One day in Tenerife

Day by day

1. Day 1: Teide National Park and Teide cable car and summit

   Teide National Park, Teide cable car and summit, San Cristóbal de La Laguna old town and Los Gigantes cliffs, then Auditorio de Tenerife in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Teide National Park

      Arrive early or late in the afternoon to avoid tour coaches at the Roques de García, and bring a warm layer: it can be 15 °C colder than on the coast. Allow Half to full day.

   2. Late morning

      Teide cable car and summit

      The altitude can cause dizziness and breathlessness; move slowly at the top, and skip the ride if you have heart or breathing problems or are pregnant. Allow 2–3 hours.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Papas arrugadas con mojo

      Almost every Canarian restaurant serves them as a starter or side; guachinches in the north often use local heritage potatoes.

   4. Afternoon

      San Cristóbal de La Laguna old town

      Walk the old streets in the morning, then come back for tapas around Calle Herradores in the evening, when students fill the bars. Allow Half a day.

   5. Late afternoon

      Los Gigantes cliffs

      Stay for sunset, when the cliffs turn orange and La Gomera is silhouetted across the channel. Allow 2–3 hours by boat.

   6. Evening

      Auditorio de Tenerife

      Combine a walk around the building with the Palmetum, a palm garden built on a former landfill a short walk south along the shore.

Before you go

• Teide cable car and summit: Book cable-car slots online in advance, and apply for the summit permit weeks or months ahead because daily numbers are strictly limited.

If it rains

• Swap in Museo de la Naturaleza y Arqueología (MUNA) (Santa Cruz de Tenerife): Pair it with lunch at the Mercado de Nuestra Señora de África, a short walk across the Barranco de Santos.
• Swap in Museo de la Ciencia y el Cosmos (San Cristóbal de La Laguna): Check planetarium session times when you arrive; it is a good half-day with children when cloud covers the north.

Where to stay for this itinerary

Pace and daylight

The sights in this plan add up to roughly 11–15 hours of visiting over one day, before meals and getting between them. Daylight runs from about 10.4 hours in December to 13.9 hours in June.

Getting between stops: Bus. TITSA's green buses connect the airports, resorts, Santa Cruz and most towns, with fast services on the motorways and slower village routes; a limited service reaches Teide National Park.

More or fewer days

• 2 days in Tenerife
• 3 days in Tenerife
• 5 days in Tenerife

Questions travellers ask