A Visit to Tenerife in the Canary Islands

For Debra's birthday, we decided to chase the sun and visit the Canary Islands, a territory of Spain, off of the west coast of Africa.  We visited the island of Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands, which is about 800 miles from Portugal.  

Tenerife is best known for its beaches and all-inclusive resorts in the south part of the island.  It's very popular with Brits and Germans on holiday.  However, because we flew to Tenerife from Seville, we arrived at the North Airport which is in the quieter, more Spanish part of the island.  We stayed at an AirBNB which overlooked the ocean.  

Other than the beaches, the biggest attraction of Tenerife is actually the reason for its existence.  Tenerife is a volcanic island, and Mount Teide is the peak and the highest point in all of Spain at over 12,000 ft.   The one-hour drive to the base of Mount Teide took us through the Valley of Oratava, with a quaint village in a wine-producing area.  

To get to the top of Mt. Teide, we drove to the base of a cable car station, which would take us the final 3,700 ft. to near the summit.  

Other than the trip to Mt. Teide, we just did a little driving near our AirBNB, to the nearby fishing village of El Pris, to the crowded Anaga Rural Park, and to a variety of towns to sample the cuisine of the Canary Islands.

We enjoyed our visit to Tenerife, though felt there just wasn't enough to do.  Also, the weather wasn't any better than our hometown of Tavira.  Next year, we won't chase the sun, instead opting for a January trip to somewhere like Madrid!