About Tenerife!

Tenerife is one of seven within the Canary Islands. It’s the largest, most attractive and diverse island. It is famous for it’s snow capped volcano “Mount Teide”, the highest mountain in Spain. Most people flock to the south of the island where the climate is warmer and drier. There are many purpose built resorts offering entertainment, nightlife, theme parks, and golden sandy beaches. Tenerife maintains GMT so there is no time difference with the UK. Flying time from the UK is about 4 hours. The currency is Euros.

Climate

The climate in Tenerife can be described as summer all year round with reliable sunshine! The average temperature in the south of the island is 23°C, with just 250mm of rainfall per year. The north of the island is slightly cooler with an average of 19°C, with 750mm of rainfall per year, however this rainfall allows beautiful vegetation to grow such as the flower “Strelitzia” or “Birds of Paradise.

What is there to do?

There are many things to do in Tenerife for both adults and children. These can range from chargeable activities to free admission. There is a good motorway which runs from the north to the south called the TF1. Some suggestions are below, pop into our office and we can book many excursions for you or give you some useful tips!

· Teide National Park (Wide range of volcanic features, info. in English & Spanish and a cable car to the summit).

· Mountain biking

· Loro Parque (Worlds largest collection of parrots and similar birds, dolphins, penguins, and other attractions. Situated in Puerto de la Cruz)

· AquaPark (Known as the Octopus Park which is a water park near Las Americas)

· Diving

· Botanical Gardens

· Camel Centre (One in the north & south)

· Aguilas del Teide (Free flying birds of prey, penguins, crocodiles, flamingos, elephants and some rides for children, situated just north of Los Cristianos, junction 27 off the TF1)

· Parque Exoticos (Cactus park and rain forest east of Los Cristianos)

· Tenerife Zoo and Monkey Park (next to Parque Exoticos)

· Jardines del Atlantico Bananera (Guided tours and museum of banana plantation, junction 26, or Puerto de la Cruz)

· Boat trips (where you are guaranteed to see whales/dolphins, most depart from Puerto Colon, near Las Americas)

· Many golden and natural beaches

· Coastal walks

· Bowling

· Golf

· Eating out (Restaurants in the resort areas cater mainly for tourists and generally provide international food. For typical Canarian food, it is usually necessary to head inland, to one of the small fishing villages or to the capital Santa Cruz).

Driving

As already mentioned the main motorway from the north to the south is known at the TF1. This motorway runs two-thirds of the way around the island. It is possible to drive all the way around Tenerife in a day. You need to drive on the right, overtake on the left and give way on roundabouts to traffic coming from the right. Carry your driving licence and passport (or a photocopy) when driving as the police can demand to see them. Seat belts should be worn at all times, including rear seats. It is prohibited to use a mobile phone when driving and to throw objects out of the car window. Any driver involved in an accident can expect to be breathalysed so it is sensible not to drink alcohol if driving. Speed limits are 120kph (75mph) on motorways, 90kph (55mph) on other roads and 60kph (35mph) in built up areas or villages. Petrol stations are widespread and accept all major credit cards. Fuel is cheaper than in Spain and in the rest of Europe!