Tenerife, Spain

Introduction

Well-known by continental Europeans as a warm winter getaway destination, Tenerife is the most popular, and most populated, island in the Canary Island archipelago. While it is part of Spain, it is actually closer to the coast of Morocco in Africa. During the drab winter months, Tenerife beckons with sunny, mild weather, and British, German, and Scandanavian tourists flock there on short, cheap flights year-round to hang out at all-inclusive resorts. It’s basically what Cancun is to Americans and Canadians.

For travelers seeking a fun sober getaway, there are some appealing activities to do and sights to see, mostly centering around nature and the outdoors. As a volcanic island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, Tenerife is considered one of the top places in the world to stargaze. With its unique topography, the island features multiple climates, even though you can drive from one end to the other in less than two hours. This means that you can hike in the temperate Anaga Forest to the North, and go surfing in Playa de las Americas in the South in the same afternoon. At the same time, a traveler seeking a profound cultural experience will be disappointed, as Canarian food and heritage leaves much to be desired. However, you can enjoy a fun sober travel experience in Tenerife, if armed with the right information. Read on to find out!

Getting Around

If you live close to New York City and you plan to travel to Tenerife in the summer months, you are in luck. United Airlines and Lufthansa both operate several nonstop flights per week for around $1,000 per Economy ticket, and it will take you 7 hours to get there. Not bad for a quick 5-day holiday.

If, like us, you plan to go during the shoulder or winter seasons, it is much less convenient to travel to Tenerife. We took a TAP Air Portugual flight to Lisbon and then a connecting flight to Tenerife South airport, which equated to an entire day of travel.

Keep in mind there are two airports on the island: Tenerife Sur and Tenerife Norte. Most flights arrive into Tenerife Sur, where most of the resorts are located. While Tenerife Norte is closer to Santa Cruz and Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife Sur is an uncomplicated 1-hour drive from both of those cities if you take the TF-1 highway.

There is no Uber on the island, so your options are public transportation or car rental. Titsa is the public bus system. It is cheap and clean, but unreliable and slightly confusing. I took the bus from Puerto de la Cruz to La Leguna, and while it was an overall pleasant experience on the way there, I waited 45 minutes for the return bus to show up.

Since Tim wanted to drive to surf spots on the island, we rented a car. We used RentalCars.com for the best price and selection. Costs have come down since the pandemic’s price surge in the car rental market, so an SUV was about $450 for five days. It was a pretty easy check-in process, as the car rental companies all set up shop across the street from the airport, and they are pretty lenient regarding damage. There was a big gash in our side door when we were given the car; we took a picture of it but the car rental company staff didn’t even note the damage when we picked it up and dropped it off.

When you look at a map, you think you can travel easily from one end of the island to the other. However, there is a giant volcano in the middle, which complicates things. TF-1 is well-maintained and easy to drive, looping around the Eastern end of the island. It’s often faster than driving on the Western side of the island even though it’s further by distance. I would try to avoid driving on the Western side of the island because there are terrifying hairpin turns and steep drop-offs for dozens of miles, and I was getting cramps from clutching the steering wheel so tight and had to remind myself to breathe several times. Also, Tenerife is considered a destination for cycling, so you also have to contend with people on bikes navigating the same narrow, treacherous roads as you.

Where to Stay

If you are searching for a hotel or well-priced vacation rental, Booking.com is the go-to for most veteran world travelers. The online travel agency is one of the largest in the world, with the best options and prices. When we were trying to make a last-minute escape from our tiny Airbnb in Puerto de la Cruz, we secured a hotel room in Costa Adeje via Booking.com and arrived without incident to our new, spacious accommodations a few hours later.

Initially, we reserved an inexpensive Airbnb with a nice view in the middle of Puerto de la Cruz. However, it was a pain to track down the owner to retrieve the key, there was not actually ample parking as advertised, and food was hard to come by so we ended up living on Kind Bars, Diet Coke and bags of trail mix for the first three days. More on that later.

We choose Puerto de la Cruz because, during our research, it appeared to be the least touristy and best situated city on Tenerife for the activities we planned to do: hiking, surfing, touring La Leguna and Santa Cruz, and stargazing on Mount Tiede. In fact, it was far away from all of those things, and there was nothing to do in the city itself that would justify us staying there for the entire duration of our trip. So we put on our tourist hats and went to a big resort on the South of the island, which salvaged our trip.

Dreams Jardin Tropical is a seaside resort with an expansive pool, multiple on-site restaurants, and large, well-appointed rooms with decent-sized balconies. When I first saw their gym, I almost fainted. It was open-air with an insane view of the ocean, so I could lift weights and spin on the elliptical and not feel guilty that I am inside in a gym while in paradise. Right outside of the resort is a miles-long path that brings you past various beaches including Los Cristianos and Playa de Las Americas.

Planning a European trip? Check out our Sober Travel Ideas page to find your next vacation destination!

Fun Activities

Most activities in Tenerife revolve around the outdoors, so it’s important to time your holiday to coincide with the best weather. When I began planning this trip, I went to multiple websites that informed me there was no rainy season in Tenerife. We booked our trip for December. Four days out, I looked at the forecast, which showed rain for every single day of our vacation. Cringing at the idea of flying for 12 hours to sit inside of an Airbnb the entire time, we re-booked our entire trip for March. We paid several hundred dollars in change fees but it was worth it because we ended up with warm and sunny weather in the end. Typically, the driest months are March through October, with summer seeing the least amount of rain. So choosing that time frame is your best bet!

A can’t-miss tour would be stargazing atop Mount Teide. If you stay in the South, Night Skies Tenerife will pick you up so that you don’t have to navigate the scary roads winding up the mountainous terrain. You’ll stop to view the sunset and feel like you are on the moon, surrounded by volcanic rock and dust. Then they will drive you to the summit of Mount Teide to view several constellations, planets and stars through high-powered telescopes and stand in awe of the vast number of stars you can see in the night sky, unobstructed by man-made light or pollution. Make sure you bring a puffer coat with you, even though you won’t need it at first, because it’s freezing once the sun sets.

San Cristóbal de La Laguna is the third-largest city in Tenerife, a college town and a UNESCO World Heritage site. I took the Titsa bus there one morning from Puerto de la Cruz with anticipation, since every other UNESCO site I’ve witnessed has been a unique cultural gem. But besides a few cobblestone streets and a mildly interesting church (that you couldn’t enter), I couldn’t identify a reason for that designation. I wandered around for an hour, ate a mediocre piece of toast from a cafe where the owner was irritated that I wanted to patronize his business, and walked back to the Titsa bus which ended up being 45 minutes behind schedule.

La Leguna was a microcosm for Tenerife as a whole. It lacked the charm you would expect from a Spanish locale that tourists flock to from all over the world. We also were shocked by how rude people were who we encountered working in the service industry. Many times we walked into a cafe or restaurant and they would look at us like we had three heads, and act like we were inconveniencing them. When I made a massage appointment at Dreams Jardin, the massage therapist yelled at me for having sand on my legs and demanded I take a shower. It was very off-putting.

The beaches in Tenerife are definitely worth a visit. While the South’s golden sand is known for attracting tourists, the Northern end of the island boasts several lovely spots as well. Playa de Jardin in Puerto de la Cruz is a large, beautiful black sand beach outside of the center of town, with impressive views of the coastline and of Mount Teide in the distance. True to its name, there is also an adjacent garden as well as walking trails for people to enjoy. One thing to note is that Spanish and European tourists are much less conservative than Americans, so don’t be surprised if half of the women you see on the beach are topless. It got to the point where I couldn’t avert my eyes without landing on someone else’s exposed rack. Tim was not upset about this.

My favorite part of the trip was seeing Los Gigantes, the massive cliffs perched above the Atlantic Ocean on the Southeast end of the island. Pictures don’t do them justice. We decided to check them out when we had a few hours to kill one afternoon and I am so glad we did. They were awe-inspiring. There is also a swimming hole below the town of Los Gigantes, although the surf was too rough for anyone to swim that day.

Food

While you can probably tell by now that Tenerife was not our favorite trip, the cuisine (or lack therof) was the biggest disappointment.

When we arrived in Puerto de la Cruz, we wandered around looking for a restaurant or cafe to eat a late lunch. While there were plenty of places that claimed they served food, we never witnessed anyone actually eating, only drinking wine or beer and smoking cigarettes. When we stepped into a few restaurants, the people working there ignored us. So the first night we basically survived on the snacks we brought from home. The next few days were the same story. I did manage to find a cafe serving crepes, but that was the only sustenance I consumed during the first half of our trip.

There were also zero places you could go for a quick bite. Fast-casual is not a phrase they are acquainted with. When I wandered into a cafe that seemed fast-foodish, I glanced over at one of the tables, saw that they were eating fries topped with cold cheese and ham, and immediately walked out.

Costa Adeje wasn’t much better. We ate a couple soupy Caesar salads and mediocre seafood entrees at the on-site resort restaurants and at a cafe off the main thoroughfare. But we did get to eat, so that was progress.

Check out our list of the best gastronomically inclined destinations for sober travelers!

Surfing

Tenerife has a reputation for world-class surfing. Whether you are new to the sport or a pro-level surfer, Tenerife has a wave for everyone. However it’s best to do your research before you go so that you have access to the best breaks for you, otherwise you will be wasting your entire trip driving around the island.

When we were in Puerto de la Cruz, I loaded up the rental car and headed to Bajamar, a town 35 minutes to the North, which features some of the most popular breaks on the island. El Callado seemed like the break that would be the most fun and I surfed it two days in a row. However, the conditions there were very windy, stormy and rugged.

During the few days we stayed in Costa Adeje, I was able to walk to the surf breaks in Playa de Las Americas from our hotel. Any time you don’t have to drive to a good surf spot is a plus. There are several different breaks including some locals-only breaks. While they can get crowded, the water is warm and the waves are super fun. The water in the Southern end of the island is considerably more inviting than the Northern end. –Tim

Running

Puerto de la Cruz is congested and very hilly, with no running or walking paths long enough to support a run. In the South, there is an uninterrupted, mostly flat seaside promenade stretching several miles from Costa Adeje to Los Cristianos. I went out early in the morning and enjoyed a peaceful run with a sweeping view of the ocean, passing by surfers catching waves at first light.

Recovery Meetings

The Harbour Group is a well-attended AA meeting of expats and tourists who meet three evenings a week in Los Cristianos. Details can be found here.

There is also a meeting on Thursday nights in Puerto de la Cruz. It is listed as an English-speaking meeting but most of the attendees are from Finland. They are nice and will speak English for any visitors who need them to, although I felt slightly awkward. If you are interested, here is the information for that meeting.

Want to plan a sober vacation but not sure where to start? Read our 11 strategies for planning a perfect sober trip!