Tenerife yay or nay

[Augustone]

Quick question- where is nice in Tenerife? By nice I mean no nightclubs/rowdy bars. No high rise blocks or hen/stag parties. Neither myself nor DH have been before but weather and flights mean it might be on the cards for a week in October. We usually do a quiet Greek island but the weather will be cooling down quite a bit and maybe a change would be good!

Totally agree.

Tenerife has so much behind the touristy bits.

So many amazing tapas bars and typical Canadian villages if you travel inland a bit. Even into Adeje town itself and the square.

of you like hiking there’s plenty of Barrancos to explore.

You can hire a car and drive around the island in a day and visit places like Guia de Isora and some amazing churches.

Teide is a must.

It’s a stunning Island with amazing scenery as it’s volcanic.

The drive through the Masca Valley along the mountain road remains one of the most surprising day trips I’ve ever taken. I had NO idea Tenerife could be so spectacular and beautiful.

The flight time puts me off a lot. I think that's why I haven't returned although I had a nice time once in Gran Canaria some years ago.

So much easier to get to Seville, Malaga, Bilbao (for San Sebastian) Girona and so on. I am not bothered by weather all that much since a break in Winter is great to me no matter where it is, but I do need variety and am not into sitting in the sun every day or drinking. I'll check the forecast and pack accordingly. I go to Southern Spain for three weeks over Christmas every year and am never disappointed. OK the weather is hit and miss but there is so much to see and do that I can cope with the occasional cool day and some rain. Algeciras and the ferry to Morocco, overnight to Seville, day trip to Cordoba, overnight in Malaga city to see the lights and eat tapas etc. Sometimes I go for the three weeks and don't move out of the apartment much!

Each to their own.

Yes Masca is beautiful

We hired a car and stayed in the north of the island near Garachico. We stayed on a Banana plantation. It was so beautiful

You're right about the nice parts being just a few streets away. We went for a day in Lloret de Mar during a city break in Girona because that was the easiest place to get to on the bus.

Parts of it was as bad as I'd expected, ie sunny Blackpool, entirely 'Brits in the sun' but it had a nice old town that was properly Spanish, a castle, coastal path, a nice beach and the sea was warm in early May.

Thanks to this thread, I've now added the Masca area (and Buenavista del Norte is somewhere else I've heard about) to my loose plan for a holiday in Puerto de la Cruz. We normally go somewhere we can walk, swim, read and eat local food and then have a couple of trips out, so that along with a day to La Laguna and Santa Cruz fills out the week nicely.

No, that’s just what they’re like.

As I’ve said there’s plenty of actually enriching, gorgeous places to visit. The Canaries are second only to Cape Verde, where the entire appeal is it being Britain but sunny. Clearly OP isn’t coming back or choosing somewhere worthwhile, so I’ve somewhat wasted my time.

La Gomera is the one for us. Small island, very much not built up, easy to drive around.

Rain forest in the centre to explore, beaches around the edge. Each of the towns has a different feel, quite a few art galleries. We’ve enjoyed whale watching and cookery lessons.

It’s not what that are like.

People live there. It’s an inhabited island with some touristy resorts but there’s plenty beyond that.

If you’re the type of holiday maker who doesn’t explore beyond your immediate area you won’t see it. Doesn’t mean it’s not there!

We’ve been to the northern parts of Tenerife at the end of October. It was warm enough to use the outside pool at our hotel. We stayed in the capital, Santa Cruz. It was an interesting little city and fun to wander round. The rainforest in the northern part (Parque Rural de Anaga) was stunning. La Laguna was a really interesting city to visit (it was the capital at the start of Spanish colonisation). Mount Teide is also a must-visit, but you need to book the cable car in advance.

Are you aware of the amazing work The Donkey Sanctuary in Devon does with children? They offer a range of therapy at their sites for children with a wide range of additional needs.
This is in addition to their welfare work and supporting donkey owners in developing countries where one donkey is often the only way the family can earn a living.
I can’t see much wrong with helping children, caring for animals and supporting families overseas earn a living (and that’s a snapshot of what they do each year)

If it is your first visit, you must go uo Mt Teide. It is amazing, even if you don't do the last bit in the cable car. The landscape is beautiful in its bleakness. A trip to La Gomera is good too.

Im a bit of a snob on holidays, I’m not a fan of anywhere that’s just a resort, I like to go to different restaurants and explore and have some nice walks, I’ve just booked my 4th trip to Tenerife. In my opinion for a nice, reasonably priced winter sun which isn’t too far away you can’t beat it. We go February half term. Did a nice, but expensive, hotel in the Adeje area first time, which was lovely but a bit quiet and a bit tourist oriented for me, we have since been going to Puerto de la Cruz, lovely town, great restaurants, close to the capital if you want more bustle, still lovely and sunny and warm.

Imo nay to tenerife. We stayed on the north side which is supposed to be less touristy. It was horrible and very touristy. I was counting down the days until we left.

We had 2 good days walking in the hills but it took an age to drive there.

I suppose it depends what you like though. I like few people, good food and hiking and open countryside with maybe a large town/city for a day trip.

I’ve been to the Canaries 3 times and have been underwhelmed each time. Los Christianos may years ago before it was built up, Costa Adeje and once to Lanzarote. Pleasant enough, but I am not a fan of the Canarian cuisine - the food is fine but not interesting for me. And the landscape is too bleak for my taste. (Caveat, I am a hiker and live in South Wales so I am spoilt!). I have always been in winter or early spring - the weather has been sunny and warm. But there has been a chilly wind and I can’t stay in heated pools or the sea for long.

Kerala was my favourite place for sun and beach in the winter. But now I’d probably choose an interesting city in Italy, Portugal or Spain.

Los Gigantes, Tenerife is lovely you can definitely avoid the hen/stag party nightlife scene.
Also recommend Lanzarote, Playa Blanca in particular

Another vote for Peurto Santiago / Los Gigantes area, we caught the bus up to the villages higher up and walked back, some great hiking (hilly) and local restaurants. It's also possible to get to the north coast by bus from there. Was very pleasantly surprised by Tenerife. It was warm in Feb but the sea and pools were too chilly for more than a quick dip.

I stayed in Medano in early November and it was into the twenties and perfect for me to have both beach days and days out. I visited Garachica but next time I’d like to take trips to the places you mention including the capital.

I loved the food those little potatoes and sauces and with going self catering ate really well as the fruit was great. I didn’t take to the more popular areas just passing through as I don’t go out in the evening much. Also loved Teide but didn’t get on the cable car as cancelled due to weather which happens quite regularly.

This is one of the funniest and most perceptive posts I've read on MN and has certainly opened my eyes to the Donkey Sanctuary scam! Maybe they import them to save them 🤔

Love the Canaries for some reasonably priced winter sun and 4 hour flight time.
Our preference is Lanzarote - Puerto del Carmen, because it’s 10 minutes from the airport, the old town is lovely and there’s also ‘the strip’ if you fancy lively bars or a full English!
We didn’t like Costa Adele in Tenerife and Fuerteventura was a beautiful landscape but they were just not our vibe otherwise.
North Tenerife is lovely but the weather is the worst of the lot but still nice!
You’ll have people telling you all different things but you’ll have to just give it a try!

HTH 😆

@togoornottogotodoesnt like the Canaries.

We got it. 👍