Hiking in Tenerife? Self-Guided With These Tips!

With an area of 2,034 square kilometres, Tenerife is the largest of the six Canary Islands and, with almost a million inhabitants, also the most populous Spanish island. It is about 83 kilometres long and 54 kilometres wide. Although the archipelago belongs to Spain, it is far away from the Spanish mainland, more than 1,200 kilometres. Tenerife is 'only' 280 kilometres from the Moroccan coast in the Atlantic Ocean. Topologically, the island belongs to Africa - but due to a complicated history, it is still part of the European Union. You can pay for your holidays in Tenerife with euros and your identity card is sufficient for arrival. From the UK and Ireland, you can fly to the eternal spring in say three and a half hours. If you come from overseas, it is still quite a bit of a journey, but worth it.

At Bookatrekking.com, we always have to consider the seasons when putting together our itineraries, but on Tenerife, we can stretch our legs all year round. This is quite different in Scotland, for example, or, indeed, in the Alps and the Spanish Pyrenees. Really the only thing that is a bit different in Tenerife is some time difference left or right. Other than that, you can always go to Tenerife for a walking holiday. And of course, you may also combine these with some relaxing hours on the beach. Surf 'n turf!

In Tenerife, it really is always spring: little rain and mild temperatures all year round. An autumn dip is out of the question. And yet there is also a best season for your hiking holiday in Tenerife. This is completely in line with the other Canary Islands and even applies to Madeira. The islands owe this fantastic climate to their geographical location and the Gulf Stream. The spring and autumn months have proven to be the best time to go hiking in Tenerife.

Because in many places it can get too hot in summer and too cold in winter, these months are less suitable for an active holiday. In spring and autumn, on the other hand, you can expect many hours of sunshine and a pleasant breeze. There are absolutely no thick rain clouds, so you can safely leave your umbrella at home. In the north of the island, however, it gets a bit chilly now and then, so a jacket or jumper is still recommended. Not bad, right?

Countless guidebooks have been written about all Tenerife's hiking options. You are certainly not the first to make your way along the fantastic trails of eternal spring. But where do you start? Further on in this blog you will find some options that you really must have done on your Tenerife hiking holiday. Below you will find an overview map of Tenerife you that will give you an idea of what is where. There are two airports in Tenerife, more on that later. In the map you can see a few key hiking destinations indicated.

In Tenerife, you can hike for a lifetime. Although it is "always" spring, of course there are seasons and each time of year has its own charm. Tenerife has more than 1,500 kilometres of trails, so it's pretty easy to know what you should at least have done. At Bookatrekking.com, we send you to Tenerife with a hiking guide combining the best trails as well as local secrets. Of course, we will leave those secrets out of it here. But here are a few options that your friends who fly to Tenerife every year should do but probably have never done.

The Canary Islands are a bit of a country unto themselves, which is why it is sometimes hard to imagine that Pico del Teide is the highest peak in Spain. And yet, at a whopping 3,715 metres, it certainly is. In fact, if you measure Teide from the ocean floor, you come to a total height of 7,500 metres, making it the third highest volcano in the world. Of course, Teide is also the symbol of Tenerife and, because the mountain has such a huge presence, you just want to climb it. And you can. Teide has been climbed since the dawn of time and nowadays you can even go up by cable car.

The last push of Pico del Teide, the absolute summit does require some planning. To preserve the trails, access to the summit of the Teide is limited to 200 people per day and a permit must be applied for to gain access. The permit is 100 percent cost-free. The problem is that it is in such high demand that you have to book it several months in advance! Of course, this is a bit of a nuisance because it forces you to plan long in advance and it becomes impossible to arrange your hike in accordance with the weather. The walk up to the cable car station is also worthwhile and in all cases you can take the cable car back down and from there back to your car.

A pleasant stroll, but along God's finger. What? We are talking about Roque Chinchado, affectionately called so, a rock formation that looks a lot like a finger. Roques de Garcia is probably the most visited natural attraction on the Canary Island of Tenerife. Roques de Garcia is easy to reach by car or bus, especially from Vilaflor. You are never alone in the car park, but the relatively short walk on the Roques de García Trail is definitely worthwhile.

The circuit is no longer than 5 kilometres, has barely any elevation gain and can be done just fine within two hours. Suitable for children? That too. It can also be combined well with La Guajara, a slightly less popular hike that starts more or less from the same point. More on that later.

The Masca Gorge is Tenerife's most famous canyon or "barranco". The location of the village and the winding road to Masca alone are unique, The village is almost like Machu Picchu perched on the rocks in the rugged Teno Mountains. Directly from the village you look down on the Masca Gorge and have spectacular views as far as that other Canary Island of La Gomera and, of course, the sea. Because on the Camino del Barranco de Masca you walk down the gorge and back up again, you need to count around 5 to 6 hours for the Masca. It is about 6 kilometres and 600 metres up and down on goat paths and narrow steps with lots of stairways and treads.

Masca has long since ceased to be a secret, they know that on Tenerife too. That is why the authorities closed the trail during the height of the Corona crisis and gave the trails a major facelift. The trail has since been closely monitored and a pilot version of a permit system is active. As is often the case with permits, they are sold out weeks before your desired start date. Although, well, not quite sold out, as at the moment they are still for free. Just make sure you get there early.

Everything is beautiful on Tenerife, which is why choosing some kind of base can sometimes be tricky. The first step is to cruise from the airport to one of the calm coastal towns as quickly as possible. A great example is Puerto de La Cruz, which in a typical Bookatrekking.com package is also always a base for, say, a hike in the Orotava Valley. There you will find the Órganos Trail, about which you will read more in a subsequent section. Quite alpine. You will find less altitude metres on the much shorter Rambla del Castro, a trail that you can basically start from the pavement of your hotel.

During a Bookatrekking.com overnight stay in fabulous Puerto de La Cruz. We won't put that lager in front of you just yet. Curious about your accommodation address? Check out our packages here.

Just outside La Orotava and not far from Puerto de la Cruz, you'll find the Orotava Valley. Not as well-known as the Tenerife classics mentioned above, but we wanted to give you an idea of what else you can discover on the island of eternal spring. Órganos, Spanish for organs, comes from the bizarre rocks from which the trail leads with stunning views. Indeed, these resemble organ pipes with their vertical folds. And just above the organ pipes, the trail runs along a narrow path parallel to the mountainside. But on the way there and back, you not only have to overcome some altitude metres, but also some gorges in long loops. A varied walk awaits you with beautiful views of the Orotava valley and the Teide.

Compared to other options in this list, this is quite a tough hike. You can count on around 1,000 metres altitude over a distance of almost 14 kilometres. You can easily plan a day for this, especially if you also want to cool off at the beach that same day.

Tenerife has two airports, one in the north, aptly called Tenerife Norte (TFN), and one in the south near Los Christianos, Tenerife-Sur (TFS). The northern airport is also known as Los Rodeos, the southern also as Reina Sofia. Tenerife is a popular holiday destination and so you can fly to eternal spring with ease from any airport. From Amsterdam, you fly with TUI Fly, EasyJet or Transavia, for example. From Tenerife-Sud it's an hour to your first destination. From Tenerife-Nord 10 to 20 minutes.