Tenerife Budget Travel Guide

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Orotava Tal, Tenerife
Author: Michael Scheffler (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0)

Introducing Tenerife

Tenerife Budget Travel Guide introduces the biggest of the Canary Islands of Spain to would-be visitors. As I describe and list out all its popular sights, I will also provide you, whenever the opportunity arises, with tips on how to explore Tenerife on an economical scale.

Red Mount Teide bugloss, Tenerife
Author: Jörg Hempel (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 Germany)

About Tenerife

Tenerife is the largest of the seven Canary Islands. It is located in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Africa. Tenerife has an area of 2034 square kilometers, and a population of 900,000 people. From an impoverished island of banana plantations, Tenerife sees its revenue ballooning with the arrival of mass tourism since the 1960's. The island is now dependent on tourism as its chief revenue generator.

The capital is Santa Cruz de Tenerife. It also shares the position along with Las Palmas de Gran Canarias, as being the capital of the Canary Islands.

Tenerife has a remarkable ecological diversity despite its surprisingly small size. The existence of natural microclimates create a rich and diverse flora. There are 1,400 species of plants on the island, with over a hundred which are endemic to Tenerife. It is also home to 400 species of fish, 56 species of birds, 13 land mammals and thousands of invertebrates.

Church of Ermita San Miguel in La Laguna, Tenerife
Author: Koppchen (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported)

Budget Travel to Tenerife

By Plane
Tenerife has two airports - the Tenerife South Airport at Reina Sofia and the Tenerife North Airport at Los Rodeos. Arriving at either airports, you can catch a bus to Santa Cruz.

By Boat
There's a weekly ferry from Cadiz in Spain to Tenerife. The voyage takes two days.

Budget Travel within Tenerife

The best way to explore Tenerife is to hire a car and drive around on your own. The alternative is to take the local buses, run by TITSA (Transportes interurbanos de Tenerife, S.A.). To travel cheaply by bus, get the BONO Travel Card, it saves you up to 70% of a full-fare bus ticket. You can also use it on the tram running between Santa Cruz and La Laguna.

Photos of Tenerife

Auditorio de Tenerife
Author: kallerna (public domain)

Places of Interest in Tenerife

Candelaria
Coastal town famous for its shrine to Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria, the patron saint of the Canary Island.
La Orotava
Historic town in a valley with its old houses clustered around the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Concepción.
Los Cristianos
Old fishing village on the south coast.
Los Gigantes
Picturesque cliffs as well as resort near the village of Masca.
Montes de Anaga
Rugged mountains north of Santa Cruz abound with natural beauty.
Parque Nacional del Teide
Park with volcanic landscape dominated by the towering Mount Teide.
Puerto de la Cruz
The oldest resort in the Canaries.
San Cristóbal de La Laguna
Second biggest city on Tenerife, a university town and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Capital of Tenerife

To do in Tenerife

Carnival
The carnival in Santa Cruz de Tenerife is the biggest carnival in Europe, rivalling that of Rio de Janeiro.

Get a GPS and never get lost again!

Avoid charges for overweight luggage! Get a luggage scale for your trip.

Prepare for your trip!

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