How To Spend An Unforgettable Week In Tenerife
Updated: Jan 31
November is the worst month for almost anyone based in Western Europe: rainy, cold, windy. Indian summer is already behind, there is no hope for warm summer days anymore, but the happiness of festive Christmas and New Year days and the first snow is still yet to come.
Thus, we decided to fly to Tenerife - an island of the eternal spring - for a week at the end of November. Tenerife is part of the Canary Islands (an overseas territory of Spain) and it enjoys a subtropical climate with mild temperatures throughout the year: around 20-23 degrees Celsius in winter and 22-28 degrees in summer - in coastal areas, whereas it's much colder at higher altitudes.
The plan was to spend a week in Tenerife: to warm up the bones after cold November days in Luxembourg, recharge the batteries, enjoy swimming in the sea and go for a couple of hikes.
Read below to learn more about our journey, and get useful information and inspiration to spend your next vacation in Tenerife.
Brief Summary & Budget
The easiest and cheapest way to travel to Tenerife (and other Canary Islands) from Luxembourg is via Brussels Charleroi Airport, which is located just 170 km from Luxembourg. We found on Aviasales round tickets from Ryanair for around EUR 100 per person, with rather convenient lunchtime flights.
Hotels, however, are not cheap in Tenerife at all: we decided to stay in the southern part of the island in Costa Adeje, and the price per night was around EUR 80-100, and overall we spent 8 nights there. Check out Booking.com for the best offers and good discounts. Another important part of our budget was the car rent: we paid around EUR 130 for the period of our stay: we used an aggregator Rentalcars.com that helped us to find the best offer.
Adeje, El Medano & Santa Cruz de Tenerife
As I mentioned, we stayed in Costa Adeje, a very tourist place, that we tried to escape starting a couple of hours after we arrived.
We decided that it made sense to go to the capital of Tenerife (Santa Cruz), as it's one of the least touristic places in Tenerife, and stop in a couple of places on our way there.
We decided to stop at a small coastal town El Medano, a cosy place popular among surfers due to its strong winds. It's located 20 km from Costa Adeje (and around 60 km from the capital, Santa Cruz de Tenerife).
Compared to Adeje and other more touristy areas in Tenerife, El Médano has a more relaxed and authentic atmosphere, and there are also many nice restaurants, such as, for example, La Braseria El Medano - an Italian steakhouse.
After El Medano, we went directly to Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the Canary Islands capital city, which was officially founded in 1494 by Alonso Fernández de Lugo, who led the Spanish expedition to Tenerife.
The city initially served as a small port settlement, gaining importance due to its strategic location for maritime trade. It is a vibrant city known for its cultural heritage, festivals, and modern amenities, and as a gateway for exploring the diverse attractions of Tenerife and the Canary Islands.
What are the best things to do in Santa Cruz de Tenerife?
There are plenty of things to do. We started exploring the city with the Auditorium of Tenerife, the futuristic-looking building designed by architect Santiago Calatrava, that hosts concerts, events, and cultural performances.
Then we went to Plaza de Espana which is just 20 minutes walking distance from the Auditorium. This central square is a Santa Cruz activity hub, featuring the Monumento a los Caídos, a lake, and the impressive Tenerife Cabildo building.
After having cocktails in a nice cafe near Plaza de Espana we went to explore the historical centre, walked through the park Garcia Sanabria, checked out the artificial Christmas tree near Place del Principe and had an amazing paella for dinner at Tela Marinera restaurant.
Los Gigantes & The Most Beautiful Hike
The next day we decided to dedicate ourselves to Los Gigantes and planned to go on a hike in the beautiful Santiago del Teide area.
Los Gigantes is a quite popular coastal area located on the western coast of Tenerife, known for its dramatic cliffs and beautiful scenery.
The main attraction is the towering cliffs that rise abruptly from the sea to heights of up to 800 meters, however, this place turned out to be full of tourists, and it was difficult to find spots where you can enjoy the beautiful scenery.
The town itself is cozy and it's worth spending a couple of hours there after you try to observe the cliffs and avoid the crowds. The marina with a wide range of boats, a small historical centre and narrow streets will add a flavour to your trip to the south of Tenerife.
After Los Gigantes, we went on a round hike of medium complexity and a length of around 6 km that started in Tamaimo village located in Santiago del Teide municipality, surrounded by beautiful mountains. That was amazing!
Puerto de la Cruz, The Northern Capital
The next day we decided to split in two parts: we spent a few hours in the morning on the beach and around lunch, we headed to Puerto de la Cruz, the so-called Northern capital of the island, which is located in 70 or 100 km from Costa Adeje - depending on the way you take: the shortest way is through mountains, but your speed limits will be much lower, than if you take the longer road at the highway.
We walked from the lighthouse (Faro de Puerto de la Cruz) until Playa de Martiánez (the distance between these two points is only 2 km if you go by the seaside, but I recommend spending a couple of hours in the historical centre of the town.
The centre features charming streets with plenty of examples of traditional architecture, and cultural sites like the Church of Nuestra Señora de la Peña de Francia, located at a tiny but picturesque square.
For dinner, we went to Ibericos Gastro-bar - a quite popular place where you can try amazing dishes, mainly made from Iberico meat. I have tried the risotto with Iberico jambon - that was so delicious.
Climbing To The Volcano Teide
Volcano Teide is the highest peak in Spain and the third-largest volcano in the world from its base, rising about 3,718 meters above sea level. It's the main tourist attraction in Tenerife and you need to plan to visit this place in advance.
There are a few activities you can do in Teide National Park:
Go for one of the numerous hikes of different levels of complexity (just google them or check directly on the Komoot website).
If you are an experienced hiker, you can ascend the summit of Teide on foot! It's super challenging: the distance is around 8.3km with an ascend of 1.2km - overall this exercise should take you around 5-6 hours.
However, if you want to reach the peak (the volcano crater), you need to obtain a special permit (here) but make sure you do it as early as possible, 4 months in advance.
If you do not want to climb the Tede by yourself and prefer to save your time and energy for other activities, then you can use a Cable car and ascend to the upper station in just 8 minutes. You need to book tickets there preferably a few days in advance. If you have a permit and want to climb the peak, follow the route 10.
If you didn't manage to get the permit that I mentioned above, do not worry, as you can still get to the cable car and take hiking routes 11 and 12 to enjoy amazing views of volcanoes and Marsian-like passages.
As for us, we went for a small hike in the area close to Mirador de las Narices de Teide and then parked near the upper cable car station. We didn't manage to get a permit unfortunately and just used the cable car and made hikes 11 and 12 at the upper station - it was an amazing experience!
Exploring The South of Tenerife
Last couple of days we decided to spend in our area the South of Tenerife. That allowed us to explore the most popular destinations in this area: Costa Adeje, where our hotel is located, Las Americas, the paradise for party lovers (and a nightmare for people like us who hate clubs and prefer spend evenings walking by the sea and enjoying nice cocktails in cosy places), Los Christianos, the most crowded resort.
To be honest, when we first arrived in Costa Adeje, I thought we made a big mistake by choosing this place as our base. We didn't like Costa Adeje at all, as it was very touristic (for our standards), tasteless and crowded. However, after we explored Las Americas and Los Christianos we started appreciating Costa Adeje more.
During our last day in Tenerife, we explored La Caleta - a small town near Costa Adeja - and fell in love with this place. La Caleta was quite, authentic, not spoiled by tourists and very beautiful.
The best dinner we had in Tenerife was there, in La Caleta, in an amazing local restaurant Tapitas La Caleta, where we tried delicious seafood.
I hope you liked this post and have added Tenerife to your travel bucket list! Canary Islands is an amazing place to escape cold European autumn and winter, and there are so many things to do, to get amazing impressions and desire to come back.
If you want to stay informed about my upcoming posts, I recommend subscribing to my email list (use the button on the page) and follow me on Instagram.