Tenerife is one of the Canary Islands which people call the islands of permanent spring because the weather here is good all year round, about 18-27 C. In the second half of June, we stayed on the south of the island in the town of Adeje.
Tenerife is a slightly unusual vacation place and I’d like you know why
1. Its beach is not a golden-yellow color, but grey-black, and the surf is not silvery-white, but black. I had the constant impression that an oil tanker had wrecked somewhere not far away and we were seeing the consequences. But in fact, this sand (and the island, too) is made by a volcano, and the color of the sand has nothing to do with an ecological disaster. This is simply exotic. In short, don’t bring a white swimsuit on a Tenerife vacation.
Torviscas Playa, Tenerife, Canary Islands.
However, fans of pebble beaches can also find those here.
2. The food is good in most cases, but have your lunch and dinner not in a hotel, but in any of the numerous cafes in the city or on the beach. Fresh seafood dishes and gazpacho (cold tomato soup) are especially good. Compared with London, Tokyo, or Moscow, the prices are wonderfully low.
Check every bill carefully. Local waiters can simply include the charge for a liter of Sangria you didn’t order, and it will be about 12 Euros extra! Sellers in Indo-Arab shops along the beach may try to give you change from your ten Euros as if you had given them five.
3. Select excursions carefully. Many of them are far-fetched, and if you buy them, the sensation of lost time and money can appear very soon. However, I highly recommend visiting Loro Parque. Why? Because this is one of few places where you can see these beautiful animals so close. Another place is northern Norway, for example, where Oceanwide Expeditions organizes its Arctic cruise. Okay, okay I admit it will be a little colder than here, yes, but the landscapes, animals, and people of Arctic are unique.
People say the excursion to the crater of the volcano of Tenerife is breathtaking. We have not been there and don’t know, but we believe it.
4. A permanent pleasant breeze blows from the Atlantic Ocean, so you don’t feel the burning sun; however, its rays are very strong. If you tan quickly, like me, the wise step would be to buy a broad-brimmed hat and long-sleeved shirt, and take the sun bath as gradually as you would do in Egypt or Thailand.
5. Spanish waiters are not very smiley. Here, you will not get as many smiles as in Italy, but don’t take it personally. Maybe this is a national feature. Tenerife and all the Canary Islands still smile at you.
Now you know! Happy vacation!
More about Spain:
Cochinillo Asado or Segovia’s Roast Suckling Pig. Please Bring Second Portion!
Sagrada Familia by Antoni Gaudi. The Sand Castle
Holidays to Spain? How About Cordoba and Seville?
July 5, 2012 at 9:54 am
Great pics and it looks like you had a wonderful time. Sorry, but I don’t understand this statement. Are the euro amounts correct or backwards? “A sellers of indian-arabish shops along the beach can try to give you a change from 10 euro like you have given them 5 euro.” Thanks and safe travels.
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July 5, 2012 at 10:06 am
I’ve corrected this phrase.
Thank You.
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July 5, 2012 at 10:08 am
Adding this to my list of places I want to go. Thanks for sharing.
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July 31, 2014 at 4:36 am
Thank you for the visit, Holly.
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July 5, 2012 at 10:18 am
Your photos are so splendid. I really enjoy your posts — keep up the great work and enjoy your travels! Following because I absolutely can’t wait to see more! 🙂
~Kay
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July 16, 2017 at 2:08 am
Thank you, Kay.
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July 5, 2012 at 12:01 pm
What a beautiful place, but it sounds as if the locals are numbed by all the tourists.
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July 5, 2012 at 12:53 pm
Hm… I don’t think so. The island lives thanks to them.
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July 5, 2012 at 1:12 pm
I was thinking of the “not smiling waiters.” But you’re right, tourism is their bread and butter. Anyway, it’s a gorgeous place.
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July 5, 2012 at 1:20 pm
I suspect not-smiling is the common thing for Spain. 🙂 We have seen the same in Catalonia.
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July 5, 2012 at 12:39 pm
Thank you for giving us such an amazing tour of Tenerife, Canary Islands. Your photos and descriptions were so wonderful that now I want to move there!!!! What a beautiful place and climate :).
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July 5, 2012 at 1:03 pm
Oh, yes. And I am glad I was able to transfer it.
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July 5, 2012 at 1:05 pm
Good stuff Victor! Great pictures!
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July 5, 2012 at 1:15 pm
Thanks, Andrew. Have you ever been to Canary!? 🙂
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July 5, 2012 at 1:35 pm
Yes, Fuerteventura was my favourite!
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July 5, 2012 at 1:50 pm
You are always the first! 🙂
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November 27, 2012 at 12:15 pm
Good comment about this highland, thanks you for these wonderfull picture and your presentation. you are right about the waiter but they mean no harm. That is their nature.
You are a star
from Alfred okuns
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November 27, 2012 at 1:07 pm
Thank you, Alfred.
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March 21, 2015 at 9:23 pm
I am thinking of going to in October,2015 and staying until March, 2016. I would really like to talk to people who are making this Island home. I am from California, and unfortunately speak very little Spanish, so would appreciate feedback on how that would be. Thanks! Joy
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March 22, 2015 at 12:20 am
A good decision, Joy. I think, there will be no problems with English there. Moreover, five months will be enough to learn Spanish, at least, on the start level.
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July 5, 2012 at 1:25 pm
Fantastic photos!!!
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July 5, 2012 at 2:01 pm
Not as fantastic as yours.
Thanks.
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July 6, 2012 at 1:05 am
Loved this tour. You have a great life visiting all these locations. I like your friend the cockatoo. I have a cockatoo and he would love a friend.
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July 6, 2012 at 4:06 am
I like pets. I had them all my life, but now I can’t afford this pleasure because of my travels. 😦 Thank You.
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July 6, 2012 at 6:09 pm
I hate it when I read they try to take advantage of tourists… I just feel they take away from the experience!! Great photos as usual 🙂
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July 7, 2012 at 10:13 am
Not all of them are the same. In one cafe, the bill was near 10 Euros. I gave the money and left the cafe. But in 15 minutes, the waiter found me and returned 10 euros. It turned out I gave him 20.
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July 7, 2012 at 4:10 am
Wow, these pictures and scenery are so beautiful. I’ve always wanted to visit the Canary Islands and this just showed I need to move this up my list. I love the first two photos.
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July 7, 2012 at 10:14 am
Yes. But my favorite is the last one 🙂
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July 7, 2012 at 7:48 am
I think non smiling is a Spanish trait. We found it all over Spain. This place looks lovely but I am not sure about that black sand and sea. I think I will stick to our gorgeous Australian beaches.
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July 7, 2012 at 10:15 am
Yes, Debra, this beach is a little specific.
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July 9, 2012 at 10:20 am
This looks beautiful! I had no idea the sand was so dark. And the food? Looks delicious – just like you’d imagine at the sea 🙂
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July 9, 2012 at 12:15 pm
The food is good and cheap.
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July 9, 2012 at 8:26 pm
Fabulous photos, Victor and your story made me very smiley, so thanks!
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July 31, 2014 at 4:43 am
Thank you very much, Jaclyn.
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July 10, 2012 at 1:36 pm
I’M there!
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July 10, 2012 at 2:31 pm
Really?!
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July 10, 2012 at 4:03 pm
No, I wish but it is now on my list!
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July 14, 2012 at 7:24 pm
The stone beach looks beautiful 🙂
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July 14, 2012 at 9:32 pm
But it is always empty.
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July 18, 2012 at 4:21 pm
Hooray for building a rockpile on the stone beach. Reminds me of a rockpile I want to blog about. I’ll tag you when I do since you jogged my memory on that. ❤ Great blog. I'm enjoying your posts.
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July 18, 2012 at 9:45 pm
Thank You Marla.
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July 18, 2012 at 4:49 pm
Ah yes, Tenerife. We didn’t go to the volcano either, but given that the island had the aroma of sulphuric eggs in the afternoon I’m guessing it may have literally taken our breath away if we’d got any closer. And can you imagine my particular horror after leaving my homeland of beaches with pebbles bigger than your own head to arrive on holiday to a beach with black sand?! Other than that I do agree that it’s a lovely place to visit and the all year temperate climate was the biggest attraction for us to escape an English winter (my kids would probably vote for the Water Park though!) – thanks for stopping by my blog today fellow ‘truthful traveler’!
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July 18, 2012 at 9:30 pm
On the fifth day, I’ve got accustomed to this black sand.
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July 21, 2012 at 6:31 pm
The trip up teide is well worth it – we have just come back from Tenerife and it was the highlight of our trip. The cable car station is at about 7,500 feet and the cable car then takes you to just over 11,000 feet, though it is quite expensive at 25 Euros each (half that for children). The top station is about 150 metres below the actual summit crater and you can only get right to the top if you get a pass (you can apply for them online but need to book well in advance). The views are amazing and despite al the people it is a very peaceful place to be. There is a lot to see on the way up and down, too.
Great pictures! I was glad to see you built a rock tower – we walked along that beach and there are hundreds there now.
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July 21, 2012 at 11:04 pm
Have you been there with your twins?
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July 22, 2012 at 3:27 am
Yes, they came with us too. They are 9 and the thinner air at the top made them less active than usual – my wife and I are now thinking of moving to the Himalayas!!!!!
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July 22, 2012 at 3:51 am
Ha-Ha. They will be VERY quiet over there 🙂 two days at least.
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July 22, 2012 at 10:03 am
Looks like a great place with your wonderful photos! Thanks for visiting my blog.
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July 22, 2012 at 11:46 am
Thanks a lot.
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July 24, 2012 at 11:47 am
I hope to visit here some day… Your photos are lovely, thanks for sharing!
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July 31, 2014 at 4:46 am
Thanks for the visit.
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July 26, 2012 at 10:45 am
I’m going to Spain in late Aug, so sad that I won’t have to visit this island with my tight schedule… What a lovely place!
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July 26, 2012 at 11:11 am
Don’t worry, Spain has so many beautiful places to see.
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July 28, 2012 at 11:24 am
Never been to Tenerife, but I have made it to beautiful Palmas de Gran Canaria. Great pictures you’ve posted here, Victor.
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July 28, 2012 at 1:07 pm
Gran Canaria is in our plans too.
Thank you.
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August 14, 2012 at 12:49 pm
What gorgeous pictures… thanks for liking my blog and giving me the opportunity to then visit yours! Am going to add you to my list of blogs I follow! Thanks again!
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August 14, 2012 at 1:15 pm
Thank you. I follow you back.
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August 14, 2012 at 7:13 pm
Excellent photography!
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July 31, 2014 at 4:47 am
Thank you.
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August 14, 2012 at 10:07 pm
Beautiful photographs. Wish I was there.
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July 31, 2014 at 4:48 am
Sandra, why not?
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July 31, 2014 at 7:40 pm
The food here looks absolutely delicious. I love seafood anyway so I’m not hard to convince.
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July 31, 2014 at 10:28 pm
Seafood and any other food is very tasty here, like in Andalusia.
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July 31, 2014 at 10:41 pm
I’d love it! Any kind of seafood – except maybe sea urchin roe. I’ve tried it and it has a bitter taste like an overripe cucumber. But any other seafood, I love it.
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May 28, 2017 at 7:07 am
Thanks for the information about tenerife. I’ve been there 2015 to photograph the island, it’s an amazing area for travel photographers!
Best regards,
Lukas.
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May 28, 2017 at 1:39 pm
Thank you, Lukas, and you confirmed it with your photographs.
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August 11, 2017 at 3:34 am
Hi Victor
This is nice. My wife and I are excited for the vacation we’ve booked in Spain and definitely we will go to the Canary. Tenerife is one of our eyeing place for our 1st stop 🙂 There so many thing we want to do from a page we’ve read https://www.canaryislandsinfo.co.uk/tenerife/things-to-do/. Is there anything you can recommend aside from that page?
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August 11, 2017 at 10:31 am
I outlined all my recommendations in this post. But I strongly recommend you to read the second part of my post https://victortravelblog.com/2014/01/27/isla-la-gomera-christopher-columbus-love-story/ and do not repeat our mistakes.
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August 14, 2017 at 5:20 am
Yes, Tenerife is such a good place to spend vacation but you are right, their beaches aren’t that attractive anymore. Its sand isn’t that white but grey. One thing good for Tenerife is excursions… Just an advice when traveling to Tenerife, better get a car for hire. Some of their cab driver is a scammer. They would charged you 300 euro for just a few kilometer ride but if you ask other cabs, you will learn the fare is only 100 euro. So, better hire a car for rent.
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August 14, 2017 at 5:35 am
Useful advice. We have done it. Thank you, Tom.
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August 17, 2017 at 10:38 am
Yeah Im too. Tenerife is my favourite. 🙂
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August 17, 2017 at 10:49 am
I am very glad for you.
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March 7, 2018 at 2:02 am
Briliant blog! i love the photos very much top quality pictures. keep it up !
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March 7, 2018 at 3:37 am
Thanks a lot.
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July 27, 2018 at 9:30 am
Great illustration and vivid description. Amazing way to capture various pictures, also the article was quite informative pertaining to cuisine and the explanation regarding the sightseeing.
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July 27, 2018 at 10:23 am
Many thanks.
I wish you success in your business.
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November 11, 2018 at 4:48 am
Nice post, really helpful! When I was in Tenerife, I actually thought it would be much nicer seeing dolphins in the wild! I did this tour, which was so amazing.
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November 11, 2018 at 9:15 am
Many thanks, Nathalie.
Next time when you want to place an advertisement in my blog, please, send me a letter.
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