Solo travel · Tenerife · Spain
Solo travel in Tenerife
How to enjoy Tenerife at your own pace.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Berthold Werner, Public domain
Quick answer
Tenerife suits solo travellers who want hiking, surfing or a mix of city and nature. La Laguna and Santa Cruz offer local life and good-value rooms, El Médano has a sociable windsurfing crowd, and group tours make Teide and whale watching easy without a car. Many solo travellers base themselves in Playa de las Américas.
Key facts
- Base
- Playa de las Américas
- Getting around
- Bus
- Emergency number
- 112 (European emergency number)
- Language
- Spanish
Solo travel tips
- Base yourself in La Laguna or El Médano for a more local, sociable atmosphere than the big resorts.
- Join guided hikes or stargazing tours to reach Teide and Masca without driving.
- Tell someone your route before hiking alone in Anaga or Teno; mist rolls in quickly and phone signal is patchy in the ravines.
- Hostels and surf houses in El Médano and Santa Cruz are the easiest places to meet other travellers.
- Sit at the bar in La Laguna's tapas places, where ordering a few small plates alone is completely normal.
Where to stay
$$ · Best for nightlife, budget, beach and solo travellers
Playa de las Américas
Built up from the 1960s and 1970s, Playa de las Américas is the main nightlife and package-holiday resort in the south, with the Veronicas and Starco bar areas, the shopping promenade known as the Golden Mile and reef breaks popular with surfers. It merges into Costa Adeje to the north and Los Cristianos to the south along one long seafront walk.
- Good
- Lively nights and plenty of affordable bars; Good-value apartments; Surf schools and a long seafront walk
- Watch out
- Noisy late at night near the bar strips; Little traditional character
- Nearby
- Veronicas, Playa de Troya, Siam Park, Los Cristianos
Great on your own
Park · Las Cañadas del Teide
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.
- Time needed
- Half to full day
- Cost
- Free
- Iconic
- Nature
- Views
- Free
- Outdoors
- Photo spot
Experience · Las Cañadas del Teide
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.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Iconic
- Views
- Active
- Nature
Neighbourhood · San Cristóbal de La Laguna
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.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Free
- History
- Architecture
- Free
- Food
- Photo spot
Nature · Los Gigantes
Los Gigantes cliffs
Stay for sunset, when the cliffs turn orange and La Gomera is silhouetted across the channel.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours by boat
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Views
- Nature
- Photo spot
- Couples
- Outdoors
Nature · Anaga
Anaga Rural Park
The Sendero de los Sentidos at Cruz del Carmen is an easy, short forest walk for children; hikers can continue to Chinamada and its cave houses.
- Time needed
- Full day
- Cost
- Free
- Nature
- Outdoors
- Active
- Free
- Views
- Off the beaten path
Nature · Teno
Masca village and gorge
Drive the road early in the morning to avoid meeting coaches on the hairpins, or take the TITSA bus from Santiago del Teide.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours for the village
- Cost
- Free
- Views
- Nature
- Photo spot
- Off the beaten path
- Free
Meeting people
- Guachinche lunch — Guachinches are informal places, often a garage or farm terrace, where growers in the north sell their own wine with a short menu of home cooking such as carne fiesta and conejo. Many open for only part of the year after the harvest; the hills around Tacoronte, La Matanza and La Orotava have the most.
- Mercado de Nuestra Señora de África — Santa Cruz's arcaded 1940s market sells local goat's cheese, tropical fruit, mojo and fresh fish, with bars inside for a morning barraquito. A flea market sets up beside it on Sunday mornings.
- Veronicas and Starco, Playa de las Américas — The island's main party strip, with British-style bars, live music and clubs that stay open into the early morning.
- La Laguna — Students fill the bars around Calle Herradores and the 'Cuadrilátero' near the university, especially from Thursday to Saturday.
Sensible precautions
Petty theft is the main concern: break-ins happen at busy viewpoints and trailheads, so leave nothing visible in hire cars. The Atlantic can be dangerous, especially on the north coast, so respect beach flags and stay out of the water when waves break on the rocks. At Teide, altitude, strong sun and cold nights catch visitors out.
- Emergency number
- 112 (European emergency number)
- Staying connected
- EU roaming applies, as the Canary Islands are part of the EU; mobile coverage is good on the coasts but patchy in ravines such as Masca and Anaga.
Questions travellers ask
+Is Tenerife good for solo travellers?
Tenerife suits solo travellers who want hiking, surfing or a mix of city and nature. La Laguna and Santa Cruz offer local life and good-value rooms, El Médano has a sociable windsurfing crowd, and group tours make Teide and whale watching easy without a car.
+Where should solo travellers stay in Tenerife?
Playa de las Américas: Package-holiday hub with surf breaks, the Veronicas bar strip and the Golden Mile.