to rent a car if you’re needing multiple cabs? Just… plan ahead so you have a realistic view of what you can accomplish in a day.

General Vibe of Tenerife

The north side of Tenerife is a totally different vibe from the south side. We stayed on the south side because we were more interested in the activities there – Los Gigantes, Masca, and the banana plantation. If you want more of a big city vibe, then Santa Cruz on the north side of the island might be more your style. But again, it’s worth planning ahead. You don’t want to be stuck having to find transportation every day from one end of the island to the other.

That being said, I can only speak to the south side of the island. It’s clear that the south side of Tenerife is for TOURISM. I’m talking Pigeon Forge vibes… IYKYK. The freeway from the airport is littered with billboards reading, “4×4 ATV Adventure here!” “Best steak here!” “Mini golf course here!” “Water park here!” etc etc etc. Like… everyone in Tenerife south was a tourist or someone providing a service to tourists.

We had a really hard time finding the Tenerife culture, if you know what I mean. Everything was for tourists. What does it mean to “be in Tenerife”? Does it mean mini golf and go carts? Does it mean jet ski and catamaran excursions? Because that’s truly all we saw. Tourist experiences.

We did plan our trip around a few main tourist attractions – a hotel near Los Gigantes, the banana plantation tour, touring Masca, and the volcano. However, outside those activities, we weren’t just wandering the streets of Tenerife. If you’re someone who likes to just BE in the new city you’re exploring, Tenerife is probably not for you.

Food

Not great. That kind of sums it up. Most restaurants are just bar-food type stuff, picture menus, and like, mediocre, pricy food. Of course, The Fisherman’s Inn is a major exception to that. I honestly don’t know where the locals eat in Tenerife south.

Planning Ahead

Planning ahead is critical to a good Tenerife experience. If you want to hike the Masca trail or the Mount Teide peak, you’re going to need to secure permits months in advance. If you want to drive from one side of the island to another, you’re going to need a car. If you want to ride the cable cars, you either need to arrive early or purchase tickets online. If you’re taking the bus, how long is it going to take and when will the bus come? If you’re driving to Masca, LEAVE AT THE CRACK OF DAWN. Don’t plan to explore Santa Cruz and Los Gigantes in one day – they’re on opposite sides of the island! It’s kind of like planning a visit to Los Angeles. You have to be realistic with your time and how long it will take (and how expensive it will be) to travel from one destination to the next.